Press Release from 15 January 2010
 
Radolfzell.   While Germany is still covered under ice and snow, migratory birds in the Mediterranean area are already waiting in the wings to return to their breeding grounds. Species like starlings, the Grey Heron, Eurasian Woodcock or the Northern Lapwing are just waiting for milder weather in our country to start their journey home. “It is irresponsible that the bird hunting is in full swing in countries like Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania in January and February, and partly continues until March”, states Gabriel Schwaderer, Managing Director of the Natural Heritage Fund EuroNatur in Radolfzell. By the shoot, the most important wintering grounds and resting areas are devaluated and turned into death traps for our breeding birds instead.

The hunting season lasts too long and poaching is publicly tolerated. The shooting of protected species like cranes or the Ferruginous Duck is very common in the Balkans. When migratory birds are shot, they cannot take care to maintain their breeding stock. The EU directive for bird protection strictly forbids hunting while the birds return to their breeding grounds. “However, the hunters in the countries along the Eastern Adriatic Sea hazard the consequences of the loss of rare species in an irresponsible way. As long as the migratory routes are not safe, even the most extensive protection measures in the breeding grounds will be inefficient in the long term,” Schwaderer warns. EuroNatur requests, that the hunting season in all Balkan countries, too must stop on January 15th latest. This act would be a major contribution to maintain biodiversity in Europe.


Background Information:

• Campaign „Crime Scene Adriatic Coast - Bird Hunting on the Balkans“
• Video bird hunting in Montenegro
  

Interview partner and photos:

EuroNatur
Konstanzer Straße 22
78315 Radolfzell
Tel.: +49 7732 - 92 72 10
Fax: +49 7732 - 92 72 22
E-Mail: info@euronatur.org
Internet: www.euronatur.org
Contact: Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby
Press contact: Katharina Grund

Press release from 6 November 2009

Radolfzell. ”Pulling down the Iron Curtain did not only liberate people all over Europe but it also opened new perspectives for nature conservation”, states Gabriel Schwaderer in Radolfzell, Managing Director of the European Nature Heritage Fund, at the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th, 2009. “The opening of the borders between East and West created a unique opportunity to put the greatest gems of nature in Eastern Germany under nature conservation on a large-scale”, says Schwaderer. EuroNatur was one of the driving forces for the development of the National Park Programme in Eastern Germany. 

Enforcing this programme was a huge success for nature conservation and literally a last minute rescue: In the last months before the end of the DDR (German Democratic Republic) EuroNatur received a cry for help from East Germany. Official and private environmentalists were feverishly working on a National Park Programme, which needed to get approved of at all costs before the dissolution of the DDR parliament. EuroNatur acted fast and in a non-bureaucratic way. The Nature Heritage Fund not only provided conceptional and moral support but also provided material help by sending furnishings, PCs and vehicles. A true successful aid organisation: The last resolution of the last meeting of the DDR Council of Ministers was the National Park Programme. It concluded the final conservation of 14 regions as “a continuous contribution for nature conservation in a unified Germany and to secure the natural heritage in Europe”.

For several years EuroNatur has supported the development of the Müritz National Park in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The Natural Heritage Fund was already active behind the Iron Curtain before the German reunification. For example they had started to work on the protection of precious natural paradises like the wetlands along the rivers Danube, Drau and Mur, which today belong to the “European Green Belt”.


Background Information:

• Find out more about the “European Green Belt” and EuroNatur projects in the Green Belt of the Balkans.

