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European WildernessJournal
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European Wilderness Journal
Dear Friends o the wild!
Inthe past 15 years a lot has been achieved or Europes wilderness. heseachievements by various organisations were partially acknowledged bythe 10th World Wilderness Congress, the WILD10 in Salamanca, Spain.
Our visionSince we need to go urther or uture generations! he launch o the new
Vision or a Wilder Europe inspired us to set up the European Wilderness
Society, which is a new entity that strives or more and better protection o
wilderness in Europe.
Our objectives Identiying and assisting in the management and lobbying or existing
wilderness areas in Europe
Increase the total designated wilderness area in order to balance our hu-
man ootprint on the continent Inspire Europeans to care or our wild places across the continent
Our missionAs its name implies, the new entity ocuses its eorts on wilderness, on
Europe and on joint actions involving the public.
We are an inclusive entity, which will be supported by individuals, gov-
ernment, proit and non-proit organisations. Many are already part o the
European Wilderness Society but more are welcome to join and take part in
our mission. Like a wast network o partners, scientists, researchers, nature
conservationists, media experts, tourism specialists and management teams.
Join usOur new society will also ocus on the ambitious target o designating 5% o
Europes land territory as wilderness.
he engaged and very experienced team behind the European Wilderness
Society works ambitiously to reach this goal. But together with you we can
achieve even more! In case you are keen to publish anything, would like to
comment on our European Wilderness Society Web-page or would like ur-
ther inormation concerning the European Wilderness please let us know!
Welcome to the European Wilderness Society!
Te future of wildernessin Europe
Follow, contact and talk to usI you are interested in being notiied about European Wilder-
ness you can register or our Wilderness Newsletter or ollow
us on Facebook, and witter, or join our open Linkedin group!Our website is a one-stop-shop or inormation about the
European Wilderness.
www.wilderness-society.org
Zoltn Kun, Chairman | Max A.E. Rossberg, Deputy Chairman | Vlado Vanura, Director Wilderness Development
Letter to the Editors
Wilderness is nowhere as important as it is in Europe, the
worlds most densely populated continent. The good news isthat, in the last 20 years, great and critical strides have oc-
curred to help raise awareness of and protect wild naturebut
this work has really only just begun. The European Wilderness
Society is the force needed to continue and build this momen-
tum. We all need to join, assist, and promote this important
initiative.
Vance G Martin,
President: The WILD Foundation, World Wilderness Congress
he newborn EWS does a great job. Your homepage is
very attractive and well-made. Congratulations.Bernhard Kohler
WWF Austria
This is a very good initiative to save the population of wolves
especially in Europe where hunting is a serious problem!
Technical Specialist
UNESCO MAB Uganda
his a great opportunity or key core wilderness and wildlie
areas. Excellent stu.
Jim O.DonnellAround the world in 80 Years
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Save the date
None of Natures landscapes areugly so long as they are wild.John Muir, Our National Parks, (1901),
Chapter 1, page 4.
Wilderness icker
Threat of winter tourism in the Tatra National ParkIconic protected areas such as the atra National Park, Slovakia and the Rila
National Park o Bulgaria are under threat by extractive industry and unsus-
tainable tourism development. Despite them having been recognised as IUCN
Category II Areas and their inclusion in the EU Natura 2000 system, investors
are suggesting massive ski lit developments in both areas.
FebruaryInternational Congress on Rural Tourism of Navarre
Kingdom
20. - 21. February 2014, Pamplona, Spain
August
The 7th International Conference on Monitoring andManagement of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas
20.-23. August 2014, allinn, Estonia
www.tlu.ee/en/mmv7/
October18th Forum 2000 Conference
12.-14. October 2014,
in Prague, Czech Republic
www.orum2000.cz/en/calendar/
NovemberIUCN World Parks Congress
12.-19. November 2014, in Sydney, Australia
www.worldparkscongress.org
National Wilderness Conference
15.-19. October 2014, in Albuquerque, USA
www.wilderness50th.org/conerence
European Natura 2000 Award
Wilderness areas orm an important part o the Natura 2000 system with-
in the European Union. here is an opportunity to reward best practices o
protecting wilderness through nominating your area or the Natura 2000
Award at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/awards/#
However our eorts should not stop here! Our team is currently working
on drating a new European Wilderness Convention that will recognise theimportance o wilderness in halting biodiversity loss and in delivering pub-
lic beneits.
