Did you know that ...
... one-third of all European vascular plant species can be found in the Carpathians? That means almost 4,000 plant species, and 481 of them are found only in the Carpathians!
… Gerlachovsky Peak (2,655 m altitude) in the High Tatras in Slovak Republic is the highest peak of the Carpathians?
… the European Union’s largest populations of brown bears, wolves, lynx, European bisons and imperial eagles (globally threatened species) are found in the Carpathians?
… 36 national parks, 51 nature parks and protected landscape areas, 19 biosphere reserves and 200 other protected areas are member of the Carpathian Network of Protected areas
… there are 36 registered UNESCO World Heritage sites and 49 important pilgrimage destinations in the Carpathian area?
… the number of hotels in the Carpathians has increased by nearly 60% in the last ten years?
… the Carpathians contain the continent's largest remaining natural mountain beech and beech/coniferous forest ecosystems and the largest area of pristine forest in Europe (outside Russia)?
... the Carpathians are the largest, most twisted and fragmented mountain chain in Europe? They are Europe’s largest mountains by area.
… in the 1970’s, about 1,000,000 people worked in the mining sector in the Carpathians? Today, the number of employees in this sector is about 340,000.
… the Carpathians were put on the WWF ‘Global 200’ list of major ecoregions in need of biodiversity and habitat conservation?
… more than half of the Carpathians are covered by forests? The Carpathian forests are a vital link between the forests of the north and those of the west and south-west of Europe.
WG Forests
9th Meeting of the Working Group on Sustainable Forest Management (WG Forest)
9th Meeting of the Carpathian Convention Working Group on Sustainable Forest Management (WG Forest) will be held online on 16 May 2023. Please save the date in your busy schedules!
The meeting will focus on the implementation of the WG Forest Work Plan 2023-2026, more specifically on:
- Finalization of the inventory of virgin forests, the results of which will be sent to the CCIC for consideration and submission to the COP7.
- Discussion on the definition and criteria of the natural forests in the Carpathians, the results of which will be sent to the CCIC for consideration.
- Update and presentation of the draft Assessment of the impacts of climate change on the Carpathian forests and their ecosystem services, with the view to present the finalized Assessment at the COP7.
- Support to Ukraine in the framework of the Carpathian Convention.
Please see the meeting report of the 8th WG Forest meeting that was held in October 2022 in Levice, Slovakia, and attached the WG Forest Work Plan 2023 – 2026 implementing the Forest Protocol and its Strategic Action Plan, that was agreed based on the meeting discussions.
Further to the agreed next steps (see the meeting report) on the extension of the Inventory of the virgin forest in the Carpathian to other degrees of naturalness, particularly natural forests, the Secretariat, in consultations with Slovakia – Chair of the WG Forest, prepared a background document for discussion at the upcoming meeting on definitions and criteria on natural forests in the Carpathians.
Bearing in mind that climate change is one of the priority topic for the WG Forest, as well that the Carpathian Convention COP6 encouraged strengthening cooperation between WG Forest and WG Climate Change, for facilitating the implementation of Article 14 of the Forest Protocol and developing the Assessment of the impacts of climate change on the Carpathian forests and their ecosystem services, the Members and Observers of the WG Climate Change are warmly welcome to join the online meeting.
Detailed draft Agenda of the 9th WG Forest meeting, together with a registration link, will follow shortly.