For further questions please contact:

EuroNatur
Konstanzer Straße 22
78315 Radolfzell
Fon +49 7732 - 92 72 10
Fax +49 7732 - 92 72 22
e-Mail: info@euronatur.org
www.euronatur.org
Contact: Gabriel Schwaderer
Press contact: Katharina Grund

Press Release from 7 October 2009

Radolfzell.   Just like every year, this autumn tens of thousands of migratory birds rest on the island of Tilos in the Dodekanes. Amongst them one finds rare breeding birds from Germany like the Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, Marsh Warbler and the Lesser Whitethroat. By having banned bird hunting on their island for more than 15 years – despite massive pressure of the hunting lobby from outside – the inhabitants of Tilos, an island located near Rhodos, also protect bird life in Germany. “Tilos is an excellent example to show how undisturbed resting areas along migration routes contribute to an effective bird protection”, says Professor Dr. Hartmut Vogtmann, President of EuroNatur. Today, at the Bodensee island Mainau, the Greek community Tilos was awarded with the EuroNatur prize for their long-time commitment in bird protection. On behalf of the citizens of Tilos, mayor Dr. Anastasios Aliferis, accepted the unremunerated award.

Tilos, however, is only one of the few positive examples. On other Greek islands but also on Cyprus, Malta and along the Eastern Adriatic coast the situation is devastating. Intense bird hunting causes in many countries that the essential resting areas near and in the sea become death traps. “This makes it even more important to have positive role models like Tilos to create hope and stimulate encouragement to follow their example”, compliments Professor Vogtmann the award. The granting of the EuroNatur Award 2009 to the island of Tilos is a clear sign within the EuroNatur campaign “Scene of crime Adriatic Sea – Bird Hunting in the Balkans”. As such the little island impressively shows that there are convincining alternatives to bird hunting.

“Banning bird hunting has created a solid foundation for a socially responsible and ecologically compatible tourism on Tilos”, continues Vogtmann. With its manifold biodiversity and calm nature the island attracts nature lovers all year. The diversity of breeding birds alone is spectactular: Eleonora’s Falcon, Bonelli’s Eagle, Long-Legged Buzzard, Audouin’s Gull and European Roller can be watched all year. Gentle tourism creates an important source of income for the insulars all year long. Together with its partners EuroNatur is working towards this development also in other project areas but especially in the Balkans.

Background information:
EuroNatur Award: Previous award winners of the EuroNatur Award are amongst others Prof. Dr. Klaus Toepfer, Karl Ludwig Schweisfurth, Prince Charles, Michail Gorbatschow, Nelson Mandela and Dr. Hans Bibelriether. The EuroNatur Award is unremunerated. This award honours excellent achievements for Nature Conservation.


For further information and photos please feel free to contact us.

EuroNatur
Konstanzer Strasse 22
78315 Radolfzell
fon +49 7732 927210
fax +49 7732 927222
e-Mail: info@euronatur.org
www.euronatur.org
Contact: Gabriel Schwaderer
Press contact: Katharina Grund

Press Release from 29 September 2009

Radolfzell. The Ferruginous Duck is one of the most rare breeding birds in Germany.  Hence the shooting of hundreds of Ferruginous Ducks continuing during their breeding season, as it is happening in Serbia and Croatia these days, was fiercely criticised by the European Nature Heritage Fund EuroNatur. Although this species is internationally protected by the Bern Convention and must neither be hunted in Croatia nor Serbia, bird conservationists’ partners report on disastrous situations in the wetlands of both countries. Amongst them are the Association for Bird Conservation and Research Vojvodina and the Croatian Association for Bird and Nature Conservation who confirm with pictures the hunting of large numbers of ducks.

“These hunting activities mean more ‘bleeding’ for the Central European population of Ferruginous Ducks and must be stopped immediately,” demands Gabriel Schwaderer, General Manager of EuroNatur. On the 1st of September the bird hunting officially starts in Croatia and Serbia. “If the hunting of such rare species like the Ferruginous Ducks during breeding season is permitted, it opens the floodgates to illegal hunting because allegedly missed shots get out of control,” says Mr. Schwaderer. Already in March of this year, EuroNatur has therefore requested in writing to the Ministers of Forestry and Agriculture of both countries to ban the hunting during the breeding season of the ducks until the 1st of October.

