Long-term co-operation between the Alps and the Carpathians is required in order to create ecological corridors for species migration and genetic exchange, explained Fulco Pratesi, President of WWF Italy. The event entitled "A Vision for Biodiversity in the Alps and the Carpathians" also provided a platform for the visions of the WWF, UNEP, Birdlife and the European Union with regard to biodiversity conservation.
In terms of surface area the Carpathians are one of Europe's largest mountain ranges and home to not only its last primeval forests but also many large mammals and predators such as the wolf and bear. Some 4,000 plant species, many of them greatly endangered, are to be found in the Carpathians. The Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians was signed in 2003. Unlike the Alpine Convention it explicitly provides for the development of an ecological network of protected areas as an official inter-state implementation initiative of the Convention.
Sources and information: www.montagna.org/node/651 (it); WWF Italia; www.carpathianconvention.org (en)