european wilderness journal 3/2015

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European Wilderness Journal € 7,50 Donation FeeNo. 3 | 2015

National Park Hohe Tauern


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European Wilderness Journal

Dear friends of the wild!During the “Conference on Wilderness and Large Natural Habitat Areas”

in 2009 a discussion of an official definition of “Wilderness” was started and

finalized in 2012. he European Wilderness Quality Standard and AuditSystem was defined to state the various subjects and indicators of wilderness.

his is the official side of wilderness, the side we as the European Wilder-ness Society and numerous organisations and NGO’s, such as the WildernessWorking Group, the WWF and the WEI, work with or base our work on.But a definition is always just a summary and often a compromise of variousdifferent point of views.

he 500+ indicators and the minimum of 14 days of field work enabled usto compare three totally different wilderness habitat types against a commonwilderness definition.

So even if there is our official European Wilderness Quality Standard andAudit System – What is wilderness for us? What do we, every single one of us,mean with the term wilderness? Is it a primeval forest, new emerging areasdue to the glacier recession or an abandoned military area? Is it the occurrenceof wolf, lynx, bear or eagle?

My personal definition of wilderness, while working for the EuropeanWilderness Society, is based on this official scientific definition and qualitystandards but it is more than that: for me wilderness is where nature is trulymaster of itself. Where humans don’t play any role in nature’s cycles but wherewe are part of the bigger picture as we are part of nature – as equals. Humansare a part of nature and not master of it and wilderness reminds us of that.

hat might be frightening and challenging, but we should take the opportuni-ty to open our eyes and minds to learn from Mother Earth.

Te future of wildernessin Europe

Tank you! hank you for the increasing number of subscribers who aredonating € 50,- to allow us to write, edit, print and distribute theEuropean Wilderness Journal.

Letter to the editorsI am most impressed with the scope of work being under-

taken by the European Wilderness Society. I am following the

Society’s efforts with Wilderness Verification, the Green In-frastructure plan and the importance of non-extractive values.Keep up the good work! – Dan Mulrooney

PEGNet Projecthis is a project that exactly reflects one of the main priorities

as I see it for the protection of biodiverse life as we know it.he other would be targeted protection for species at immedi-ate risk, and their habitat. I’m currently studying environmentalscience with the OU ( because they don’t do an ecology degree),with the hope of becoming involved in useful projects in thefuture, so it would be great to be able to help in some way with

enabling green corridors in Europe. One obvious species thatwould benefit is the Iberian Lynx, successfully brought backfrom near extinction, it’s future looks bleak without enablingthem to migrate through green corridors. – Simon Barton

PEGNet ProjectI am a huge advocate for large scale wildlife projects and I

believe this is something in the past which had been missingfrom Europe. We have seen in America and Canada with theY2Y project that large scale projects can raise the issue of wil-derness conservation in the public. he need for a large scalecorridor is becoming more and more important with the in-crease in bears and wolves in Europe. After taking a real interest

in the large scale corridors across North America and Africa theopportunity to become involved in a project in Europe wouldbe something truly special for me. I honestly believe that withthe increased land abandonment across Europe this vision isachievable. – Guy Bennet

I visited Kalkalpen NP in summer 2012. Natural forces shapepark’s landscape and increase heterogeneity in very impressiveways. Places like Kalkalpen NP have very great value as refer-ence ecosystems. Such places could also wash our minds frombias of the “shifting baseline syndrome”. After all humans arenot the only makers of heterogeneous landscapes. I believe this

could be also a great lesson for a new generation of managementpractices in Natura2000 sites. Kalkalpen NP is a wonderful placein a wonderful Country! – Dario Botti

Verena Gruber, rainee


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Wilderness ticker

European Wilderness Society Scholarshiphe European Wilderness Society has worked closely with numer-

ous national and regional authorities and NGOs in the Ukraine toassist in the protection of Europe´s last wilderness. As part of ourengagement in the Ukraine, the European Wilderness Society awardstwo half scholarship worth € 6,450 for the postgraduate MS.c.Management of Protected Areas programme for one outstanding andwilderness oriented full-time first-year student from the Ukraine. hescholarships require a thesis focusing on wilderness related manage-ment, protection, communication, stakeholder or wildlife issues. he

University of Klagenfurt, Austria, offers this international postgradu-ate MSc programme for dedicated individuals, who want to broadenand deepen their knowledge on protected areas management.

School Programme on large carnivoreshe European Wilderness Society, in particular our large carnivore

expert Gudrun Pflüger, visited several schools in Austria to informthem during a one day program about the large carnivores, especiallythe wolf, and their important roles in the ecosystems. he kids were

able to touch a real wolf fur, compare wolf foot prints, cut out theirown wolf masks and compete with several wildlife species in a long

jump competition. An other highlight was a howling and markingexercise.