The importance of these actions is strikingly documented in a video named “Duck Hunting near Carska Bara” in which hunters openly show illegally shot birds . These pictures attract Italian hunting tourists who travel to the Eastern Adriatic Coast and its back-country for bird hunting due to the tightened controls in their own country. In the hunting video 21 dead ducks are seen, more than half of them are Ferruginous Ducks, amongst them also a squab duck. The video clearly documents that the hunters have a total lack of understanding that this act is unlawful. 

Within the EuroNatur campaign “Crime Scene Adriatic Coast – Bird Hunting on the Balkans” EuroNatur has already collected comprehensive material about the illegal hunting of Ferruginous Ducks on the Eastern Adriatic Coast. “We must impose pressure on an international basis to improve the devastating situation for migratory birds like the Ferruginous Ducks on the Eastern Adriatic Coast. If you can hear shots on the Adriatic Coast, it’s going to be quiet in our local wetlands”, says Mr. Schwaderer. EuroNatur demands amongst others the implementation of hunting ban areas across all essential breeding and gathering areas for the Ferruginous Duck along the Eastern Adriatic Coast.

Background information:

• The video “Duck Hunting near Carska Bara” can be watched here
• In Germany there can be found very few Ferruginous Duck couples at lake Bodensee and very rarely on the lakes of Brandenburg and Saxony. With only one to two proofs of offsprings per year this species is seriously endangered and depends on a solid and constant population in Croatia and Serbia. The Ferruginous Ducks is on the international Red List.
• More information on the campaign „Crime Scene Adriatic Coast – Bird Hunting on the Balkans” can be found here
  

For photo material and interviews please feel free to contact Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby, Project Leader at EuroNatur.

EuroNatur
Konstanzer Straße 22
78315 Radolfzell
Fon +49 7732 - 92 72 10
Fax +49 7732 - 92 72 22
e-Mail: info@euronatur.org
www.euronatur.org
Contact: Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby
Press contact: Katharina Grund

Press release from 10. June 2009

Radolfzell.  EuroNatur, the European Nature Heritage Fund, reports first achievements in the fight against bird hunting on the Balkans. Montenegro has considerably shortened the hunting period. "By changing its bird hunting season, Montenegro has taken an important step towards an EU-membership", says EuroNatur's project leader Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby. Montenegro is the second country on the Eastern Adriatic coast after EU-member Slovenia, which stops the hunting season on January 15, thus implementing one requirement of the EU- Directive on the conservation of wild birds. Until now, bird hunting was permitted until March 15. The new law bans bird hunting during this delicate period of return to the breeding grounds, thus preventing disturbances at resting areas and protecting resting birds and migratory birds crossing the country to other destinations such as Germany, according to the EU-Directive on the conservation of wild birds. Implementing this regulation was one of EuroNatur's demands on the governments on the Eastern Adriatic coast. 

Within the scope of its campaign "Crime Scene Adriatic - Bird Hunting on the Balkans", EuroNatur had increased international pressure upon the countries along the Adriatic flyway during the past months. According to EuroNatur's estimates, each year bird hunters kill around two million migratory birds on the Eastern Adriatic coast. One highlight of the campaign was the "1st Adriatic Flyway-Conference" held in April 2009 in the Montenegrin town of Ulcinj; on this occasion, EuroNatur, together with regional representatives and delegates of renown European institutions such as the Ramsar Convention, African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), BirdLife International and Wetlands International drafted a list of clear demands on the responsible politicians of the region. In this "Declaration of Ulcinj", they claim the alignment of national hunting and nature conservation laws to the EU-standards as well as the control of compliance with these standards.

"By changing the hunting law, the Government of Montenegro has given a positive signal", says Schneider-Jacoby. Yet, there remains much to do. EuroNatur demands a consistent hunting stop both during the time of return of the birds and for their breeding period, i.e. at the least from January 15 until October 1. In addition, it will be necessary to control the compliance of the new regulations.

