Annually, EUROPARC honors those who have made a significant contribution to nature conservation in Europe through an experienced body of work and life experience. The Alfred Toepfer Medal, named after the founder of the EUROPARC Federation, Dr h.c. Alfred Toepfer (1894-1993) is awarded at the Annual EUROPARC Conference. Nominated by EUROPARC members this gives an opportunity to the work done to be praised and valued by peers. 

Nominations for the Alfred Toepfer Medal

The winner is nominated by EUROPARC members and is selected by the Juri, comprised by EUROPARC Council members. Do you have someone in mind who you think deserves recognition for their dedication or achievements in the field of nature conservation and protected areas? Please consider nominating that person for the award.

If you need inspiration, discover here the holders of the Alfred Toepfer Medal.

Nominations can be done by any EUROPARC member before the 29th of June. 

Please download the nomination form and send it back to b.napolitano @ europarc.org.

A new guide on Sport and Biodiversity was last week launched by IUCN and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The guide aims to support sports organisations in one hand, better understanding the impact of their activities on biodiversity and, on the other hand, to identify new opportunities to enhance nature conservation.

Strengthening the alliance between sport and nature can provide a powerful contribution to halting biodiversity loss, ensuring a healthy environment that benefits all of society.

The intention is that a broad range of stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of sporting events will benefit from the guidance offered, including city authorities, planners, architects, venue owners, government officials, national and international sports federations and local organising committees.

The guide is the first in a series of publications that the IUCN will produce as part of its partnership with the IOC. Under the collaborative agreement, the IUCN has already provided key input on the Candidature Process for the Olympic Games 2024 and a range of other areas related to the IOC’s Sustainability Strategy.

Download the guide here. 

More information available on IUCN’s website.

The European Day of Parks is a pan-European initiative launched by the EUROPARC Federation in 1999. The objective is simple: to celebrate the important role of Europe’s Protected Areas with hundreds of events taking place in Parks all over Europe! This year, the focus will be on the connection between nature heritage and cultural identity – as a celebration of the European Year for Cultural Heritage.

IUCN and EUROPARC have joined forces this year for a greater celebration of the European Day of Parks across both networks. On 24th May, a free webinar will be jointly hosted, where we will be sharing the best case studies from PANORAMA – Solutions for a Healthy Planet – a global repository of success stories in conservation and sustainable natural resource use.

We need your case study!

We kindly invite all Protected Areas to submit their case studies related to cultural heritage PANORAMA web platform. The best solutions submitted will be invited to present at the Webinar. We look forward to receiving your contributions! Besides, IUCN will also promote a different success story from European protected areas each day that week. 

Share your success story on PANORAMA before the 20th of April, and inspire the protected area community with your example!

“Cultural Heritage: It’s in our Nature!”

May this European Day of Parks be an opportunity for our Protected Areas to connect people to their land, bridging natural heritage and cultural identity; understand the past history of their land, working to build a future that respects our heritage in all its diversity.

Download the Guidelines for the European Day of Parks 2018 activities and celebrate with your local community! After organising your event, please register here, so we can widely disseminate it across Europe. All information about the European Day of Parks available on www.europarc.org/european-day-of-parks

The EUROPARC Federation is currently looking for a full-time intern in its Communications department in Regensburg (DE). The intern will contribute to enhance the organisation’s outreach and communications activities and will support EUROPARC Communications with operational and administrative tasks.

• Location: Regensburg, Germany
• Duration: 6 months (longer internships can be considered
• Deadline for applications: 4th May

The candidate must have strong writing skills – able to create and deliver messages through a variety of media channels for internal and external stakeholders – and good knowledge of digital communication tools. The position requires good IT skills, good organisational and multitasking abilities as well as attention to details.

The intern will have the opportunity to contribute directly to the work of a wide European environmental organisation, working along with an international team. The intern would have the chance to further develop communication skills, to learn about EUROPARC Federation and its programmes, and to discover from closer the functioning of European Protected Areas and EU environmental policies.

The applicant must be an enrolled student (preferably EU and EEZ citizen) who is required to complete a mandatory internship in order to finish their studies. During the whole period of internship, the candidate must have a confirmation from the University that he/she is a full time enrolled student. Candidates with the ERASMUS + Internship are also accepted.

Download the full description of the position