Annual report he European Wilderness Society is the only Pan-European, wilderness

and environmental advocacy organisation whose mission is to identify, des-ignate, manage and promote European wilderness. hese past months havebeen a big success. We developed the European Wilderness Quality Standardand Audit System, launched various online communication tools and organ-ized the first European Wilderness Academy Days in Mittersill. Our most im-portant activities and objectives are highlighted in our annual report. Avail-able either as a download on our website or in printed form from our office.

National Park Hohe Tauern wilderness verificationFrom 28th of July till 6th of August two verifiers of the European Wilder-

ness Society, Verena Gruber and Vlado Vancura, visited the Hohe au-ern National Park in Salzburg for the first field wilderness assessment ofthe proposed wilderness area around the Großvenediger. Starting fromMittersill, all four valleys of the proposed wilderness have been explored: theKrimmler Achen-Valley, the Ober- and the Untersulzbach-valley and the

Habach-valley. hose field trips have been accompanied by the park’s Direc-tor Wolfgang Urban or the Deputy Director Ferdinand Lainer who made itpossible to discuss most of the EWS – criteria and indicators on site.

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Wilderness Academy Days2015

Author: Verena Gruber

Research colleagues, wilderness managers and fellow wilderness advocates,

you are all more than welcome to participate in this year´s European Wilderness

Academy Days

The 2nd European Wilderness Aca-

demy Days will be held in theNational Park Gesäuse from September 30th to October 2nd this year. Europe´s most pro-found wilderness advocates will again con-

vene in Austria to discuss the latest develope-ments on wilderness in Europe.

he word “Gesäuse” stands for „wild waterand steep rock“ and you will have the chance

to experience this unique and wild landscapein the heart of Austria during our field tripson the second day of our conference.

You can choose between three differentfield trips to the new emerging wild areas in

the National Park that will give you some in-teresting insights into the real effect of climatechange. Speakers from all over Europe willpresent interesting topics such as wildernessrestoration and connectivity, trans-boundarywilderness, the link between wilderness andsustainable tourism and how to engage thenext generation in wilderness protection. Ses-sions about Natura2000 management, wilder-ness and green infrastructure as well as about

wild rivers and wetlands will bring you newinsights to those topics.

A presentation about the journey of Ivo thebear will round off our evenings. Vlado Van-cura, Director of Wilderness Development,

will present the results of the three Europe-an Wilderness Quality Standards Audits thisyear in three completely different habitatsfrom primeval beech forests, to glacial land-scapes to alpine mixed forests.

If you have an interesting topic you wouldlike to present at the Wilderness AcademyDays please do not hesitate to contact usimmediately.

For all details concerning programme,registration and accommodation please

visit the Website

www.wilderness.academy



See and meet us at the following events

September Wildniskonferenz 2015Stiftung Naturlandschaften Brandenburg

09.-10.09.2015, Potsdam, Germany Wagnis Wildnis Nationalpark Hohe Tauern17.-18.09.2015, Mittersill, Austria

Wildnis im Dialog 14.-17.09.2015, Insel Vilm, Germany

European Wilderness Academy Days 30.09.-02.10.2015, Nationalpark Gesäuse,Austria

October Europarc Annual Conference26.-27.10.2015, Regensburg, Germany

Wildnistagung 23.10.2015, Biosphärenpark Rhön, Germany,


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Romanian Carpathian mountains are well knownfor their wild nature treasures, thebiggest population of large carnivores, as well as the breathtaking land-scapes. he tourists looking for wilderness will be pleasantly surprisedto meet during their hiking traditional wooden house spread amonggreen peaks and shepherds grazing their sheep and goats in the tradi-tional way, same as hundreds of years before, using nature friendly tech-niques, in close relation with wilderness. hey are the descendants ofthe Vlachs, the Romanized populations of Central and Eastern Europe,named Vallachs by foreign people. he name of “Vlachs” appears for thefirst time in 976 in Greek chronicler John Skiliţes writings.

Basically Vlachs are present today throughout Europe but main-ly in the Carpathian area of Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Ukraine,Slovakia, Czech Republic (there is even a “Vlach autonomous region”)and Poland, a proof for the continuity of Vlachs civilization along theCarpathians.

Vallachian civilization show striking similarities across the Carpathi-ans in terms of ethnography, folklore and rural economy and it has acommon part of the vocabulary, kept both in dialectal archaism and inthe mountain toponymy.

Unfortunately these traditional shepherds are rarer, due to themodern life style getting even to the high peaks of the mountains and

the vallachian culture values are going to be forgotten unless highlightedand valued for the next generations.

heir ability to maintain their lands in a natural state and preservetheir traditional way of living should be encouraged. hey could also bepartners in generating income to improve their life conditions and theirchildren’s education.