Wilderness and forest
Forests are important to the ecosystem, not only or conservingEuropes biodiversity but also to protect the last ragment o extreme-
ly rare wilderness. Forests are also a undamental element o Natura
2000. Nearly 50% o Natura 2000 habitats are orests and around 23%
o all EU orests are in Natura 2000 sites! So i European orests are
among the main repositories o European biodiversity then conse-
quently (whether we like it or not) wilderness is also by deinition an
extremely important reservoir o European biodiversity. Particularly,
wilderness orest is the kind o biodiversity reservoir that people have
already been longing or so many years.
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Importance of wilderness
Author: Allan Wattson US Forestry Service Member of NAWPA
Te general public ofen wonders why we researchers and increasingly the politicians
are so supportive o the wilderness. Here are just some o the vital role the wilderness
plays in dealing with challenges o industrial development.
Thegeneral public oten wonders whywe researchers and increasinglythe politicians are so supportive o the wilder-
ness. Here are just some o the vital role the
wilderness plays in dealing with challenges o
industrial development.
Conserving BiodiversityProtected areas are essential or conser-
vation. In a changing climate, they are sae
havens or plants and animals to reproduce
despite changing conditions.
Protecting Ecosystem ServicesWilderness and protected areas protect,
restore and provide essential ecological, so-
cial and economic services, like clean water;
weather, temperature and humidity regula-
tion; soil conservation; and genetic reservoirs
that may lead to the development o improved
crops, new medicines and other products vital
to human communities.
Connecting Landscapeshe unpredictable impact o climate change
may aect the ability o ecosystems and spe-cies to adapt to changing environmental con-
ditions either in-situ or via migration to more
suitable habitats. Protected area networks are
one o the most eective approaches or sup-
porting ecosystem adaptation. Connecting
terrestrial and reshwater habitats across var-
ied landscapes enables plants and animals to
shit ranges and thrive in new locations.
Capturing and Storing CarbonProtected areas store vast amounts o car-
bon in ecosystems such as boreal and tem-perate orests, coastal areas, oceans, and grass
lands. hese natural systems help reduce the
levels o greenhouse gases that cause global
warming through natural biological processes
that draw carbon dioxide out o the atmos-
phere.
Building Knowledge and Under-standing
Wilderness in particular, oers unique op-
portunities or research on climate change,
because these areas are among those least
modiied by human inluence. Applied sci-ence and research in protected areas can im-
prove our understanding o ecosystems and
species response to climate change, and im-
prove inormation or planning and manage-
ment to help communities adapt.
Inspiring PeopleInspiring natural surroundings provide the
perectsetting or tuning into nature, learn-
ing about it, appreciating it, respecting it and
pledging to protect it. Managers can serve as
conveners, acilitators, and leaders who inspireand engage their communities in partner-
ship or conservation and learning promote
resource stewardship to ensure a sustainable
uture.
Source:North American Protected areas as naturalsolutions for climate Change (2012), North American
Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperationfor Wilderness and Protected Area Conservation(NAWPA)
Is wilderness so
important for thechallenges of modern
days society?
Yes!
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WILD 10Salamanca
Spain
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European Wilderness Society:
Mr. Meyer, the European Wilderness Soci-
ety has been ounded to promote the con-
cept o Wilderness in Europe. Most o these
wilderness areas are in less developed areas
with little tourism. As you have been very
active in identiying tourism trends, what
role could wilderness play in the uture
when it comes to alternatives to the main-stream tourism concepts?
Michael Meyer:
Wilderness areas already play a crucial role
or people. hese areas provide ecosystem
services such as clean water, clean air, or-
est products (wood, herbs, game) etc. On
top o this main unction, these areas are
important or recreation and educational
purposes.
In the uture this role will be even more
important. People tend to move to cities,
rural areas are abandoned. hat means
they move urther away in distance and
in knowledge rom what nature actually
is. In addition, our world moves aster in
comparison to 50 or 100 years ago. People
are stressed rom their jobs and rom the
daily pressures. In wilderness they can slowdown and learn about nature and them-
selves.
European Wilderness Society:
What are the key requirements or wil-
derness areas in attracting tourists?
