The Carpathians are one of Europe's largest mountain ranges, and a unique and natural treasure of great beauty and ecological value. But they are also home to some 16-18 million people who live and work in communities across the region.
ANPED believes that for the Carpathian Convention to have a real and lasting impact, people from those communities must be part of the activities to protect and promote the Carpathian mountains, and their cultures and ecosystems.
If the Carpathian Convention engages effectively with local people and stakeholders it is more likely to achieve success by:
- Increasing its credibility and relevance
- Securing the support of key groups, sectors and communities
- Building trust between local people and decision-makers at all levels
| Background to the Carpathian Mountains and Convention |
The Carpathian region is rich in both wildlife and culture. It is Europe's greatest reserve of virgin forest, and it serves as a refuge for brown bears, wolves, bison, lynx, eagles and some 200 unique plants. It also provides some of the continent's cleanest streas and supplies of drinking water.
But the Carpathians are not an isolated wilderness untouched by human activity. In the rural communities people have adapted successfully to their mountain environment over the centuries. There is enough room for both wildlife and people here - as long as effective measures are taken to preserve the region's unique natural heritage. Because the region faces many changes and challenges - the transition to a market economy, a developing civil society and dynamic economic development. This brings many threats - unplanned development, mass tourism developments, over-exploited natural resources, unemployment and poverty, pollution, deforestation, and hunting.
In 2003, as part of efforts to protect the Carpathian's mountains the region's governments joined together to adopt the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians. The governments of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine agreed to work together and the United Nations Environment Programme supported the process of developing the Convention, and now contributes a strong role as its Interim Secretariat, based in Vienna, Austria.
The Carpathian Convention seeks to work by acting as:
- A transnational framework for cooperation and multi-sectoral policy and coordination
- A platform for joint strategies for sustainable development
- A forum for dialogue between all stakeholders
| ANPED's Role and Current Activities |
The aims of the ANPED Carpathian Working Group are to:
- support and promote public participation in the implementation of the Carpathian Convention. For actions to have a real and lasting impact, stakeholders and people from the Carpathian communities must be part of the activities to protect and promote the Carpathian mountains, and their cultures and ecosystems.
- support practical projects demonstrating and implementing sustainable development. These projects should act as models to show how the Convention can be a driving force for sustainable development for the Carpathian region.
- work for the inclusion of Sustinable Production And Consumption principles into its actions; such as the links between culture and heritage and the preservation and promotion of sustainable lifestyles and safeguarding the Carpathian landscape and biodiversity.
The Carpathian Working Group has two main focus areas of work:
Public Participation and
Carpathian Heritage.
For Publication Participation ANPED works with communities and local stakeholders, to ensure that their views and priorities are reflected in the official decision-making processes of the Convention.
For Carpathian Heritage ANPED is currently co-ordinating a project to identify, protect and promote the unique heritage of the region. The tasks completed were to:
- Carry out regional consultations on this topic in the Carpathian countries
- Clarify the linkages between safeguarding biodiversity, Carpathian heritge and sustainable development
- Carry out an investigation of the status of experts, local materials and knowledge on the cultural heritage of the Carpathians
- Prepare a summary plan for the establishment of a ‘Carpathian Heritage Inventory’
- Prepare recommendations for a strategy and programme of practical activities to support Carpathian Heritage
This work was carried out as part of the activities of the Carpathian Convention’s Working Group of Cultural Heritage and Traditional Knowledge. The results, materials and recommendations from this process were presented at the Second Conference of Parties for the Carpathian Convention, held 17-19th June, in Bucharest, Romania.
The ANPED Carpathian Working Group’s activities at the COP2 Meeting included:
- a short Formal Contribution during the official meeting - presenting our work, recommendations and proposed programe of activities. These were supported and agreed by the Parties
- a Side-event to present our work delievered by the project partners. The aim was to stimulate the debate on some key points and highlight some future key issues
- an exhibition on Carpathian Heritage – this was to present our work and the topic in an attractive and informative way.
ANPED is now developing a draft public participation strategy so that outreach and public participation activities can become a stronger part of the operations of the Convention. It is also developing the next stage of activities for the Carpathian Heritage Inventory.
The overall aim is to assist the Carpathian governments and UNEP to develop a work programme that better reflects local and regional issues. With this type of grassroots involvement and support the implementation of the Convention will be more realistic, relevant and effective in the region.
| ANPED Carpathian Working Group Materials from the COP2 Meeting |
Final Papers
- ANPED Final Recommendations for Public Participation for the COP2 Meeting
- ANPED Final Report and Recommendations for Carpathian Heritage for the COP Meeting
- Invitation for ANPED Side-event at the Carpathian Convention COP2 Meeting
National Reports on Carpathian Heritage (June 2008)
- Hungarian Report Carpathian Heritage Consultations
- Poland Report Carpathian Heritage Consultations
- Romanian Report on Carpathian Heritage (parts 1-3)
- Serbian Report on Carpathian Heritage Consultations (parts 1-3)
- Slovak Report on Carpathian Heritage Consultations
- Ukraine Report on Carpathian Heritage Consultations
There is no separate Czech National Report. The Czech partners carried out research, investigation and analysis of the other country reports and then seven participants attended a summary meeting in Prague, Czech Republic on the 14th March to prepare overall final summary results. This formed the basis of the ANPED Final Report and Recommendations for Carpathian Heritage for the COP2 Meeting.