Community and wilderness - Vallachian styleDue to the character of their interesting way of economy, the Vallachs

were predestined to a traveling, roving, and semi-nomadic life. Fromtime to time, in order to survive and make a living, they had to movefrom one place to another because there were many of them and theoriginal mountain region could not support them.

hose men have that particular form of intelligence which we con-sider today interesting and even intriguing; brave and from one pieceas they seem, they are still authentic and true to their own natureconnected to the surrounding nature. heir style has grown from theinside, and it is an expression of their history and living into the moun-tains wilderness.

Only because the Vallachs lived so high in the mountains, far awayfrom economical and cultural centers, they were allowed to maintaintheir authentic way of life along with an ancient way of production. Itwas first of all an unusual way of breeding sheep and goats which weregrazed for the whole summer in the mountains, where at the samelocation milk, wool, and other products were worked up.

In the beginning, they did not have villages with permanent build-ings. Instead, they constructed a “salas/coliba” for a family and manyof these huts for a group of families around a “vatra” or fire pit as thecentral place of meeting, socializing and making decisions.

Sheep and traditional Vallachian shepherding, now slowly dies,“colibas” are abandoned, trails are blocked and springs are clogging,invasive species grow on the lands, less shepherds and donkeys withsaddlebags can be seen. Seasonal stables become ruins, many desertedhamlets and entire villages have only few old inhabitants. In many placesgaudy reproductions have replaced the icons on glass on the Vallachian

houses walls and you can count on fingers the people who know how tomake a “tulnic” (traditional musical instrument), a “cerga” (sheep woolblanket) or a mill operated with water.

“Vallachian Vatra”holiday village

Author: Constantin Serban and Adela alpes

An innovative green tourism project to preserve unique Carpathian culture and wilderness



“Vallachian Vatra” holiday village project o avoid irreversible losing this cultural treasure of the Carpathian

heritage, Green-tourism Ecological Association a national environmen-tal NGO focused on tourism from Romania started the “VallachianVatra” Project, having the motto: “Return to the roots, a Carpathianpeople message from the past, found in the present.”

he project “Vallachian Vatra” (Vatra Valaha) aims to build a tra-ditional holiday village to express on bio-eco-ethno-logical principlesthe picturesque and functionality of traditional architecture specific toVallachians peasant spread across Europe and also the characteristic

hospitality of areas currently occupied in the present by the descendantsof the Vallachs.

he “Vallachian Vatra” village is a green tourism model that gathersaround an ancient fire pit/“vatra” all these principles and who aims tofacilitate access to authentic traditional Vallachian culture of all thosewho want to know and live the healthy lifestyles, the millenary tradi-tions, customs and hospitality of the Vlachs.

he rural development through this green tourism project proves theapplicability of a green business scheme development in the social andcultural tourism and it is the first pilot project in Romania which, be-sides bio / eco and cultural component (based on secular history and

agrarian traditions of Vallachian shepherds) it has a social componentbased on helping 7 families in poor economic condition on the princi-ple ”provide rod instead of fish.” In the specific rural Vlachs settlementsyou can always find clean air and clear water springs that come fromthe Carpathian Mountains. hey were for centuries the keepers of theVallachian material and spiritual heritage, which have taken over andintegrated elements of local culture, created, invented and permanentlyadapted to historical socio-economic conditions.

he pleasure to visit at least some of these rural settlements in hoursis impossible today in real conditions of modern society. his can beachieved only by visiting a single centralized site designed as a livingmuseum containing seven of the most representative traditional hous-es from each Carpathian country, each of them with accommodationfacilities and a specific Vallachian craft shop.

he “Vallachian Vatra” project is planned to be implemented in aholistic and comprehensive way, combining the promotion of the

vallachian life style with conservation programs, health, and education

activities that serve the community, the Carpathian nature and the wild-life that are so important to all of us.

he first step is the construction of Manor House (building withadministrative, meetings and accommodation role) which is going tostart next year in the spring, using European funds. For the rest of the

village, the association is looking for partners, investors and volunteers.If you want to become their supporter, whatever small, your donationwill be of great help.

he project initiators hope the success of Vallahian Vatra as a holiday village, offering genuine and sustainable tourism, can make it a repli-cable model to address the needs of other communities in Central and

Eastern Europe.


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In the heart of Austria lies an island ofwilderness. A piece of land where forthe purpose of wilderness conservation morethan 100 kilometres of forest roads have ei-ther already stopped being used, abandoned

or actively restored. It is a land where notonly the park management, researchers andexperts can monitor and learn what naturaldynamism really means but also where visi-tors are able to see and explore what sponta-neous natural processes without any humanintervention or control means to ecosystems.

