MMV conferences are motivated by the growing concern that increasing recreational use of protected areas is approaching the limits of ecological and social carrying capacities in many parts of the world. Four preceding conferences had great success, making MMV a regular meeting for scientists and managers.

The MMV conference provides a forum for presentations and other exchanges of ideas and experiences related to the monitoring and management of visitors in recreation and protected areas. The emphasis will be on policies, problems, practices and innovative solutions, and will therefore be of equal relevance to managers and researchers.

This years main themes will be:

• Multi-functionality: feasible for managers?
• High tech developments in and around nature
• Consumer demands: nature at your service
• Experiences in recreational and protected areas
• Impact of Natura 2000 on recreation and tourism
• Recreation and tourism: adaptation to climate change
• The design of nature for target groups
• Visitor management – use and abuse of nature areas
• Planning for recreation and tourism: new policies needed?
• Urban nature

Berlin, Germany will be the host of the 4th Conference of the European Pond Conservation Network (EPCN) continuing a series of three highly successful conferences since 2004. These events take place every two years, attracting more and more pond experts with widely diversified backgrounds from basic sciences to the practical aspects of conservation and management. 130 delegates from 25 countries attended the last conference in Valencia, Spain 2008.

Ponds have a high potential for ecosystem functions and services. On the other hand, ponds face many threats from human activities but receive little protection under European and national legislation. As a result, at the Valencia conference an important milestone was delivered with the publication of the “Pond Manifesto”. This document presents the case for conserving European ponds. It provides an outline strategy for much needed conservation action across and beyond the continent. We warmly invite you to continue this process and would be happy to see you at the 4th EPCN Conference.

The conference venue will be at “Education Centre Erkner”, situated at the southern borderline of Eastern Berlin, featuring state-of-the-art conference facilities within a park-like setting. The conference site is easily accessible by public transport from Berlin City. Furthermore, it is not far away from the pond rich agricultural landscape of the young moraine region.

More information

Join us for our seminar 'Toward a sustainable future: synergies of Regions and Protected Areas in the management of Biodiversity' on 31st of May from 9:30 - 12:30 prior to the Green Week in Brussels. The event is being jointly organised by the region of Saxony Anhalt (Germany), the Valencian Region (Spain) and the EUROPARC Federation. It will explore the fact that most of the work on biodiversity conservation, is done at local level and that there is a strong partnership between regional / local governments and protected areas, which is particularly beneficial for the environment.

More information will be available soon. Please contact Federico Minozzi if you have any questions.