The ANPED Carpathian Working Group team, in front of the exhibition on Carpathian Heritage at the COP2 Meeting
17-19 June 2008, Bucharest, Romania.
Funding for this stage of ANPED’s work was received from UNEP ISCC and the International Visegrad Fund.
| Start of New Project for Practical Support of Sustainable Tourism in the Carpathian Region |
Sustainable tourism in the Polish Carpathians - Consultation Seminars
The next practical stage of the Project „Support for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Polish Carpathian Region” in which ANPED is a partner is underway.
A series of six consultation seminars have been conducted in three Polish Carpathian provinces : Małopolskie, Podkarpackie, and Śląskie from 26th October to 24th November 2009. The seminars brought together stakeholders from the Carpathian communities : representatives of local self-governments, NGOs, tourism agencies, culture centres, forestry and protected area authorities, and other groups active in the region. The seminars aimed at spreading knowledge and awareness on such topics as the Carpathian Convention, sustainable tourism practices in mountains and guidelines on developing sustainable tourism at the local scale.
An important objective and added value will also be networking and the exchange of ideas on sustainable tourism among the participants. The next stage of the project will focus upon building local partnerships and strategies working towards common goals : the protection of natural and cultural heritage of the Polish Carpathians, and fostering sustainable tourism as a viable and economic activity for the local communities. More information is available (in Polish) at www.ekopsychologia.com
The seminars are part of the project entitled „Support for Sustainable Tourism Development in the Carpathian Region” of which UNEP/GRID-Warsaw is the Lead Partner and the two collaborating partners are the Eko-Psychology Society and ANPED.
The Project is carried out thanks to financial support from the governments of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, as well as through funds from the state budget of the Republic of Poland provided within the Non-Governmental Organisation Fund.
| ANPED's Previous Work for the Carpathian Convention |
From the period 2004 to 2007 ANPED coordinated a programme of consultations and roundtable events which took place in all of the seven Carpathian countries. The project activities focused on stakeholder events in the region, led by ANPED's members and partners - 'Our Home' Association and Green Dossier in Ukraine; Polish Green Net in Poland; UNESCO ProNatura and 'Pro Carpathian Convention' Association in Romania; SOSNA in Slovakia; CEEWEB in Hungary; Serbian Young Researchers in Serbia and the Institute of Environmental Policy in the Czech Republic. These events brought together a broad cross-section of Carpathian stakeholders to identify their concerns and priorities for the implementation of the Convention.
The coordinating organisations also undertook investigations into the level of information known about the Convention, lobbied for its ratification, sought to stimulate interest and practical activities within each country, and established liaison with the official Convention focal points, to consult on future plans for the Convention's implementation.
The results and recommendations from the consultation process formed part of ANPED's contribution at the first Conference of Parties (COP) meeting. ANPED assisted and supported stakeholders and representatives from the seven countries to participate at the COP meeting and officially present their concerns and proposals there. ANPED also organised a side-event which highlighted and celebrated the unique cultural and environmental heritage of the Carpathians.
Some photos of the ANPED Working Group activities:
Carpathian Celebration Dance
| Status of the Carpathian Convention |
The Carpathian Convention passed into force on 4 January 2006, and has now been ratified by all seven Parties. The first Conference of Parties meeting took place in December 2006 in Kyiv, Ukraine and the second Conference of Parties took place in Bucharest, Romania in June 2008. The third Conference of Parties is planned for Slovakia in 2011. The
Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention (ISCC) is hosted by United Nations Environment Programme, with an office and staff in Vienna. The Work Programme of the Convention is on-going but the Conference of Parties is the place where official decisions of the Convention can be formally agreed.
[Official Decisions and Work Programme of the Carpathian Convention agreed at the COP2 Meeting].
| Stage One of Consultations 2004-2007 |
- Strengthening Public Participation in the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention - Report from the Stakeholder Meeting in the Czech Republic, 6 April 2006. [Participants]
- Strengthening Public Participation in the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention - Report from the Stakeholder Meeting in Serbia and Montenegro, 7 March 2006.
- The Carpathian Convention and its Role in the Life of Maniava village - Report from the Round Table Meeting in Maniava, Ukraine, 13 December 2005. [Recommendations]
- Strengthening Public Participation in the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention - Report from the Stakeholder Meeting in Hungary, 5 December 2005.
- Strengthening Public Participation in the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention - Meeting in Rzeszow, Poland, 21 November 2005.
- Strengthening Public Participation in the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention - Report from the Stakeholder Meeting in Krakow, Poland, 21 October 2005. [Agenda and Participants]
- Strengthening Public Participation in the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention - Report from the Stakeholder Meeting in Ukraine, 2 September 2005. [Recommendations]
- Sustainable Development in the Carpathians: From Local Needs to International Rules - Report from the Round Table Meeting in Sheshory, Ukraine, 13 July 2005.
