[posted on 18 October 2006]

Progress on co-operation in transboundary wetlands in Europe

Report from a Symposium

On 23-26 August, more than 1500 scientists, conservationists, politicians, media representatives and various experts gathered in the historic Hungarian city of Eger in the framework of the first European Congress of Conservation Biology. In the plenary sessions important issues were presented by eminent speakers and discussed. These included:

- the dramatic and continuing loss of biodiversity in Europe;
- a certain ambiguity in the European Union plans to stop the loss of biodiversity by 2010, as the

  question of whether we should conserve biodiversity itself or natural processes remained 

  unanswered;
- the impact of climate change upon the development of the Natura 2000 network; this network 

  of  protected areas is now moving to a management and conservation phase, but might

  require  significant changes in the future due to warmer climatic conditions and sea-level rise;
- the understanding that biodiversity loss cannot be stopped solely by good science, but also (or

  mainly) by policy, lobbying and public awareness work.

The plenary sessions were complemented by numerous technical events, during which many papers were presented, orally and through posters whose quality and interest varied considerably.

One of the major events was the Symposium o­n ‘Diversity of important transboundary wetlands in Europe’ convened by Saulius Svazas (Lithuania), who co-chaired the meeting with Thymio Papayannis, with financial support provided by OMPO. The Symposium focussed o­n the less well-known instances of developing multilateral co-operation in Central and Eastern Europe.

After an introduction by the two chairpersons, incorporating the latest information provided by the Ramsar Secretariat, the following case studies were presented:

- Transboundary wetlands in the Carpathian Basin (by Andras Bohm).
- The Prespa Park shared by Albania, Greece and the FYR of Macedonia (by Thymio 

   Papayannis).
- The Danube Delta (by Valentin Serebryakov).
- The Prypiat River Region shared by Belarus and Ukraine (by Olga Belyakova and Alexander

   Kozulin).

Finally, Saulius Svazas spoke o­n the use of cross-border inventories of biological diversity as a tool for the conservation of the major wetlands shared by Belarus, Lithuania and Russia.

The general conclusions of the Symposium included:

- the realisation of the progress made o­n international exchanges for wetlands in this part of

  Europe, but the need for more systematic, formal and all inclusive co-operation;
- thus, the need to involve local communities and NGOs in all activities related to management

  and conservation of transboundary wetlands;
- the significant benefits that could grow from the dissemination and the sharing of experience 

  and know-how both o­n the technical and o­n the political / social levels
- the crucial importance of developing among the people a common vision of major wetlands

  across borders.

The papers presented will be made available through publication in an appropriate journal.