In celebration of World Environment Day (June 5) and the International Year of Mountains 2002, WWF and the Carpathian Ecoregion Initiative are launching a major new report on one of Europe's greatest, yet relatively unknown, mountain areas, the Carpathians.

The report warns that the outstanding natural and cultural richness of the Carpathian Mountains is under great pressure from human activities such as logging, pollution, new roads, inappropriate development, and for many, a worsening economic situation.

Entitled The Status of the Carpathians, the report and interactive CD represent the first-ever overall view of the mountain range (which arches across Romania, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic and Austria) and recommends a number of actions to stem the environmental and social degradation before it is too late.