Michael Meyer:
Wilderness areas need to be authentic
and as unspoiled as possible. People living
in and around wilderness areas have to be
proud in being there and invite tourists to
learn about their daily living.
European Wilderness Society:
What are the key success actors when
developing a tourism strategy incorporat-
ing wilderness as its key element?
Michael Meyer:
People consider wilderness areas as areas
without any human inluence. hey think
no people live there. For most o the wil-
derness areas in Europe this is certainly
not true. hereore, one o the key success
actors or a tourism strategy is the owner-
ship by local people or designing and im-
plementing such a strategy. Wilderness isdependent on people and vice et versa. he
second key element is the ull support o all
governmental bodies involved in managing
a wilderness area, no matter i at national,
province, district or community levels.
European Wilderness Society:
What do you suggest to the European
Wilderness Society (EWS) when it comes
to incorporating tourism in its portolio?
Michael Meyer:
he EWS could be HE platorm orpromoting sustainable tourism in wilder-
ness areas in Europe. It should provide all
the existing tools and methodologies avail-
able to make sustainable tourism a success
together with the tourism business sector,
governments, NGOs and science.
Interview with
Michael Meyer
Interview: Max A.E. Rossberg
Michael Meyer is the Project Manager or the World ourism Organization (UNWO)
based in Germany. Michael Meyer started his career as a consultant on management o
tourism acilities, working about 15 years on quality assessment and training o staff.
In 1999 he became a member of the board of EcologicalTourism in Europe (ETE) to work on the topic of sustainable
tourism development in and around protected areas fore-most within Central and East Europe. Since 2006 he is alsoworking for the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
giving advice to member states on sustainable tourism plan-ning and biodiversity-based tourism product development.
He is a member of the roster of experts of the Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD) and co-author of the Interna-
tional Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Developmentof the CBD. His specialties are coaching of tourism planning
processes, capacity-building of local communities and entre-preneurs and sustainable tourism product development.
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Oneo the outcomes o the conerence was something that hasthe boring title o Resolution 17. What does this numberreally mean?
Milestone Resolutionhis is a resolution which calls or improving the legal protection o
wilderness through a European Wilderness Convention.he European
Parliament passed a resolution on wilderness in February 2009, some o
the recommendations having been realised through: the development o a deinition o wilderness
the development o guidelines on wilderness management in the
Natura 2000 network
and a wilderness register that documents and maps wilderness in a
subset o countries in Europe
Finding wildernessA review o status and conservation o wild lands throughout Europe,
completed or the Scottish Government, revealed that the word wil-
derness is not oicially included in most o the national protected area
legislation o European countries. However, strictly protected area types
that are ound in the national legislation in most o the European coun-
tries do give rise to areas across Europe that have wilderness character-istics. Some o these areas, like the Swiss National Park in Switzerland
and the Lagodekhi State Nature Reserve in Georgia, have had this strict
protection in place or 100 years or more.
Wild10We commend the Alpine Convention as an example o a supranation-
al agreement between countries that share geographical regions, with
protocols or speciic common actions deined and pursued by the de-
cision-making body o the Convention and through participation o the
signatories to the regular meetings o the Alpine Conerence. We recog-
nise the example o the model law or Biosphere Reserves proposed by
the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program, based on the analysis ovarious examples o existing legal translations o the biosphere reserves
concept into national protected area legislation.
Join Togetherhereore our society along with other organisations calls upon all
European Countries to join together in a European Wilderness Conven-
tion based on a ramework that incorporates the wilderness deinition,
and has a model law or wilderness as a protocol or its protection de-
rived rom existing national legislation or strict protection. We want
to ensure that the ramework includes a commitment on Contracting
Countries to explore the possibility o establishing additional strict wil-
derness reserves in their territories in line with the protocol.And inally we also encourage Contracting Countries to incorporate
their strict wilderness reserves in the European Wilderness Preservation
System.
Call for the Wild in
Legislation
wo of our colleagues are amongthe initiators of the European
Wilderness Convention!
Te 10th World Wilderness Congress also known as WILD10 organised in Salamanca
turned into a major milestone to promote wilderness protection in Europe.