Background Information

• More about EuroNatur's campaign "Crime scene Adriatic - bird hunting on the Balkans", background papers and information on the Adriatic Flyway-Conference you find here. 
• For further information, photos and interviews please contact our bird expert and EuroNatur project leader Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby.
  

EuroNatur
Konstanzer Straße 22
78315 Radolfzell
Phone: +49 (0)7732 - 92 72 10
Fax: +49 (0)7732 - 92 72 22
E-Mail: info@euronatur.org
Internet: www.euronatur.org
Contact: Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby
Press contact: Katharina Grund

 
Radolfzell/Ulcinj.  “Habitat destruction and bird hunting turn the Balkan Peninsula into a dangerous course for migratory birds. The international conference on the protection of migratory birds helped significantly to reach the objective of improving the dramatic situation on the Balkans”, says Prof. Dr. Hartmut Vogtmann, president of EuroNatur. He looks back on a successful conference which EuroNatur together with its partners has organised from 14-17 April 2009 in Ulcinj in Montenegro. More than 100 experts from 15 European countries came together to develop concrete approaches to the protection of migratory birds in South East Europe.

 “Just a few years ago, the Balkans were uncharted territory on the migration map. But within the framework of the conference, experts clearly confirmed the existence and importance of the Adriatic Flyway”, says Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby, EuroNatur project manager. The wetlands along the Eastern Adriatic coast provide internationally important resting areas for more than 20 waterbird species, for instance the black-headed gull, the black-tailed godwit, or the Eurasian spoonbill. Besides other species, more than 15,000 cranes and 10,000 honey buzzards cross the Adriatic Sea every year. That is why experts point out the urgent necessity to ensure safe resting sites along this migration route.

The members of the conference outlined the most important results in the “Ulcinj Declaration”. This declaration was passed EuroNatur and other representatives of important agreements for the protection of migratory birds in Europe like the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), BirdLife International, the Council of Europe, the Ramsar Convention, and Wetlands International. The statement includes clear requests for the responsible politicians of the region. Top priority has the improvement of the regulatory framework of the protection of migratory birds and their habitats along the Adriatic Flyway. The Ulcinj Declaration demands the adjustment of national legislations on bird hunting and nature protection to the European standard and the control of these laws. Experts on bird protection underline the urgency of a better protection of wetlands and resting sites on the Balkans by the creation of hunting-free areas, international collaboration on the protection of migratory birds, and selective training of experts on bird protection and nature conservation in the countries along the Adriatic Flyway.

Another important topic of the conference were the enormous, though hardly used possibilities of the Balkan region for nature based tourism. “The Bojana-Buna Delta is a pearl of the European Green Belt. We just have to make it shine properly”, said Prof. Dr. Hartmut Vogtmann, president of EuroNatur, at the opening of the conference in the Bojana-Buna Delta with around 250 participants. Bird watching tourism offers great opportunities for both humans and nature. In the USA, for instance, profits are 20 times as high as the income from bird hunting, the experts point out in the Ulcinj Declaration.

Background:

• You can download the Ulcinj Declaration here (pdf-file, 240 kb)
  
• More about the Adriatic Flyway
  
• More about the EuroNatur campaign „Bird hunting on the Balcans- Crime Scene Adriatic Coast"

Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby, bird expert and EuroNatur project manager will be pleased to assist you with further information, photo material and interviews.

EuroNatur
Konstanzer Straße 22
78315 Radolfzell
Germany
Phone: 0049 - 7732 - 92 72 10
Fax: 0049 - 7732 - 92 72 22
E-Mail: info@euronatur.org
www.euronatur.org
Contact: Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby
Press contact: Katharina Grund

 
Radolfzell: Especially Europe's bears, wolves and lynx are threatened by the fragmentation of their habitats. In view of the rapid expansion of road and rail networks, above all in Central and Southeast Europe, this situation becomes more and more precarious. How can the fatal impact on big mammals by building ever more transport networks be contained or even avoided? On occasion of an expert meeting in the Croatian National Park of Risnjak scheduled for April 1-4 2009, partner organisations of the international project "Trans-European Wildlife Networks", coordinated by EuroNatur, have defined clear requirements.

