ConnectGREEN is coming to an end

Today, 31 October 2021, ConnectGREEN will be coming to an end.  

Over its 3,5-year runtime, ConnectGREEN has successfully shone a spotlight on ecological connectivity and related conflicts with economic development in the Carpathian countries: the Parties of the Carpathian Convention have welcomed the Methodology for the Identification of Ecological Corridors in the Carpathian Ecoregion by Using Large Carnivores as Umbrella Species and resulting Maps displaying ecological connectivity across the Carpathians and adopted the International Action Plan on Conservation of Large Carnivores and Ensuring Ecological Connectivity in the Carpathians. 

At the end of September, the International Conference “Protected Areas - Cornerstones of Ecological Connectivity in the Carpathians and beyond” took place in hybrid format in Visegrád, Hungary that concluded with a strong Conference Declaration calling on the EU Commission and Parliament and national governments to rally their forces for ecological connectivity in the Danube-Carpathian region. 

In a nutshell, ConnectGREEN has

• built bridges between sectors (nature conservation, spatial planning) and levels (from the local, through the national, to international level), and shared experience;
• secured a coherent approach for the identification of ecological corridors based on the needs of the iconic Carpathian large carnivores (wolf, bear, and lynx);
• generated best practice examples for overcoming conflicts between nature conservation and economic development at the local level and the integration of ecological corridors into spatial planning at the national level. 

The development of all the Outputs and Deliverables would not have been possible without the engagement of many active collaborators and contributors across Europe. The Project Team would like to thank all engaged stakeholders, be it at the local, national or international level.  After the first year of implementation, the global pandemic hit and has since then overshadowed our work that primarily builds on good and mainly personal relationships. The Project Consortium adapted quickly to the new circumstances: good connections with stakeholders made in-person in the first phase of the project have been continued in numerous online conferences, and extensive efforts were made to satisfactorily deliver project results in a virtual/hybrid working environment. Thanks for staying connected during these challenging times!

look back brochure

A comprehensive overview of the project has been compiled in the “Look Back” brochure, detailing the numerous activities implemented by the project consortium between June 2018 – October 2021. The brochure can be accessed here. 

Many of our project outputs are currently undergoing finishing touches. Once finalised, they will all be made available in the ConnectGREEN project library.

Conference materials

ConnectGREEN’s last large-scale public event was the Conference on Protected Areas, which took place in Visegrád, Hungary, at the end of September 2021. All presentations, the Conference Declaration, as well as video recordings of the individual sessions are available on our website.

Youth Video Contest “Connectivity for all!”

During the course of the project, a youth video contest was organised entitled “Connectivity for all!”. We received numerous fantastic submissions have created a short compilation video to capture the view of youth from the Danube-Carpathian area on ecological connectivity.

The video can be viewed here, and is also available with subtitles in all project languages (CZ, HU, SK, RO, RS).

time to say goodbye

And now, after 41 months of intensive work, rewarding exchanges, and valuable experiences, the entire ConnectGREEN team would like to thank you for your interest, support and contributions. In these difficult times marked by a global pandemic, growing environmental and climatic crises, and other global challenges, we would like to leave you with this heartening wildlife camera footage from Piatra Crailului National Park and the wish to actively stay connected!