Wilderness and biodiversity It is a piece of land where for more than 15

years management focuses on wilderness res-toration and the reintroduction of lynx. hey

also were pioneers in permitting bark beetleto thrive without intervention. It is a landwhere researchers explore surprising biodi-

versity e.g. a recent inventory confirmed thepresence of 1500 species of butterflies. Fur-ther on a long systematic research revealedthat there are also 35 species of beetle whichare fully depended on the dead wood. hese

beetles - wilderness relict species – desperate-ly need dead wood to exist.

he Kalkalpen Wilderness is thus an evi-dence that wilderness can be protected also inCentral Europe. It is also proof that wilder-ness protects European biodiversity.

he Kalkalpen Wilderness is an excellentexample that wilderness is not only to befound in remote parts of our planet or in thefar north or at the top of high mountains. It

is an area with more than 10,000 ha of wil-derness located right in the middle of Europe.

Because of the quality, the KalkalpenWilderness was the subject of a detailedwilderness audit with more than 500 indica-tors carried out by a team of European Wil-derness Society verifiers in June 2015.

Wilderness site assessment he European Wilderness Society wilder-

ness experts spent 14 days in the KalkalpenWilderness. Besides a few days in the office tocollect all needed information and to discussdifficult issues such as wildlife managementor temporary fragmentation of wildernesszone, the team spent most of the days in re-mote parts of the park. he team was guidedand supported by local park wilderness ex-perts including the director of Kalkalpen Na-

tionalpark – Mr. Erich Mayrhofer and manyother members of his staff. During the audit,besides the longterm wilderness vision, the

Wilderness assessment Case study Kalkalpen NP, Austria Author: Vlado Vančura



team discussed park history and zonation, thesize of the wilderness zone and management,biodiversity and wilderness restoration andsustainable tourism aspects. he interactionwith the highly skilled park staff and rang-ers provided additional information such asthe wildlife management during the winter

months or about the strategy of dealing withbark beetle in the wilderness and manage-ment zone. he wilderness assessement alsoincluded a visit to the highest valley of theKalkalpen Wilderness which was used as anAlpine grazing area in the past. Spontaneoussuccession processes was subject of the eval-uation together with an assessment of thesmall pasture - islands within the core zonethat are still used by local people for cattlegrazing such as the Feichtauhütte (1360m)as well as the lower situated Blumaueralm(762m). he team observed and evaluated

also the impact of natural events such as av-alanches on forest ecosystems. CombiningEWQA Wilderness Diploma and UNES-CO’s World Heritage List Kalkalpen Wilder-ness includes also several fragments of theold growth beech forests (5.250 ha), nowinscribed to the UNESCO tentative candi-dates list of UNESCO’s World Heritage List.Kalkalpen Wilderness thus contributes tothe protection of Primeval Beech Forestsin Europe, together with other Wildernesscandidates Zacharovanij Kraj NP, Ukraine,

currently also in a process of EWQA assess-ment this year.

Berlin

Bruxelles

Vienna

Bratislava

Liptovský Hrádok

Uzhhorod

Madrid

Paris

London

Roma

BudapestGyörTamsweg

Bucaresti

Sofia

Tirana

Kiev

Warszawa

Bern

Ljubljana

Ankara

Druillat

Bonn


10/2010


eam in Action



We appreciate your

donation to

support our work!

European Wilderness SocietyIBAN: AT41 1200 0100 0833 8476

BIC: BKAUATWW


12/2012


In the early 80s of the last century, the Iberian Peninsula only hadtwo free roaming bear populations. One of them inhabited thePyrenees Mountains wandering between France and Spain. he otherpopulation survived in the Cantabrian Mountains in the heavily settledarea of north central Spain. Each population had no more than 40 bearsand they were the last individuals of a species that had for many cen-turies inhabited a large part of Spain and Portugal. It was during thistime in the 1980s when the concerns for the survival of not only bearsbut other large carnivores, such as wolves and lynx began. With suchsmall populations of bears, it seemed that their extinction was inevita-ble. hirty years later and despite occupying a large natural area, that isexactly what happened in the Pyrenees and only with reintroductionsof bears from Slovenia does this area have a very small population.

However, the bears in the Cantabrian Mountains, where scientistsbelieved that they would become extinct, they have persisted despitea less natural area. Its population has expanded to a much larger areaof Asturias, perhaps about 200 specimens living in complete freedomoccupying an area of about 10,000 square kilometres. Although the fu-ture is worrying for this population, each year, there are new cubs andbreeding females are boosting the numbers.