Author: Gaia Angelini, Policy and Project Director LuminaConsult and Zoltan Kun
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TheWildland Research Institute(WRi) at the University o Leeds,UK, is a world leader in wilderness/wild-
land research, and had a prominent role in
WILD10, the 10th World Wilderness Con-
gress last October in Salamanca, Spain. WRi
gave two plenary talks under the congress
heading o Make the World a Wilder Place,
contributed signiicantly to a new drat Vision
or a wilder Europe, contributed to 5 congressresolutions, moderated 6 sessions, and sub-
mitted 10 papers. So it is no surprise that WRi
welcomes the new European Wilderness So-
ciety and others, such as Wild Europe, who
support the ideals o wilderness.
International Wilderness ResearchWRi aims to identiy and develop the re-
quirements, strategies and policies or a tran-
sition to a greater presence o wild landscapes.
In support o this speciic intent WRi has de-
veloped many o the approaches, tools and
methods used in mapping wildness at local to
continental scales and, together with World
Universities Network (WUN) unding, WRi
was the initiator o the International Wilder-ness Research Network (iWRN) to promote
and develop a network o mapping champi-
ons or wilderness throughout Europe.
The Gold StandardWRi also oers a body o knowledge about
sel-willed land, non-intervention manage-
ment and the gold standard or wilderness
(see e.g. Wild or natural the challenges
Europe aces in setting aside wilderness). In-
terests in wildland, wilderness and wilding
are oten interdisciplinary, so the activities o
WRi combine social and natural sciences, aswell as the arts. WRi has had a longstanding
partnership with social and natural scien-
tists at the Aldo Leopold Research Institute,
Missoula, USA, working with tribal and in-
digenous knowledge and helping develop
approaches to mapping wilderness character.
his led recently to a new project about tradi-
tional phenological knowledge, unded by the
US Forest Service.
Interesting Times for Wildernistas
A new step in the development o recognis-ing European wilderness is the WILD10 reso-
lution on establishing a supra-national agree-
ment in all European countries or a European
Wilderness Convention. he proposal is based
on a ramework that incorporates the wilder-
ness deinition and has a model law protocol
or wilderness protection derived rom exist-
ing national legislation. Under that European
wide umbrella, every country can maintain
dierences in its legislation and in its cultural
approach to wilderness and still aord essen-
tial protection to this threatened resource.
Finding Words for WildernessSome European languages dont even have
a speciic word or wilderness. An example o
the need to take a country-speciic approach
is the work o WRi in Scotland. his began
through WRi developing a method to map
wildland within the two Scottish National
Parks. he approach was then adapted by
Scottish Natural Heritage to map wildness
across all o Scotland. he mapping can now
be used in support o long and diicult dis-
cussion and policy making, about the world
amous Scottish wild land, (the Scottish High-lands are visited by people rom all over the
world); about ecosystems services; and about
renewable energy development. For urther
inormation about WRi and its activities see
http://www.wildlandresearch.org
Te Wildland ResearchInstitute (WRi) in EuropeTe general public ofen wonders why we researchers and increasingly the politicians
are so supportive o wilderness. Here are just some o the vital roles which wilderness
can play in dealing with challenges o industrial development.
Author: Mark Fisher, Steve Carver, Alison Parfitt
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Berlin
Vienna
Bratislava
Roma
Budapest
Bucaresti
Sofia
Tirana
Kiev
Warszawa
Bern
Ljubljana
Ankara
TheEuropean Bison (Bison bonasus),
also known as Wisent, is exem-plary as one o the ew herbivore wilderness
species listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. wo
subspecies are recognized, the lowland (Bison
bonasus bonasus - extinct in the wild in 1919)
and the Caucasian (Bison bonasus caucasicus
- extinct in the wild in 1927).
Safegard European Wildernesshe EWS works to saeguard European
wilderness, the continents most undisturbed
areas o nature or uture generation. he
ambition o EWS in this long-term project isto re-establish a viable, sel-sustaining popu-
lation o European bison in the eastern Car-
pathian Mountains in order to revive wilder-
ness values to this area and to oer support to
the local communities. he initiative started
within a Global Environment Facility (GEF)
operation between 1999 and 2006: a World
Bank Project on Biodiversity and Conserva-
tion Management.