Large predators and their prey constantly run the risk of being run over when crossing streets or railway lines. But what is even worse, many of these obstacles are impassable for them. Wildlife populations are fragmented and split up into small fractions, which in the long run makes their survival impossible.  The central demand of the experts is to avoid the fragmentation of valuable wildlife habitat in advance, i.e. when planning or expanding transport networks. "The best thing is to give animal corridors a wide berth when planning new streets and railroad lines", claims Gabriel Schwaderer, director of EuroNatur. Where this is not practicable, the risk of damage for bears, wolves, lynx and their prey should be kept as low as possible by planning wildlife crossing facilities.  A close cooperation between road planners and nature conservation experts as well as a detailed appraisal of the natural environment of the areas concerned is a must.
"Setting up protected areas alone is not enough. Intact wildlife corridors are essential for the protection of Europe's big mammals. Traffic planning must urgently be steered and adapted to the needs of wolves, bears, lynx and their prey", says Schwaderer.

Background Information:
The project "Trans-European Wildlife Networks", which started in August 2008, is promoted by EuroNatur, the "Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt" (German Federal Foundation of Environment) and the "Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt" (Frankfurt Zoological Society), with the aim to counteract the fragmentation of hitherto intact landscapes in Europe and especially on the Balkan Peninsula.

Project partners: EuroNatur (D), Frankfurt Zoological Society (D), Institute for Landscape Management of the Albert-Ludwig University (D), Association for Bird and Nature, Association for Bird and Nature Protection “Milvus” (RO), Association for Nature “Wolf” (PL), Balkani Wildlife Society (BG), Biology Department, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zagreb (HR), Carpathian Wildlife Society (SK), Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Science (PL)

For further inquiries please contact:
EuroNatur
Konstanzer Straße 22
78315 Radolfzell
Phone: +49 (0)7732 - 92 72 0
Fax: +49 (0) 07732 - 92 72 22
E-Mail: info@euronatur.org
www.euronatur.org
Contact: Gabriel Schwaderer

Press release from 17 March 2009

Radolfzell, Germany. Like every year, the migratory birds are returning from their wintering grounds in southern Europe and Africa. Yet, "how many of them eventually arrive at their destination is a gamble", says Professor Dr. Hartmut Vogtmann, president of the foundation EuroNatur, the European Nature Heritage Fund. "Especially the Adriatic Flyway is a dangerous area for migratory birds", EuroNatur reveals in an extensive analysis about the present situation of bird hunting on the Balkans. The publication of the report is part of the campaign "Crime scene Adriatic - Bird Hunting on the Balkans", which focuses on informing the public about this big issue. "Only by international pressure we will be able to improve the situation for migratory birds in the countries along the Adriatic Flyway", claims Mr. Vogtmann.

The results of this report account for the urgent need of action. "Bird hunters ambush the birds, making the Eastern Adriatic coast a death trap for over two million birds every year", says EuroNatur project manager and ornithologist Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby, who was significantly involved in editing the paper. Every year, each hunter brings down at least ten birds, and this is only the tip of the iceberg, added by an unknown number of birds killed by mostly Italian hunting tourists and a large number of illegal bird hunters.

Not only rare waders and waterfowl such as the common snipe, cranes and spoonbills count among the species shot, but also species typical for our cultural landscape such as the field lark, the hoopoe and the quail.
"Those who think this happens far away, are wrong", warns Martin Schneider-Jacoby, "because when the birds fall out of the sky to their deaths the Adriatic, it will become very silent on our fields.”

Serbia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina offer a gloomy picture: Though these states strive for a membership in the EU, their hunting laws are miles away from European standards: extremely long hunting periods of seven months and more are usual, and neither breeding periods nor the return to breeding sites are a taboo. Only Slovenia offers a slight hint of hope; since its accession to the EU, it has made a considerable progress, being the only state along the Adriatic Flyway that consistently implements the EU-regulations of bird preservation, banning bird hunting as of January 15. This ban must urgently be imposed on the other states as well, demands EuroNatur. "As long as the flyways are not safe, even the most extensive protection measures in the breeding areas are doomed to fail in the long run", says Schneider-Jacoby.

Background Information:

• EuroNatur-Report about Bird Hunting on the Balkans: “Bird Hunting along the Adriatic Flyway - An Assessment of Bird Hunting in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia and Serbia”,
  PDF (219 kb)

Already 20 years ago, EuroNatur, in cooperation with local nature conservationists and with the help of international bird watchers, started collecting data about bird hunting in ample field studies on the Balkans, added by a comprehensive survey of nature conservationist partners about the details of bird hunting in the respective states along the Adriatic Flyway (Albania, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia) between 2006 and 2008. The evaluation of these data is the basis for an analysis and assessment of the present bird-hunting situation on the Balkans.

• More about the EuroNatur-Campaign "Crime Scene Adriatic Coast - Bird hunting on the Balkans"
• International Conference: The preservation of migratory birds along the Adriatic Flyway is the central topic of a conference held by EuroNatur and various partners from April 14-17 2009 in Ulcinj, Montenegro. More...
  

Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby, bird expert and EuroNatur project manager will be pleased to assist you with further information, photo material and interviews.

EuroNatur
Konstanzer Straße 22
78315 Radolfzell
Phone: + 49 (0)7732 - 92 72 10
Fax: +49 (0)7732 - 92 72 22
E-Mail: info@euronatur.org
www.euronatur.org
Contact: Dr. Martin Schneider-Jacoby
Press contact: Katharina Grund

Radolfzell, Germany. EuroNatur, Youth Center Livno and WWF, applaud the new designation of Livansko polje, the largest karst plain in Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Eastern Europe, as a wetland of international importance, under the International Ramsar Convention.

The 45,868 hectare Livanjsko Polje, near the southwestern town of Livno in Bosnia and Herzegovina, contains an impressive network of surface and underground water bodies, including rivers, springs, sinkholes, lakes and oxbow lakes.

It is the largest wetland of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with important populations of rare birds and significant communities including corn crake, Montagu’s harrier, lesser spotted eagle, redshank, snipe and great bittern.

Livanjsko Polje vegetation is a very special mix of northern European grasslands and forest as well as Mediterranean plants, while large areas are covered with oak, ash and alder forest important to conservation.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina’s karst areas are among the best preserved in Europe but they are still unprotected and some are directly threatened by water extraction and unsustainable use of the resources. The protection of Livanjsko Polje is not only vital for maintaining its unique natural assets but will also make all the difference between short term and perpetual use of the area’s resources to benefit local people.” said Francesca Antonelli, Head of the Freshwater programme at WWF Mediterranean.

The riches of Livanjsko Polje is threatened by unappropriate land use and water management. New planned threats include flood areas being dried out, with water being collected and kept in reservoirs or transferred through impervious canals or tunnels eventually putting in peril traditional economic activities, mostly based on livestock and cheese and which currently sustain the livelihood of some 600 families.

Livanjski Sir, the cheese from the site, is the most famous product and a good reason to preserve the temperated grassland. The traditional land-use is important as the Dalmatian coast in Croatia receives its drinking water from the upper Cetina basin with Livanjsko Polje as the key wetland.

EuroNatur, Youth Center Livno and WWF fully support the decision by the Bosnian government to designate Livanjsko Polje under the International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. This new site will be added to the two sites already protected by the Convention in the country . The international recognition gained through Ramsar nomination is giving a chance to the long term preservation and sustainable use of the goods and services provided by this unique ecosystem.