The challenges of coexisting Bears have reached this population level with serious genetic prob-

lems and continued persecution. In the mountains of Asturias, the bearis protected, but poaching persists and the bear is a coveted target. Inaddition, the bears supposedly cause damage to agriculture, smashcrops and kill domestic cattle. hey are considered the enemies of man.

One of the biggest problems is that bear territory is also human ter-ritory. he Cantabrian Mountains have a high concentration of townsand villages. Several hundred thousand people share and live togetherwith wild animals, including bears which seemed to justify their extinc-tion. Even scientists and specialist also believed it was not possible forbears to live where there are people.

hirty years of work by FAPAS (Fondo para la Protection de los An-imales Salvajes) has shown that it is possible. oday the bears live inareas where there are thousands of people. hey approach villages andeverything seems normal, there are no problems. Conservation workhas shown that the bears have survived because of the human activityin these areas taking advantage of obtaining additional food resources.Moreover, the harsh terrain of these mountains, deep valleys and vastforests, many of them had been planted by man, offers a safe haven forbears, though living in the vicinity of a village. he protein source thathuman activity makes available to bears in the form of carcasses of deadpets that have died of natural causes or have been abandoned in themountains, has been one of the guarantees of their survival.

Management of living with wild animalsIt was necessary to study and discover the special ecology of the bears

who have adapted to living together in the same territory as humans forhundreds of years. his special population of bears is without aggres-sion and with a high rate of fertility. It has only been necessary to focuson combating poaching, which in the past was very intense and stillexists today. he other focus was for society to be concerned and to un-derstand that large carnivores such as bears are a sign of social identityof the territory. Asturias, is proud to have bears in the mountains andnow killing bears is a crime and socially unacceptable.

However, despite these successes, new problems arise which must

have a political solution. he European Union has banned that corps-es of animals are left in nature, which is generating an unprecedentedcrisis in territories with wild animals such as carrion, bears, wolves,

vultures relying on carcasses as a source of protein. hey have lost an

Bears can coexistwith people

Author: Roberto Hartasánchez, President FAPAS – www.fapas.esranslated by: Karin Eckhard

Lessons from northern Spain



important source of food that was presen mestic livestock have mul-tiplied, creating a social opposition to its presence. he Regional Ad-ministration authorized the killing of 60 wolves each year without anyscientific studies to support this decision.

he political struggle uses these arguments of wildlife damage totheir advantage and starts to explain that the problem is too many bearsor wolves. After thirty years of work, we could lose everything that wehave already achieved if we do not react now. But there are few voicescalling for the reverse of the ruling by the EU, domestic animals thathave died of natural causes or been abandoned should be left in nature.

he Cantabrian Mountains are something special, a wild world ofbears and wolves in the midst of a modern society, an unprecedent-ed natural heritage in western Europe that we have conserved through

wisdom and experience. If we do nothing, the region will go the way ofthe Pyrenees, essential devoid of bears and wolves.

Bruxelles

Vienna

Bratislava

Liptovský Hrádok

U

Lisboa

Madrid

Paris

London

Roma

BudapestGyörTamsweg

Tirana

War

Bern

Ljubljana

Desertas Islands NP, Portugal

Garajonay NP, Spain

Druillat

Bonn


14/2014


Šumava– the (much larger) Czech counterpart of the

Bayerischer Wald National Park – representsthe largest continuous forested area in Central Europe and is one ofthe most crucial biodiversity sites. o quote IUCN, this national parkis “part of the largest, best conserved and most species rich forestedarea in Central Europe”. It is a vital habitat to some endangered species,including capercaillie, black grouse, lynx, elk and Ural owl. Its peat bogsand waterlogged forests are a wetland of international importance un-der the Ramsar Convention.

Šumava National Park was declared in March 1991 in the centralregion of the mountain range running along the borders with Germanyand Austria. At that time, mayors of the involved municipalities de-

manded a national park of European importance in accordance withIUCN requirements. he National park extends over an area of 690square kilometres. Forests form almost 84 % of the area, with meadowsand pastures accounting for 7 %. About 1,000 square kilometres of Šu-mava Protected Landscape Area serve as the national park’s buffer zoneand protecting some natural features of the region that lie outside thePark. he entire territory including the Protected Landscape Area wasregistered as a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

he National Park is a mosaic of the remains of primeval forest,

peat-bogs and peat meadows, successions of areas with vegetationafter former villages, glacial lakes, watercourses and forests more or lesschanged by humans. here are a few small villages inside this natu-

ral complex. he overwhelming majority of settlements ceased to existafter a forcible transfer of the German minority after the Second WorldWar and after closing part of the territory behind the so-called IronCurtain by the former Communist regime. After the designation ofthe national park in 1991 there was a unique opportunity to renovatethe undisturbed natural processes on a relatively large area in CentralEurope, to observe interactions among various ecosystems and tocreate there a vital space for demanding species such as the lynx andpotentially also for wolf and bear. Šumava NP is therefore one of thebest opportunities for wilderness restoration in Europe.

