[This post is re-posted from the Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG) webpage, hosted by Conservation Corridor. See the original post here.]
The report from the Connectivity Conservation Workshop: Guiding the Carpathian Region has now been released. It details the outcomes of discussions among over 50 scientists, conservation experts, natural resource managers, and policymakers from 13 countries that met in Poiana Brasov, Romania from 4-6 November 2019.
This first-ever workshop was convened under the leadership of the BearConnect Project Research Consortium, the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, and the IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group (CCSG). It brought together diverse stakeholders from across the Carpathians with the objective of applying the IUCN Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity through Ecological Networks and Corridors to better inform decisions and actions to protect ecological connectivity in Romania and the wider region. The workshop focused on the ecological network of protected areas in Romania known as the “green circulatory system of the Carpathians”.
Located in the southern part of the range, the network ensures connectivity among core areas including Bucegi Natural Park, the Piatra Craiului National Park, and the Natura 2000 site “Bucegi ROSCI0013”. Reinforced by high-quality field data and results from spatial, genetic, and ecological analyses, specific sets of recommendations were produced for the design, governance, and management of three focal ecological corridors. The draft, advance outcomes of this workshop were communicated to the Romanian Academy of Sciences in the intervening months. It is to be noted that the Ministry of Environment has now subsequently established the Romanian National Connectivity Committee to include multiple stakeholders from research, academia, NGOs, public institutions, and government ministries and agencies charged with environmental protection.
The partners look forward to continuing collaboration with the new committee and across the Carpathian region, and conducting similar workshops around the world to ensure delivery of consistent connectivity practices effectively tailored to specific contexts.
View Workshop Report
