Table 9.15 - Global, European and regional initiatives for nature conservation

Source: IUCN

Title Secretariat/focal point Aim/comment
Pan-European
Berne Convention (1979) Council of Europe To provide international obligations for the conservation of European flora and fauna and their natural habitats
The European Network of Biogenetic Reserves Council of Europe Chosen as representative examples of Europe's natural heritage
European Diploma Council of Europe Awards for good examples of protected areas
Environment Programme for Europe UN/ECE, EC, UNEP, IUCN et al To prepare the intergovernmental environment programme for Europe
EuroMAB EuroMAB, c/o UNESCO To provide a European network for international scientific cooperation, especially on biosphere reserves
European Nature Conservation Year (ENCY) 1995 Council of Europe To develop a campaign in 1995 for conservation
European Community
Fifth Environmental Action Programme (1992) European Commission DG XI The European Community's programme of policy and action on environment and sustainable development
Bird Directive (79/409/EEC) European Commission DG XI To protect wild birds and their habitats, including through Special Protection Areas
CORINE European Commission DG XI / European Environment Agency To develop a database for nature conservation in the EC, now being extended in part to the rest of Europe
Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) European Commission DG XI To conserve fauna, flora and natural habitats of Community importance
Natura 2000 European Commission DG XI The network of protected areas set up under the Bird and Habitats Directives
Central and Eastern Europe
Ecological Bricks for our Common House of Europe Initiative for Ecological Bricks, c/o WWF-Austria To promote the establishment of 24 transboundary protected areas
Green Lungs of Europe, 1993 Institute of Sustainable Development, Warsaw Based on Poland's experience, to create sustainable development zones (Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine)
Arctic
Arctic Initiative Working Group on the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna To prepare a common Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy
Nordic Arctic Conference c/o Nordic Council of Ministers Environmental protection
Baltic Sea
Helsinki Convention, 1974, 1992 HELCOM, Helsinki To improve the quality of the Baltic environment, including through marine and coastal protected areas
The Baltic Sea Joint Comprehensive
Environmental Action Programme
Black Sea
Black Sea Action Plan (BSAP) UNEP, UNDP, GEF and others Environmental management programme for the Black Sea
Bucharest Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution, 1992 Interim Secretariat, Istanbul
North Sea
Convention for the Protection of the NE Atlantic Oslo­Paris Commission, London To prevent pollution of the northeast Atlantic
Ministerial Conference on the North Sea Secretariat in Ministry of Environment, Denmark
Mediterranean
Mediterranean Action Plan UNEP-Europe, Geneva (Regional centres in Athens,Valbonne, Tunis, Malta and Split) To improve the quality of the Mediterranean environment under the Barcelona Convention, 1976, including through a protocol on Specially Protected Areas
MedSPA European Commission DG XI To protect the Mediterranean environment, including protection of biotopes
MED-PAN EIB/World Bank To strengthen links between managers of protected areas
MedWet Various To conserve Mediterranean wetlands
Mediterranean Technical Assistance Programme (METAP) World Bank/EIB 2nd Phase of European Programme for the Mediterranean (EPM), to reverse present environmental degradation
Nicosia Charter (1990) European Community To provide closer cooperation on sustainable development in the Euro-Mediterranean region, including on nature conservation
Others
Alpine Convention 1991 c/o CIPRA, Vaduz Conservation of the Alps
Black Triangle Regional Programme, 1992 Programme Coordination Unit, Ústi nad Labem, Czech Republic Environmental protection for the very polluted Czech­German­ Polish border zone
Danube River Basin Programme, 1991 European Commission DG XI Environmental protection for the Danube
International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution (ICPRP)  
Joint Declaration on the Protection of the Wadden Sea Common Secretariat for the Cooperation on the Protection of the Wadden Sea, Wilhelmshaven Trilateral cooperation between The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany
Conservation of Migratory Wild Animal Species, including West Palaearctic Flyway Agreement Convention Bureau, Bonn