Under the umbrella of the ECONNECT project, during three years, 16 international partners worked towards extending and protecting the Alpine ecological network. The results of their work were presented in Berchtesgaden, Germany, from 26th to 28th September 2011.

From 20th to 23rd September 2010 an international exchange meeting between experts on ecological connectivity from the Alps and the Carpathians was held in Mikulov (CZ). This meeting was organised in the frame of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in 2008 between the Convention on biological diversity (CBD), the Alpine and the Carpathian Convention.

Carpathian protected areas at the Danilo Re Trophy; a biosphere reserve spanning both sides of the Ukrainian-Romanian border, and a new publication.

Representatives of the Alpine protected areas of 8 countries gathered together at the end of October for the General Assembly of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas (ALPARC). The thematic conference had as its title “Wilderness and biodiversity: can we leave the natural world to its own devices?” For the first time this event was hosted by the Swiss National Park.

A meeting for discussing the suite of the cooperation between the Alpine and Carpathian protected areas was organized in Berlin, 4th December 2008. Our colleagues from the Carpathians (Mr. Mircea Verghelet, CNPA – Carpathian Network of Protected Areas – Steering Committee chair and Mr. Ján Kadlečík, responsible of the CWI – Carpathian Wetland Initiative) met the German State Secretary for Environment Mr. Michael Müller.

The Mercantour National Park is celebrating its 30th birthday but also over 20 years of cross-border cooperation with its Italian neighbour, the Alpi Marittime Nature Park. These two parks launched in 2007 the most ambitious survey of flora and fauna ever undertaken in Europe