Conflicting interests

However, Šumava NP is under heavy pressure from logging anddevelopment interests. Crucially, they promote large scale clear-cutlogging under the disguise of preventing the spread of bark beetles. hedispute about the national park will determine more than the future of

Šumava. he topic has already become the focal point in a wider debateabout recognition of wilderness protection as a relevant governmentpolicy, with high level political interventions.

In 1995, the first zone (core zone) of Šumava NP was reduced from22% to only 13% and fragmented into 135 isolated parts. he resulting

small size of individual fragments does not however allow the main na-tional park goal to be attained – the undisturbed protection of naturalecosystem processes.

he National Park Administration responded to the 1995 - 1998 in-crease in spruce bark beetle population by cutting down trees in a largescale outside of fragmented first zones. his cutting opened the forestcanopy to wind, creating plenty of open forest stand walls. Subsequentwindbreaks falled down much more trees than were originally affectedby bark beetle itself. Large clear-cut areas arose in the National Park.his occurred especially in the high elevations along the border withBayerischer Wald National Park (above 1,300 metres), but also in other

places.In 1999 the National Park administration and the Czech Ministry

of Environment allowed spruce trees infested by bark beetles to be cutalso in first zones of Šumava NP. Fortunately the bark beetle outbreak

Author: Jaromir Blahá

Complicated wilderness storyof Šumava National ParkTe never ending fight for wilderness



ended but the natural development of habitatsfor the future was not protected even in pri-meval forests. his led to extensive protestsamong scientists and NGOs. Hnutí DUHA– Friends of the Earth Czech Republic or-ganized a peaceful blockade of tree fellingin the so called “rojmezenský prales” – theoldest and most conserved remnant of mon-tane spruce old growth forest in the CzechRepublic, where over 1000 trees were markedto be cut down. he blockade lasted for twomonths and succeeded in stopping the treelogging in the primeval forest. his achieve-ment opened a public debate which addressednot only the problem of the bark beetle, butthe general topic of the mission of nationalparks, as well. Under the threat of further pro-tests the Ministry of Environment took partin discussions with scientists and ecological

NGOs. he proceedings led to the invitationof an IUCN expert mission by the Ministry inorder to obtain an attitude and recommenda-tion of a suitable course.

Politically influenced management he IUCN/WCPA expert mission visited

Šumava National Park in autumn 2002, aftera changeover in the Ministry lead. In 2003IUCN handed over a report, recommend-ing (among others) the uniting of the frag-mented first zones into a few compact units,

increasing their area to 30-40% of the parkextent within 3-5 years and keeping a basical-ly non-intervention regime. Environmentalminister decided to act in accordance withthe IUCN recommendation.

In 2003 the felling of trees infested by the

bark beetle in the first zones was stopped.In 2005 the NP Šumava administration putforth a new Park strategy based on the fun-damental vision: “he Šumava National Parkprotects a unique mountain scenery in a ter-ritory of attractive cultural character, facili-tating an undisturbed development of its areaand opening it for exploration. It would liketo be a place of encounter between the visi-tors and the natural beauty of wilderness.” Butthe municipalities refused this new strategy.Similarly, they refused the proposal for a newzonation which would unite the inappropriatefragmentation.

Following the hurricane Kyrill in 2007,which completely devastated the stands af-fected by earlier felling of bark beetle infectedtrees, the Ministry decided to leave especial-

ly montane forests (in first as well in secondzones) free of tree logging on an area of over30% of the territory of Šumava National Park.Following the new outbreak of bark beetlethese forests turned into a fascinating wilder-ness.

But after a next change of the Governmentit came to a turnaround again. he new Min-ister recalled the Park director and establishedMr. Stráský, who refused to take over the al-ready prepared European diploma, dissolved

the scientific section of the National ParkCouncil and commenced tree felling in are-as left over to wilderness in the past. Loggingdid not stop neither after appeals from dozensof prominent Czech scientists nor repeatedwarnings from NGOs, pointing out that the

Park headquarters is violating the Czech Na-ture Protection Law and other European di-rectives (Habitat Directive, Birds Directive).After this, conservationists, joined by partof the public, began a non-violent blockadeof tree logging in the area of “Ptačí potok”(Bird creek) at Modrava moor. During severalweeks the participants faced crude actions ofspecial police squads called into action by thePark director. his led to even stronger pub-lic protests and a demonstrations before theMinistry of Environment, getting the Minis-ter to stop the felling.

