The Million Project with PAN Parks Wilderness Definition

Paanajärvi NP © Viktor

Gritsuk

Zoltan KUN, Executive DirectorPAN Parks Foundation

THE MILLION PROJECTPAN Parks WILDERNESS AND ACTIVITIES

Paanajärvi NP ©Viktor Gritsuk

What we do

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

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

Fulufjallet NP © Vitantonio Dell’Orto

NO extractive use such as:•hunting•fishing•mining•logging•grazing•grass cutting•road and building constructionis allowed in wilderness

What is wilderness?

Fulufjället NP © Vitantonio Dell’Orto/exuviaphoto.com

Peneda-Geres NP © Marcos Veiga

Archipelago NP © Janne Görling

Archipelago NP © Janne Görling

Borjomi-Kharagauli NP © Konstantin Gabrichidze

Oulanka NP © Kimmo Salminen

Soomaa NP © Arne Ader

The Million Project

Majella NP ©MNP

Building partnerships with protected areas

• Making a commitment to resolve a major challenge

• Improving wilderness management in partner protected areas

Archipelago NP © Seppo Keränen

The Million Project

To ensure guaranteed protection of 1 million hectares of wilderness

in Europe by 2015

A 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)

Partners in The Million Project

©iStock/Graeme Purdy

340,000 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

Paanajärvi NP ©Viktor Gritsuk

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

Join us in The Million Project!

Our plans in 2012 and beyondImplement The Million Project• 500,000 ha in 2012• 700,000 ha in 2013• 1 Million ha by end of 2015

Oulanka NP ©Hannu Hautala

Rila NP © Nicolas Cegalerba

Invest in generating public support• Social media campaign• One Million Tweets• 1 Million People• European Citizens’ Initiative?• European Year of Wilderness in 2015 (launch in during WILD10)

Our plans in 2012 and beyond

Archipelago NP © Heidi Arponen

Mobilising more funding• individual donations• corporate donations• tourism related incomes• 1 Million EUR / year -> at least 75% goes to conservation actions in the field

Our plans in 2012 and beyond

Borjomi-Kharagauli NP © Kote Gabrichidze

The Economics of Wilderness

Why dealing with the economics of wilderness?

• the EP report on wilderness Calls on the Commission and Member States to co-operate with local non-governmental organisations to promote the value of wilderness (point 6);

Wilderness is not a priceless heritage for future generations!• Europeans are not valuing wilderness as much as they should!

Oulanka NP ©Michael Hennemann

The Economics of Wilderness

Majella NP © Bruno D’Amicis

Research & Policy• European Wilderness research agenda• Mapping (wilderness register)• Wilderness guidance• WILD10• support restoration projects aiming protection• BE PART OF IT!

Our plans in 2012 and beyond

PAN Parks works to protect

Europe’s wilderness, the

continent’s most undisturbed

areas of nature

www.panparks.org