Bison Reintroductionhe reintroduction area is situated in the
South o the park, a potential wildernessarea with low human disturbance. he area
(Cracului Valley) is a orested area o around
5000 ha. he European bison has been roam-ing ree in this area since the program started
in the spring o 2012. he releasing area was
evaluated by Polish and Romanian specialists
and was considered as being suitable or ur-
ther European bison reintroduction.
he project includes the transer o six
captive-bred emales rom our samplings on
the British Isles, to provide additional release
stock or the on-going Romanian European
bison population. he transport o the ani-
mals rom the British Isles is planned to take
place during March 2014. he ree bisonrom the Cracului area has already started
to concentrate in the proximity o the enced
area and they are expected to stay there until
spring. hereore i everything will go accord-
ing to plan, the new bison coming rom the
UK will be able to adapt and integrate with
the Cracului bison.
Detailed Work since 2005he reintroduction o Europes largest land
mammal represents one o the most challeng-
ing tasks in the restoration o European wil-
derness heritage. With respect to bison con-servation, the irst achievements were seen in
2005 in Romania: there was the irst quaran-
tine arm or European bison, the irst genetictests, the irst regular system or veterinarian
treatments, the irst bison imports o genetic
basis rom Western Europe, the training or
the sta involved and the establishment o a
Bison Management Centre (acclimatization
enclosure o 180 ha, eeders, acilities, bison
herd dedicated to reintroduction purposes,
with 20 animals).
Scientific Supportechnical studies undertaken by the Ro-
manian Forest Research Institute - ICAS(1994) and he Zoological Society o London
(1998) revealed the suitability o the Vanatori
Neamt Natural Park to support a viable ree
roaming bison population. Further studies by
Polish and Romanian experts conirm these
results. It is worth mentioning that during the
GEF project, the program has beneited rom
the assistance o a team o Polish consult-
ants: ecologist (Pro. Kajetan Perzanowski),
genetician (Pro. Wanda Olech), veterinarian
(Pro. Wojciech Bielecki) and bison breeder
(Mr. Mieczyslaw Hlawiczka) with a huge
experience in bison management.
Bison reintroductionAuthor: Vlado Vancura
Te European Wilderness Society (EWS) is engaged in the reintroduction o the
European Bison to the Vanatori Neamt Nature Park in Romania.
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12
Wilderness in Focus
Hohe auern NP, Austria
Author: Vlado Vancura
Once bearded vultures were
ound in almost every moun-
tain range o southern Europe
and the Alps. In numerous
legends the bearded vulture,
with its glowing red eyes, was
eared and it was believed they
attacked even young children.As a result, they were hunted
and almost eradicated. Te
vultures have been reintro-
duced in the Austrian Alps
through a captive breeding
programme by the Hohe
auern National Park and its
partners.
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Berlin
Vienna
Bratislava
Roma
Budapest
Bucaresti
Sofia
Tirana
Kiev
Warszawa
Bern
Ljubljana
Ankara
Believeit or not, there is stillwilderness in CentralEurope in the most populated and modiied
mountainous area on our globe the Alps. Di-
icult terrain provides an opportunity to sae-
guard the remains o wilderness that cannot be
developed, just a couple hours drive rom big
European cities such as Vienna, Salzburg or
Munich.
Nationalpark Hohe Tauern SalzburgOne such place is certainly the Nationalpark
Hohe auern Salzburg, where the very concep-
tual pro-wilderness approach deined almost
10 000 ha o wilderness in a demanding Euro-
pean wilderness quality standard.
In the middle of AustriaNationalpark Hohe auern Salzburg is the
largest national park in the Alps. A land o con-
trast would describe it shortly. he park is an
area with a wild, primeval landscape and simul-
taneously it has ields cultivated by mountain
armers over several centuries. Wilderness inthe Nationalpark Hohe auern Salzburg in-
cludes typical high Alpine zones and high level
o Alpine biodiversity e.g. Alpine ibex (Capra
ibex), Red deer (Cervus elaphus), Chamois
(Rupicapra rupicapra), Alpine marmot (Mar-
mota marmota), Mountain hare (Lepus timi-
dus), Alpine salamander (Salamandra atra),
bats, birds, lichens, etc.