Several months later Czech courts hadacted and in 2013 have confirmed that pro-testers, including many members of HnutíDUHA/Friends of the Earth Czech Republic,who blocked loggers in Šumava National Park

in 2011 acted peacefully, legitimately and incomplete accordance with the law. Police in-tervention, however, and the tree-felling itself,have both been deemed illegal.

In May 2012, preceding the expected vis-it of European Committee representatives,the Environmental Minister suspended Mr.Straský as director of the Park and designatedthe deputy director, responsible for the ille-gal felling, instead. he upstart director thenprepared a new proposal of the management

plan, including the downgrade of Sumava NPfrom IUCN category II to category IV. Alongwith the Minister they together prepared andput forth a special bill for NP Šumava, legaliz-ing tree felling in areas formerly left to naturaldevelopment and weakening the protection


16/2016


of the NP landscape against building development. he InternationalUnion for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Commis-sion on Protected Areas (WCPA) warned the past government abouta similar proposal that “by accepting the management proposed in thebill, Šumava will not be eligible to retain the IUCN category II status(national park)”.

he issue is of significance not only for the future of nature protec-

tion in the Czech Republic, but also beyond -- not least in relation to thereview of EU nature conservation legislation which is expected to takeplace in the next couple of years.

Re-designation of the Park, which is also one of the key Natura 2000sites in Central Europe, would be extremely dangerous as a major prec-edent because of the domino effect. A blatant breaching of Natura 2000rules in a site of crucial importance, one which has been under protec-tion of both national and EU legislation, would set a dangerous examplefor other governments. In view of this domino effect this action poses achallenge to the protective status of national parks everywhere.

he Environmental Minister and the MPs of the EnvironmentalComitee of the Czech Parliament obtained a petition letter from 72 di-

rectors of European nature preservation institutions (see http://www.sumava-kurovec.cz/include/Dopis%2072%20reditelu.pdf)

hanks to the 2013 fall of the Government, and the subsequent dis-solution of the Parliament, the MPs were not able to discuss the bill.

he new Environmental Minister confirmed the interest of manag-ing the NP Šumava as an internationally distinguished National Parkof IUCN Category II, suspended the director and posted a director,which committed himself to observing the nature conservation laws,stopping all projects which would injure the nature of Šumava. Min-ister approved a temporary three-year management plan, reducing the

non-intervention area to 23%, though, with an additional 5% whereaction against the bark beetle is allowed only exceptionally and wherepractically no intervention took place in this year.

herefore a group of senators started to push forward a new draft

of a special law on Šumava NP again, based on the worst from all theprevious ones. he draft was disastrous: it envisaged no true wildernesszones in the national park and would pave the way for major new de-

velopment projects such as ski resorts and new building construction,i.e. new hotels, family-hotels, apartment-hotels and similar facilities on2/3 of the NP Šumava area. Furthermore, the bill proposed to decreaseprotection of forests in the National Park to a lower degree than isusual in current commercial forests in the rest of the country. his

group of senators succeeded in gaining support for their proposalamong the Senate of the Czech Republic and passed it as a Senate legis-lation proposal to the Czech Parliament.

Hnuti DUHA steps inHnutí DUHA – FoE CR started a huge campaign to mobilise the pub-

lic, building on excellent popularity of the national park and a generalpublic support for the protection of wilderness. Development interestshave got strong political backing – but they are also deeply unpopular,and many politicians recognise that.

his is why the strategy was based on encouraging thousands of peo-ple to write to their members of parliament (MPs). Hnuti DUHA – FoE

CR already started to develop a network of young people committed toŠumava, who are also ready to visit politicians personally. ourists inthe national park, who are worried about the damage they witness inthe existing clear-cut sites, formed another key target group.

Hnuti DUHA – FoE CR mobilised the public also through a peti-tion and several concerts for Šumava wilderness with the help of Czechmusical groups well known among young people. Dozens of volunteerscollected signatures under the petition available on information stallsin Šumava, in cities and during music festivals as well. Hnuti DUHA –FoE CR addressed both the public and MPs using the slogan “a piece ofwilderness is in every heart”.

People from Hnuti DUHA – FoE CR spent much of time meetingwith key MPs persuading them to refuse the draft. Also, they organisedadditional activities to convince them, like excursions to the national



park so that MP´s could directly see what thefelling in contrary to wilderness protection isabout, a successful approach in the past.

Hnuti DUHA – FoE CR prepared ownlegislation proposals and together with sci-entists from the Czech Academy of Sciencealso a zoning proposal suggesting 50% ofŠumava NP as core zone – wilderness area(http://www.ejes.cz/index.php/ejes/article/

view/119/56) and proposed strict rules toprevent inappropriate building developmentand future damages due to mismanagement.