“EuroNatur together with YCL and WWF is happy that the government ensures that the “wise use of wetlands ” principle of Ramsar is taken for the further development of Livanjsko Polje, e.g. in the spatial planning process. We also recommend that Livanjsko Polje will be developed as an unqiue part of the national protected area system”, added Martin Schneider-Jacoby from EuroNatur.

Download press release (pdf 82 kb)


Further information:
EuroNatur
Phone: 0049 - 7732 - 92 72 21
Fax: 0049 - 7732 - 92 72 22
E-Mail: martin.schneider-jacoby@euronatur.org
www.euronatur.org
Contact: Martin Schneider-Jacoby



END NOTES:

• A karst polje (translates as plain or field) is a typical flat karstic area created by the solution of limestone and filled with unpermeable sedimentary deposits and often flooded in rainy seasons.

• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands — signed in 1971 in the city of Ramsar, Iran — is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are currently 146 Contracting Parties to the Convention, with 1,458 wetland sites, totalling over 125.4 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

• Member countries of the Ramsar treaty are obliged to: manage all wetlands in a sustainable manner, promoting the wise use of all wetlands within their territory; consult with other Parties about the implementation of the Convention, especially with regard to trans-frontier wetlands, shared water systems, shared species, and development; and designate wetlands that meet the criteria for inclusion in the List of Wetlands of International Importance for conservation.

• Satellite pictures, paintings, photos of landscapes and animals as well as topographic and historic maps of the Livanjsko Polje are displayed in the Gorica Museum of the Franciscan Monastery in Livno.

Press release from 30 June 2008

Radolfzell. A spirit of optimism pervades EuroNatur. This internal development is now also shown to the public and the foundation is presented in a new appearance, e.g. via a new web presence or a new logo which concentrates completely on the name of the foundation. “The name says it all at EuroNatur. Like hardly any other organisation, our projects focus upon nature conservation in Europe”, says Prof. Dr. Hartmut Vogtmann, president of EuroNatur.

For more than 20 years, EuroNatur has actively promoted nature conservation in Europe. Since the beginning of 2008, Prof. Vogtmann, former president of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, has led EuroNatur, and several changes have been introduced. “EuroNatur has already achieved a lot for the conservation of the nature in Europe. With funds of more than EUR 40 million, we have contributed to the establishment of protected areas in more than 15 European countries so far. But still species become extinct. To stop this development, we have set our objectives and tasks more clearly. Thus, we have become more powerful”, says Vogtmann. “An essential part of our work is to connect people and nature. This is the only way that our efforts to protect wild animals and their habitats in Europe can be successful in the long-term”, he continues. Therefore, EuroNatur creates an international network of scientists, environmentalists, farmers, politicians and businessmen. The main emphasis is put on the Balkans, where political changes give a unique opportunity to set the course for nature protection.


Background information about EuroNatur:
EuroNatur was founded in 1987, the European Year of the Environment, by the Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND), the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), and the German Environmental Aid (DUH) as a non-profit organisation under civil law. A voluntary presiding committee together with Gabriel Schwader, executive director, and Lutz Ribbe, head of the office for nature conservation policies, lead the foundation. EuroNatur has 19 salaried employees. As several work part-time, this equates 15 full-time positions. The headquarters are situated in Radolfzell; the office for nature conservation policies is located in Rheinbach near Bonn.
The organisation EuroNatur-Service-GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EuroNatur and is situated in Radolfzell, too. It provides dispatch and other services, publishes the magazine euronatur and has a mail-order calendar and book store.

Further information:
EuroNatur
Phone: 0049 - 7732 - 92 72 10
Fax: 0049 - 7732 - 92 72 22
E-Mail: katharina.grund@euronatur.org
www.euronatur.org
Contact: Gabriel Schwaderer
Public relations: Katharina Grund