Research and ExperienceUniqueness o this wilderness area is high-
lighted by ree-running natural processes and
original landscapes, the high Alpine spacious
glaciers, and it is an excellent area or research,
monitoring and experiencing sustainable wil-derness.
European
WILDERNESS SOCIE
TY
WWW.WILDERNE
SS-SOCIETY.ORG
WILDERNESS
TheEuropeanWildernes
sSocietycertifiesthat
NATIONALPARK
HOHETAUERNSALZ
BURG
AUSTRIA
isaEuropeanWildernessPreser
vationSystemPartneracco
rding
tothesocietysindependentwildernessprinci
plesandstandards.
Thisdiplomacertifiesth
attheNationalparkHo
heTauernSalzburg
joinstheEuropeanWil
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9.136haofwildernessr
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Givenat1stFebruary2
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validuntil 31.01.2016
DIPLOMA
ZoltnKun
Chairman
MaxA.E.Rossberg
Deputy Chairman
VladoVanura
DirectorWilderness De
velopment
JOINANDBEPAR
TOFIT
Nationalpark Hohe Tauern
Salzburg
Country: Austria
Area: 80.500 ha
Wilderness Area: 9.136 haWebsite: www.hohetauern.at
Te Nationalpark Hohe auern Salzburg has recieved the
European Wilderness Diploma 2014
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European Wilderness Journal
Nowmore than ever beore. As such, the European Wilder-ness Society works in partnership with tourism compa-nies who share common norms and values concerning wilderness. he
interested vacationer can ind several travel oerings rom our partners
on our special website www.wilderness-travel.org.
Tourism as education tool
ourism in our view is really not an industry: it is the education toolo the 21st century. It creates local jobs in rural, economically depressed
regions, it highlights dierent culinary tastes, it oers income possbib-
lites to local guides and it brings people rom dierent cultures togeth-
er. It also provides the visitor the opportunity to interpret wilderness in
a unique setting.
Where does the idea stem from?When many Europeans think o wilderness, they tend to reer to li-
ons and jaguars that can be seen on saari in Arica. But when we think
about places like Oulanka National Park or Soomaa National Park,
which are two very wild landscapes in Europe, we seldom think about
these destinations in the context o a unique travel experience in a true
European wilderness area. We realised that we needed to open peopleseyes and raise awareness o these stunning places to achive our goal o
saeguarding wilderness in Europe. Our tourism partners thereore play
an important part in the preservation and conservation agenda in these
wilderness areas and not only entertain but also educate the general
public about the most pressing wilderness issues.
Travel2WildOne o our partners in this endeavour is ravel2Wild. ravel2Wild
was ounded by nature-lover travel enthusiasts, who realised that while
Europes wilderness oers so many wonderul holiday opportunities,
people do not associate the words Adventure, Europe and Wilderness
together. At the moment, ravel2Wild oers several tours to eight un-dicovered wilderness areas in Europe. heir plan is to cover all o the
wilderness locations across Europe in the next 3 years as an alternative
to mass tourism.
Making Europes wildernesssexy again
Author: Janos Pereczes, Zoltan Kun
We like to think o tourism as a tool to mobilise people or wilderness and not as an industry
creating nature conservation problems. People are increasingly seeking adventure;
Europes wilderness is in serious need o getting more public support.
We encourage all interested wilder-ness advocates to consider the next
vacation in a European Wilderness- there are many to pick from...
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Thereare very ew wilderness areas in Europe that have al-ready been protected or decades. Yet Berezinsky Bio-sphere Reserve in Belorussia ounded in 1925, covers an area o 85.192
ha with 27.204 ha o wilderness, is deinately one o them! Because o its
biological diversity and unique combinations o natural conditions, thereserve is very important not only or Belarus but also or Europe. here
are our types o ecological systems at the Reserve: orests, bogs, water
reservoirs and meadows.
Tracks of the pastBerezinsky has become a world-amous model o intact primeval na-
ture o orest, marsh, lake and river systems. hanks to the enthusiasm
o many generations o scientists, orest experts and naturists, over 6.000
biological species are ound here, including 187 rare ones listed in the
National Red Data Book o Belarus.
Natural heritage of Europehe reserve is situated at the watershed o the Baltic and the Black
Seas. he reserve is the oldest o all the protected sites that orm the
wilderness heritage o Europe.
