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.
COP5 - Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention
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| *COP5 serves also as a Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological and Landscape Diversity the Protocol on Sustainable Forest Management, the Protocol on Sustainable Tourism. |
The Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP5) convened high level representatives from the seven Parties to the Carpathian Convention together with many stakeholders from the region, as well as from the European and international levels.
This event is relevant for having shaped the way towards further strengthening sustainable development of the Carpathian region while ensuring the protection of biological, landscape and cultural diversity.
As a special highlight, the COP5 adopted the new Protocol on Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development to the Carpathian Convention. Moreover, the Carpathian Convention’s action on climate change was enhanced by the adoption of the new Article 12bis “Climate Change”. As part of the Ministerial segment of the meeting (12 October), a high-level panel discussion on the future of the Carpathian took place.
The COP5 also served as the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biological and Landscape Diversity, the Protocol on Sustainable Forest Management and the Protocol on Sustainable Tourism.