The Šumava wilderness campaignhanks to cooperation with Wild Europe

an economic study to assess three various sce-narios of NP Šumava evolution was applied.he study “An Outline of Economic Impacts

of Management Options for Šumava NationalPark” was carried out by a reputable Britishcompany EFEC, concluding that the expan-sion of the wilderness to 50% of Park areais economically advantageous as well (seeEFEC study: http://www.sumava-kurovec.cz/include/Economic_Assessment_of_Su-mava_National_Park,_eftec,_Final_Report.pdf). So, during parliamentary debates, HnutiDUHA – FoE CR suggested own proposal asa solution which is both ecologically and eco-nomically advantaged.

he campaign organized by Hnutí DUHA- Friends of the Earth Czech Republic turnedout to be very successful. Over 43 000 people,including well known artists (many of themfrom Czech National heatre), musiciansand writers signed the petition „For a goodlaw on the Šumava National Park“. Addition-

ally, MP´s obtained over one thousand of

personal mails mainly from visitors of theNational Park. Renowned Czech musicalbands and several musicians directly sup-ported the Šumava wilderness campaignduring three “concerts for Šumava wilder-ness” taking place in Prague and in SouthernBohemia. Hnutí DUHA – FoE CR revealedwith the help of media real estate specula-tions and connections between politiciansand businessmen profiting from the bill. heCzech Parliament decisively voted down theSenate´s bill in October.

But this is not an end to the debate. heMinistry of Environment is preparing its ownnovelization of the Nature Protection Act,which should be valid for all Czech nationalparks generally. Consequently a new zonationwill be prepared for NP Šumava. he munic-ipalities succeeded in suing the provisionalthree-year management plan and the court

obliged the Ministry to withdraw it. However,

this judgement is not final yet.he outcome of the described twenty years

of controversy about NP Šumava is above alla significant shift in public opinion. Beforetwenty years, most people agreed with actionsagainst the bark beetle and environmental-ists were considered fools trying to protect afeared forest pest. he term “wilderness” hada pejorative touch and was not very popular.oday, “wilderness” is a demanded touristdestination, as well as a label, often misusedfor marketing purposes. But as the debate,

even in academic circles frequently shows thecontent of the terms “wilderness” and “intervention-free” is not clear to many. hus, thenext suitable step would be an introductionof the definition of wilderness developedby Wild Europe and the certification of theEuropean Wilderness Society and its modelapplication in NP Šumava.


18/2018


Picturing Wildlife Fotos by Bart van Engeldorp Gastelaars

Te Kalkalpen Wilderness, Austria



Did you always wanted to learn (again) how to light a fire with-out matches? o pick the right plants and turn them intoan eatable and enjoyable dish? Or to build a shelter out in the woods tostay dry and safe for a night? All this sounds like nature camps for youngpeople, but wilderness trainings exists for adults too, in different formsall over Europe.

Strictly protected areas are essential places to safeguard our European

Natural Heritage and also a source of increasingly valuable biologicaland ecological information for scientists and the public, to whom wil-derness offers wide educational opportunities and a strong emotionalexperience.

So there is a lot to learn from protected areas, and the interest amongstadults for on-going training programs on wild flora, fauna and naturalhabitats and also on how to behave in and how to experience wild placesis high. Some protected areas have started to fill the gap of offer anddemand, and propose training courses.

he European Wilderness Society and three partner NGOs havepooled their experiences in adult training and recently started an EU

project that aims to bring fundamental changes in the public attitudetowards wilderness by educating them about the various benefits ofwilderness and its importance. Project partners will look into ex-isting wilderness education practices, encourage the exchange ofbest-practices amongst countries and protected areas, and field testinnovated curricula of education programs.

he outcome of the 2-year Erasmus-funded EU project will be a

best-practice module on wilderness education methods for adults, aswell as guides for professionals and private interest groups resuming theexisting training offers.

hrough the project, all partners aim to strengthen adult key compe-tencies, increase the public interest for and understanding of wildernessand thus help nature protection. In the sincere hope to link our ties tonature again, and why not through a self-made meal prepared in a high-ly enjoyable natural surrounding?

Some of the findings will be presented at the European Academy Days2015 in the National Park Gesäuse.

Wilderness curriculum for

aspiring nature conversationmanagers

Author: Katrin Schikorr & Anni Henning

Te European Wilderness Society, Hnutí DUHA – Friends of the Earth Czech Republic,

Mountain Wilderness and WOLF Forest Protection Movement have launched a new EU project

to enhance adult training opportunities and methods about wilderness and protected area issues.


20/20

Šumava National Park

european wilderness journal 3/2015

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