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"NatuRegio" – great opportunity for conservationists in Bulgaria and Romania
This year's and last year's NatuRegio trainees from Bulgaria and Romania, government representatives from both countries and international conservationist experts will participate in the seminar organized by Euronatur and taking place in Sofia from April 15 to 18, 2008. The main topic to be discussed is the implementation of the EU-network of protected areas "Natura 2000"and its consequences for the protection of species...
Montenegro is looking for a private investor for “Ada Bojana”
Euronatur claims consequent protection of this natural jewel
One of the last Mediterranean natural landscapes is in danger. The island Ada Bojana fulfils all European and global criteria of a nature reserve and the core of a marine reserve. Now there are plans to build hotels of four or five star category...
European Meeting of Experts in Czech Republic
Each month one breed of domestic animals becomes extinct
The conservation of rare livestock breeds was the central theme of a workshop held last weekend in Kutna Hora near Prague. More than 40 experts from all over Europe met at the workshop. In works groups these experts met and discussed the breeding strategies needed for traditional livestock breeds, marketing strategies for the products from farms with traditional livestock breeds as well as the infrastructure needed for creating a network of rescue stations in Europe. The workshop was coordinated by Euronatur and the SAVE Foundation...
Young Bulgarians demonstrate for nature
Rila National Park hangs by a thread
Together with eight international nature conservation and mountaineering organisations Euronatur demands a halt to illegal construction in Rila Nationalpark from Bulgarian authorities. Rila is Bulgaria’s largest national park and one of its most famous protected areas...
Camera trap took first picture of Balkan lynx
At the turn of the year, a camera trap in the border area between Macedonia and Albania took a picture of a Balkan lynx. This photo was the first direct evidence that the endangered subspecies of the Eurasian lynx still exists...
Photography Competition „Nature Treasures in Europe 2007"
Euronatur in cooperation with the magazine "natur+kosmos", Deutsche Lufthansa AG and NaturVision, arrange the 15th nature photography competition „Nature Treasures in Europe". ...more Conference on Nature Conservation and Rural Development in Central and Eastern Europe
From June 17-20, 2007, the Federal Ministry for Environment, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the European Nature Heritage Fund (Euronatur) jointly organised a conference on the topic „Nature Conservation and the EU Policy for Sustainable Land Management in the New EU Member States” in Bonn. Main aim of the conference was to enable an exchange of experiences between the participants on the positive and negative effects which the previous agricultural subsidies had on nature conservation. In addition, a discussion about common perspectives for the CAP Health-Check and the Budget Review took place.
Bulgaria’s biggest National Park in danger
Rila national park, biggest of the three national parks in Bulgaria is threatened by illegal construction work. A skiing lift and a road that are currently being built seem to be only the tip of the iceberg: both projects are achieved by the same company and municipality which is very heavily promoting a large scale ski zone inside the park...
Millions of migratory birds are killed
More than 100 million birds are killed legally each year throughout Europe
It is getting quiet outside. The last migratory birds start their journey to the South to spend the winter in Southern Europe and Africa. “We wonder how many of them will come back”, says Claus-Peter Hutter, president of the European Nature Heritage Fund (Euronatur). Their journey is getting more and more dangerous. Some of the biggest risks for the migratory birds are to get shot or trapped...
Unique bird watching in Montenegro
Each year in autumn and spring a unique nature event takes place at the Eastern Coast of the Adriatic Sea. Hundreds of thousands of birds cross over the Balkan peninsula using the Adriatic Flyway – the direct connection from central and north east Europe to the large wetlands in central Africa as the Niger delta. On their way many of them stop at the saltworks at Ulcinij...
“Croatian Suez-Canal“ exhausts huge floodplains
Euronatur warns against the project of building the Danube-Sava River Canal in Croatia for involving an immense destruction of natural habitat. This canal is planned to be 61,4 km long and would engulf around 600 million euros.
Success for Bulgaria´s Nature
On 20th of July 2007 Bulgarian parliament closed legal loopholes that allowed property developers to challenge the legal status of protected areas in Bulgaria. The new legal situation is essential for the future of protected areas in Bulgaria like Strandzha Nature Park and gives the park legal security. ...more Euronatur Photography Competition 2007
Euronatur, German Lufthansa, NaturVision and natur+kosmos had invited both amateur and professional photographers to submit their best photos of nature in Europe. Have a look at the best of 1.300 pictures from 21 countries.
Spring hunting season on Malta closed prematurely
The Maltese Government has closed the controversial spring hunting season on quails and turtle doves, because of repeated shooting at protected species such as the endangered honey buzzard.
Bird flu: Wild birds wrongly under suspicion?
After the outbreak of the bird flu on a farm for factory farming in England asked Euronatur for a better casual research. Even the hermetically cut off from the outside world could not give protection from the disease. According to Euronatur's president Claus-Peter Hutter, it is therefore highly probable that the virus was contracted through infected food or animal transport, and not through wild birds.
Waterbirds threatened worldwide
Uncontrolled hunt and loss of habitat is increasingly threatening waterbird populations, alerts the European Nature Heritage Fund Euronatur on the occasion of the World Wetlands Day. According to Euronatur, the global decline in numbers of waterbirds can only be stopped by comprehensive protection measures.
... press release Interview with Dennis Meadows
"The changes we will all witness over the next two decades, will be greater in most ways than the changes we saw during the entire 20th century. "
Dennis L. Meadows, coauthor of the book „Limits to Growth - The 30-Year-Update" that has just been published in German considers the worlds chances for a sustainable future to be low. ... read interview Bulgarian Council of Ministers gives way to timber lobby
Bulgaria will contribute less than half of the area that scientists and environmental groups demanded for the EU-network of protected areas (Natura 2000). The Council of Ministers in Sofia decided on 21st of December to accept a proposal from the National Forestry Board for review and reconsideration of the borders of more than half of the proposed forest sites.
Bulgaria's "Timber Mafia" and Hotel Lobby threaten EU-nature reserves
With its accession to the European Union, Bulgaria is obliged to present a record listing the most important natural reserves of the country for inclusion in the European Ecological Network NATURA 2000. Euronatur points out that against all scientific investigations during the last four years, not even half of habitats in need of protection will be included. ...press release Vultures in Spain run out of carrion
In the EU, since the crisis of the mad cow disease in 2003 it is prohibited to leave carcasses of farm animals to the natural cycle. In Germany, where all carcasses go to disposal plants since longer anyway, nothing has changed through the corresponding EU-regulation (1774/2002). In Spain, Portugal or Greece however ...read more Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme 2006-2008
The present population of the Balkan lynx - described as an own subspecies Lynx lynx martinoi - is estimated to be less than 100 individuals which are distributed in Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. The critical status of this most threatened autochthonous lynx population of Europe has been known for a long time, but the war-like commotions and insecurity in the region has hindered conservation action over the past years. With an improvement of the situation within the last years, it has been possible to start actions and national and international awareness towards the Balkan lynx has increased. ...more Guide to attractive public transport
There are ways of making public transport more customer-friendly, efficient and costeffective without having to invest on a large scale. One of these possibilities is co-operation between a large number of public-transport operators and decision-makers in a particular region. A region with a good public transport network is enhanced both as a business and as a residential location. The new guide was published by the Germa Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and written by Euronatur project manager Katrin Seifert who worked many years in the Euronatur project for the development and promotion of public transport in Wroclaw, Poland.
European Stork Villages demand better protection against electrocution
Especially large birds like the white stork still get killed at unsafe poles of medium voltage overhead power lines. With simple technical measures poles can be made safe for birds. The European Stork Villages drew up a petition to politicians and energy providers to make more efforts for safe power lines throughout Europe.
War in Lebanon Since April 2005, Euronatur cooperates with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon (SPNL) and, with the financial support from the German Federal Foundation for Environment (DBU), is also engaged in the protection of migratory birds in Lebanon. This project was affected by political events right from the beginning.
European Stork Villages Conference in Rühstädt - Germany
Since the middle of the nineties, the European Nature Heritage Fund (Euronatur) gives awards to "European stork villages". Presently there are nine European stork villages. From July 26 to 30 2006, the international conference of the European stork villages took place in the Brandenburg town of Rühstädt.
Declaration of Rühstädt (pdf-file, 152 kb)
Summertime - holiday season
With nearly 200 million tourists per year, the Mediterranean Sea is one of the most popular holiday destinations worldwide. But mass tourism does not only bring money into the region, but also involves the destruction of its ecological systems, warn Euronatur and the Swiss Organisation OceanCare.
Euronatur criticizes shooting of brown bear "Bruno"
Call for cross-border cooperation and better preparation for the return of bears, wolves and lynxes
Euronatur criticizes the shooting of the brown bear "Bruno" who for the first time appeared in Germany end of May 2006. Says Euronatur executive director Gabriel Schwaderer: "We regret very much that "Bruno" was shot, and we do not approve the Bavarian government's decision to do so, since this decision was merely based on the fact that the bear might approach residential areas. If this applies as a criterion to the right to life of the brown bears, we do not see any future for the bears in Europe."
Trainees for Nature
Initiative for Environmental Protection in Bulgaria and Romania
The Initiative "Trainees for Nature" helps ten young environmentalists from Bulgaria and Romania plan and implement concrete projects in the area of nature conservation and regional development in their home countries.
European Stork Villages
With certification of "European Stork Villages," Euronatur hopes to reinforce positive trends in stork conservation. The program demonstrates clearly that even today it is possible to preserve habitat for white storks. To date, nine European communities have received recognition as European Stork Villages.
Long term lease of "ADA BOJANA" in the Bojana-Buna Delta
The Government of Montenegro is searching for an international investor for the Ada Bojana Island in the heart of the Bojana-Buna Delta. Based on EURONATUR’s rapid assessment of the ecological value in the coastal zone between Albania and Montenegro, the island is a unique virgin area and habitat for many endangered species as Logger-head Turtles, Jackal, Spoonbill, Pygmy Cormorant, Stone Curlew and Levant Sparrowhawk.
Karakachan protection dog in Bulgaria
The protection dog, Karakachan, is used since the beginning of the Euronatur wolf project in Bulgaria to mitigate wolf - man conflicts. The large dogs are raised by the shepherds with the sheep and become part of the herds. Towards men the dogs behave extremely well, but wolf-attacks are nearly impossible. According to the Bulgarian SAVE partner organisation Semperviva, now the Karakachan herd protection dog has been acknowledged by the government as "native breed". Semperviva, the partner organisation of Balkani Wildlife and Euronatur in Bulgaria, has therefore launched the Karakachan dog as breed of the year and hopes now to have other endangered breeds acknowledged as "native breeds", too.
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