Ecology of the futureCovering nearly the whole spectrum o natural complexes o the Re-
serve - orests, mires, meadows, rivers and lakes - the ecological routes
are designed or dierent kinds o visitors and welcome organised
groups accompanied by experienced guides and specialists.
Author: Vlado Vancura
Wilderness in FocusTe Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve in Belorussia is the oldest Europeanpreserved natural territory
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Welcome back home,dear Wolf!
Author: Max A.E. Rossberg
We are responsible to care or animals that belong to the natural biodiversity. Te wol
is part o our natural heritage. Hunting and loss o their habitat as well as several myths
have almost led to their extinction, but they are staging a comeback.
Weall know the story of the big bad wolf in fairy tales likeLittle Red Riding Hood and the gruesome stories aboutwerewolves that even today return to the big screen in movies. But the
mythology also tells the story that the founders of Rome, Romulus and
Remus were raised by wolves. This cultural-historical background re-
veals the often difficult relationship between wolf and mankind leading
to the ambivalent roles of the wolf as a hunter and as a prey.
Hunter or prey ?Previously mistaken as a bloodthirsty man-eater, scientific research
has shown that the wolf is actually a very shy predator, that has primari-
ly deer and rabbit on the menu. But nevertheless, over the past centuries
wolves in Europe have not fared well. Wolves were nearly eradicated in
Central Europe since the beginning of the last century. Hunters made a
living from the bounties paid by villagers, because they hated the wolf
as a competitor threatening their farm animals and the local wildlife.
Enjoys highest level of protectionWolves are the most important and last missing natural predator in
Central Europe. Without the wolf, governments for example need to
spend immense amount of resources managing the deer population.This is why more and more regions and countries are working so hard
on a reintroduction of the wolf across all of Europe. According to the
EU legislation, the wolf is a priority species and therefore enjoys the
highest level of protection in most European countries and a pan Euro-
pean anti hunting code was agreed upon.
Returning to their original homeLegal protection helped to increase the number of wolves quadruple
since the 70s. They are rapidly expanding their territories in Europe
from eastern Europe into France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Austria,
Poland and Italy. Their choice of territory is often a mystery as Hnuti
Duha, who are dealing with the monitoring and conservation of largecarnivores around the Czech-Slovakian border, have observed. For in-
stance, last year, the only one confirmed case was a dead female wolf hit
by car near the town Valask Mezi while in another instance a wolf
was already seen in the Netherlands and at the time wolves have been
observed in urban areas like Berlin, Hanover and Rome.
Chilling howling, but not dangerousIn general however, wolves are so shy that people hardly get to see
them. The only way we are becoming aware of a wolf in our region is the
chilling howling of wolves at night. The image of the wolf as a danger to
man is still ingrained in the collective mind of Europeans even thoughit is scientifically proven to be incorrect. We tend to overreact as can
be seen in the case of the derogation agreement, which permitted 120
wolves to be killed annually in Slovakia. Our colleagues at Hnuti Duha
as well as several in Slovakian and Polish environmental organizations
and hundreds of letters written by citizens of these states has started a
EU Commission investigation into this unnecessary killing of the pro-
tected wolves.
Improve the coexistence between carnivores and humans:In former times, herds consisted of 200 to 300 sheep, watched by at
least 3 or 4 shepherds and their dogs. The dogs wore special spiked col-
lars to fend off possible attacks from wolves. With the extinction of the
large carnivores this skill and knowledge on how to protect the livestockhas been lost. The herds have become larger while the shepherds and
dogs have become less for instance up to 1000 sheep with one shep-
herd and no watch dogs has become common.
Old and new techniquesThere are several projects to reduce the impact of the wolf on the
agricultural sector while allowing it to take its role in the natural food
chain. Instead of ignoring the hunting ban, old methods should be re-
called and used in combination with new technology. This is done by
using simple tools, such as electric fences around sheep pens, by using
Wolf Patrols to monitor populations and guard against illegal hunting
and trapping, and by protecting migration corridors from ongoing frag-mentation through the purchase of land and replanting / regeneration,
and undertaking a public awareness campaign using the data collected.
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N.
Stmk.
W.
Ktn.
O.
Sbg.T.Vbg. Bgld.
