The Carpathians turn
10 years old this month. The venerable mountains
have of course been around for longer –
at least 66 million years in fact. But it
has been only relatively recently that the
Carpathians, which stretch across seven
countries in Central and Eastern Europe,
have really come into focus and gained a
common identity as a mountain range with
unique qualities, traditions and way of
life, as well as challenges shared by people
living across the region.
Ten years ago, on 22
May 2003, representatives of the governments
of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland,
Hungary, Ukraine, Romania and Serbia put
their signatures to the “Framework Convention
for the Protection and Sustainable Development
of the Carpathians.”
Over the past decade,
the “Carpathian Convention,” as the agreement
is more often referred to, has created a
common focus and framework for identity
and cooperation across the region.
Record-breaking agreement
The idea for the convention
was first broached in Bucharest in 2001
at a summit of regional leaders organized
by WWF and the Romanian government. Within
two years, and with the support of the United
Nations Environment Programme, the governments
of the seven Carpathian countries had completed
negotiations and inked the agreement. As
far as conventions go, the Carpathian Convention
was negotiated and agreed in record time.
The original framework
convention has spawned a series of additional,
more specific agreements between the member
countries. In the past 10 years, the seven
member states have adopted formal protocols
on the protection of biodiversity, tourism
and forests.
Implementation strategies
for these protocols have been agreed or
are under development. Protocols on cultural
heritage and transportation are already
well advanced.
Strategic guidance on
adaptation to climate change is also underway
and expected to be formally adopted by ministers
when they meet next year. Further agreements
are expected in the future, relating to
agriculture, energy and regional development
and spatial planning.
Paper over practice?
Critics say that, to
date at least, the convention has been more
about meetings and paper than actual practice.
Indeed, there have been many meetings, and
not all have been productive.
Even where commitments
have been achieved, it is fair to ask to
what extent those commitments have actually
changed anything. It is simply too early
to know, for example, whether the Carpathian
Convention commitment to protect Europe’s
greatest remaining areas of virgin forest
will become reality. Definitions of virgin
forest will be discussed in June, to be
followed then by discussion of actual protection
measures to be taken.
A basic problem is that
the Carpathian Convention is “soft” legislation
– that is, legislation without a real bite
– in contrast to EU directives and regulations,
where there is the real possibility of diplomatic
embarrassment and even financial fines and
sanctions.
Also, while most progress
has been made in terms of commitments to
biodiversity protection, the key to securing
this protection lies in addressing pressures
in other areas, such as development of infrastructure
for transportation and energy.
Habitat fragmentation
is a major concern to the future of bears
and other large carnivores, but so far,
there has been limited progress in integrating
wildlife migration corridors into transportation
planning.
Similarly, the planned
construction of thousands of hydropower
stations across the Carpathian Mountains
present an imminent threat to hundreds of
streams and rivers.
Guidance for development
of these projects is urgently needed to
ensure that any gains in clean energy does
not come at too great a cost in terms of
biodiversity and other ecosystem services.
Yet it is unclear the
extent to which a Carpathian Convention
protocol on energy, which in any case is
in the future, could address the intense
pressure from investors and related political
interests.
A common home
But even relatively
blunt tools can be effective – for example
in focusing efforts, and mobilizing cooperation
and resources.
The Carpathian Convention
has spawned networks of cooperation across
the mountain range. Recently, 140 protected
area managers and supporters came together
to meet, inspire and learn from one another.
Across the Carpathians, protected area managers
do important work, safeguarding many of
Europe’s greatest natural treasures.
Indeed, over the years,
a community of people and organizations
has developed around and in support of the
Carpathian Mountains, from government authorities
to international organizations like the
United Nations Environmental Programme,
which currently leads the secretariat, and
non-profit organizations like WWF.
Cooperation has been
fostered not only across the Carpathians,
but also to the Alps, with a strong partnership
with the Alpine Network of Protected Areas,
and the European Academy in Bolzano, an
Alpine think-tank that has been giving strong
support to the Carpathian Convention secretariat.
Also not to be underestimated
is the importance of creating an identity
and idea, and networking behind it. Ten
years ago, no one spoke of the Carpathians
or saw them as one range of mountains shared
by different countries. Differences prevailed
over things in common.
Over the past decade,
this has clearly changed. The Carpathians
today have become a term like the Alps,
a badge of identity and pride for the countries
and the people living in these areas.
Nevertheless, the Carpathian
Mountains are an area of extraordinary qualities
and treasures, part of WWF’s Green Heart
of Europe initiative, and those treasures
are being lost. The extent to which they
survive will be the ultimate test for the
convention. A good start has been made,
but much remains to be done.
