Presentation to Wilderness Foundation UK

Fulufjället NP ©Vitantonio Dell’Orto/exuviaphoto.com

Paanajärvi NP © Viktor

Gritsuk

Zoltan Kun, Executive DirectorPAN Parks Foundation

THE MILLION PROJECT

Paanajärvi NP ©Viktor Gritsuk

What we do

• PAN Parks works to protect Europe’s wilderness, the continent’s most undisturbed areas of nature

• the only European-wide organisation focusing on the protection of wilderness areas

Archipelago NP © Seppo Keränen

Stopping biodiversity loss

• increasing number of protected areas• 17% of Europe’s land is protected

BUT Europe failed to stop biodiversity loss

Fulufjallet NP © Vitantonio Dell’Orto

Why focusing on wilderness?

Protecting wilderness contributes to

biodiversity protection

Why focusing on protected areas?

• improve management effectiveness

• involve local communities

• increase public support

• create new funding opportunities

⋙ PAN Parks conceptMajella NP © Bruno D’Amicis

Network of certified PAN Parks

©iStock/Graeme Purdy

237 000 ha of wilderness

Wilderness momentum

• European Parliament’s special report on wilderness

• European Commission- ‘Agenda for Wilderness’

• Wilderness in Biodiversity Strategy

What we have achieved so far

Threats to protected areas

• increased poaching due to economic decline -

Central Balkan NP, Bulgaria

• dam building in Küre Mountains National Park,

Turkey

• ski resort in Pirin NP, Bulgaria

• large scale logging in Tatra NP, Slovakia

• road building in Domogled National Park,

Montenegro

Archipelago NP © Seppo Keränen

The Million Project

To ensure guaranteed protection of 1 million hectares of wilderness in Europe by 2015

• Collect & promote scientific information evidence of wilderness benefits & services

• Initiate creation of new protected wilderness areas

• Encourage managers of smaller areas to take steps towards more natural processes (evolutionary)

• Increase the awareness on Europe’s existing wilderness and get wider support

Expected conservation benefits

Rila NP © Nicolas Cegalerba

Target groups

• protected area managers• green NGOs• policy/decision makers• researchers/academics• educational institutions• existing and potential travellers/visitors• tourism professionals• nature minded activitists• financial donors

What is wilderness?

• nature is left to develop on its own• native species, animals roam free• no human intervention

Oulanka NP ©Hannu Hautala

How we protect Europe’s wilderness

Majella NP ©MNP

CONSERVATION

• Ensuring commitment of protected areas to preserve wilderness

• Improving wilderness management in partner protected areas

Paanajärvi NP © PNP Archives

Conservation approach

Building partnerships with protected areasthat join our Europe-wide wilderness movement

Conservation partnerships

Majella NP © Bruno D’Amicis

• Wilderness partners: areas with wilderness committed to wilderness protection (no size criteria)

• Certified PAN Parks: branded parks with min. 10,000 ha of wilderness(best of Europe’s wilderness)

Retezat NP © Mihai Moiceanu

Wilderness partners

• can join ‘The Million Project’

• sign a commitment to preserve their wilderness area

• identify the major risk of the long term preservation of their wilderness area and possible ways of cooperation with PAN Parks in protecting it

Polistovsky Nature Reserve, Russia

Natural ecosystem dynamics of raised bogs

• 37,000 ha of wilderness

• challenge with invasive species like racoon dog

Lagodekhi National Park, Georgia

Unique wilderness untouched for 99 years

• 22,258 ha of wilderness

• potential for tri-lateral wilderness area

Retezat NP ©iStock/Falk Kienas

Rodna National Park, RomaniaInterested also in becoming a Certified PAN Park

• 6,000 ha of wilderness with the opportunity to enlarge

• Challenges with ecosystem monitoring and species management

Swiss National Park, SwitzerlandOne of the oldest European example of wilderness management

• 17,600 ha of wilderness

• main interest in research

• challenge with lack of resources

• centennial in 2014

Borjomi-Kharagauli NP © Kote Gabrichidze

What did we gain so far

• increased wilderness coverage to 320,000

• greater interest from the NGO and GO sectors

• increased interest from the corporate sector

What do we need yet?

Retezat NP ©iStock/Falk Kienas

• partners to increase the coverage to 1 million hectares

• partners to increase public awareness

• research partners

• fundraising partners and...

• DONORS

Paanajärvi NP ©Viktor Gritsuk

We can protect the last pieces of Europe’s wilderness together for future generations!

Protecting wilderness together

PAN Parks works to protect

Europe’s wilderness, the

continent’s most undisturbed

areas of nature

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zkun@panparks.org