WLFE IN EUROPA
WLFE IN STERREICHIm 19. Jhdt. ausgerottet
Seit damals immer wiedersporadisches Vorkommenvon Einzeltieren
Gefhrdungsstatus: Rote Listesterreich Ausgestorben
Wolfshinweise 2010, 2011 und2012
Karelien
150-165Geschtzte Zahl
Baltikum
870-1.400
Iberische Halbinsel
2.500 Italien600-800
Skandinavien
260-330
AUT
STECKBRIEF WOLF(CANIS LUPUS)
Lebt zurckgezogen und scheuin Familienverbnden (Rudeln)mit starken Bindungen
Gre: zwischen 100und 160 cm
Gewicht: bis zu 38 kg
Reviergre: bis zu 300 km2
Alter: 8 13 Jahre
Nahrung: hauptschlich Rehe,Wildschweine, Hirsche
Westalpen
250
Balkan
3.900
Karpaten3.000
WWF sterreich 2013Bilder:iStockphoto,
Shutterstock
Deutschland-Westpolen
150
Tourism and wolfLandscape and nature are the business foundation of regional
tourism. Accordingly new media-friendly wild species like the wolf
actually boost regional tourism opportunities. Tourist regions where
wolves have returned not only have nothing to fear, but actually attract
interested visitors. The wolf is not the devil, it is just an animal we must
learn to live with again. Should you need more information concerning
wolves please contact the Europe Wilderness Society.
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European Wilderness Journal
Wilderness Stuff
.
The wolfMountains
Thewolfmountain
s
Willkommen zu HauseDie Wlfe kehren zurck
10 14 Jahre (ISCED 2) Schlerarbeitshe
DVD - The Wolf MountainsThe European natural world could be even wilder than we might imagine. Large
herds of bison and wild horses, huge bears and rivers teeming with salmon were once
part of a wild Europe. As western civilisation grew, this natural paradise disappeared
centuries ago and it is hard to imagine how it might once have been. But there are now
places in Europe where the wilderness of yesteryear returns. This film is a unique por-trait of a pocket of European wild nature that has not been witnessed for generations.
This is a story about life in the Wolf Mountains of the Eastern Carpathians.
Magazine for Kids - Welcome HomeThe WWF Austria has developed a series of educational and informational set of
material focusing on the return of the Wolf into Austria. Especially interesting is the
16 magazine targeted at the 10-14 year old teenagers informing them about the history,
habits, dietary plans, hunting skills and the role the Wolf plays in the food chain of our
natural environment.
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8/13/2019 European Wilderness Journal 01/2014
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Join and be part of it!
TeamZoltan KUN, Chairman of the Society, EU Advocacy and Fundraising,
Max A.E. ROSSBERG, Deputy Chairman, Sustainable Tourism Expert
Vlado VANCURA, Director Wilderness Development
Anni HENNING, Senior Editor, Marketing Communications
Susanne WERTH,Marketing Assistant, Marketing Communications
Gaia ANGELINI, International Policy Director
Bodo ROSSBERG,Art Director
We acknowledge our advisorsStephen Carver, Wildland Research Institute
Mark Fisher, Wildland Research Institute
Allison Parfitt, Wildland Research Institute
Dr. Michael Jungmeier, E.C.O. Institute of Ecology
Michael Meyer, OETE Stiftung und UNWTO
2014 European Wilderness Society
Dechant Franz Fuchs Str. 5; 5580 Tamsweg; Austria
Phone: +43 (0)676 913 88 04
Email: [email protected] | www.wilderness-society.org
All rights, errors and changes are reserved.
Photo Credits: Stephen Carver, Michael Meyer, Max Rossberg, Bruno
DAmicis, NP Kalkalpen, Wild Foundation, NP Majella, Berezinsky
Biosphere Reserve, Vanatori Neamt NP, Vlado Vancura, Sebastian
Catanoiu, WWF, fotolia.de
Design: www.diemedienwerkstatt.info, 5580 Tamsweg, AustriaPrinted in Austria
SubscriptionBecome one of our 2000 subscribers. If you want to subscribe visit our
Website: www.wilderness-society.org
www.wilderness-society.org
We appreciate your donation to supportwilderness in Europe
European Wilderness SocietyIBAN: A98 3506 3000 0015 8089 BIC: RVS AA2 S063
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