... 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.
The last meeting of the Carpathian Convention Working Group on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (WG SARD) took place during the EUROMONTANA XI European Mountain Convention in Cultural House Vatra Dornei, Romania.
Since the WG SARD was for the first time after the adoption of the Protocol on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (Lillafüred 2017), discussions held in Vatra Dornei was crucial for preparation and prioritization of strategic actions for implementation of the SARD Protocol, as requested by the COP5. Based on the discussion, the WG SARD proposed a table linking the Articles of the SARD Protocol to proposed topic/activities for implementation.
The Meeting Report and the table - Towards implementation of the SARD Protocol – are available. Please kindly note that the table is a working document.
All the presentation delivered at the WG SARD meeting are available below: