Event:  11th EUSDR Annual Forum 2022, Side-event on ‘Achieving functional biodiversity in the Danube-Carpathian Region by mainstreaming ecological connectivity – how to make it happen’

Location: Online

Date: 18 October 2022, 10:00-11:00 CEST

Registration link: https://forms.gle/CrN8zkrBbYrKZWCt9 

A side-event on ‘Achieving functional biodiversity in the Danube-Carpathian Region by mainstreaming ecological connectivity – how to make it happen’ will be held on 18 October from 10:00-11:00 (CET) within the framework of the 11th EUSDR Annual Forum. The event will highlight the importance of ecological connectivity and that safeguarding it requires the cooperation of many sectors such as nature conservation, water management, transport and energy. We will hear the perspective of policy makers on how to rise to this exceptional challenge. The event will be held online and registration is open to all interested participants.

Over the past decades, economic development in the Danube-Carpathian region has taken a heavy toll on nature. Construction of transport infrastructure, settlements and industrial sites, and intensive agricultural, forestry and water management practices have fragmented the landscape and natural habitats, curtailing the ability of wildlife to move, feed, seek shelter and reproduce on land and in water. Yet this trajectory is not set in stone: with a more integrated way of planning and the political will, people and nature can thrive side-by-side.

This is why key regional actors, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) ‘Water Quality’ Priority Area (PA) 4, ‘Environmental Risks’ PA 5, ‘Biodiversity, Landscapes, Quality of Air and Soils’ PA 6, the Carpathian Convention, and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) endorsed the Joint Declaration ‘Achieving functional biodiversity in the Danube-Carpathian Region by mainstreaming ecological connectivity’ of July 2022, thereby committing themselves to action. However, without the support of higher-level policy and decision-makers, positive change is not possible.

At the event on 18. October, leaders of the Carpathian Convention and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, EUSDR National Coordinators and environmental EUSDR Priority Areas will provide their perspectives on why ecological connectivity is so important for both nature and people, how it can be safeguarded in the Danube-Carpathian context and how this links to EU policies. The discussion will then be opened to the audience.

Confirmed speakers:

• Mr. Michal Blaško: EUSDR National Coordinator for Slovakia, Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization
• Mr. Róbert-Eugen Szép: President of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR)
• Mr. Harald Egerer: Head of the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention/UNEP Vienna Programme Office
• Ms. Liudmyla Makarenko: EUSDR National Coordinator for Ukraine
• Ms. Danka Thalmeinerová: Steering Group Member of EUSDR Priority Area 4, Ministry of the Environment of Slovakia

The discussion will be moderated by Ms. Irene Lucius, Conservation Director at WWF Central & Eastern Europe.

The full agenda of the EUSDR Annual Forum can be consulted here: https://danube-region.eu/danube-events/11-eusdr-annual-forum/