The EUROPARC Federation was founded on the principle of international cooperation, not just to look after our shared European nature, but also to support those who live and work in and for our Protected Areas.

As such, we denounce and condemn the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and stand firm with all in Ukraine, thinking especially of our colleagues in the Parks system.

We strongly declare our commitment to peace, dialogue and shared values that enable us all to not only protect our nature and support our communities, but to act collectively to address climate change and biodiversity loss.

Acts of war destroy the fundamentals of society: therefore, it is imperative that EUROPARC as a Pan – European organisation raise our voice when national aggression threatens democratic values, our freedoms, human rights and the rule of law.  These are the building blocks upon which we build our common future, where nature and Protected Areas are safe places and the life support system of our planet.

EUROPARC expresses our support to our parks colleagues in Ukraine who are striving to live in an open democratic society – we embrace and invite them into the EUROPARC family. We seek the solidarity and support of EUROPARC members to enable us to bring Ukrainian Parks into our network. We are actively working on a mechanism to achieve this.

We acknowledge too our members in Russia who especially, declare their common tenets working for nature and people, aligned to our shared values in EUROPARC.

The history of many of our Protected Areas in Europe is complex and often underpinned by delicate historical tensions. This is particularly evident given that most of our Protected Areas are located on the former Iron Curtain – now European Green Belt.  But we must learn the lessons of history to build a new, peaceful and cooperative society for our nature and our peoples. EUROPARC did so almost 50 years ago when the Iron Curtain was then in place.

We reaffirm again now that the only way to build our nature and society is through international cooperation, mutual understanding, shared experience, knowledge and innovation. Not with tanks.

EUROPARC members have always led by example and we encourage EUROPARC members to show their support for Ukraine, through donations in humanitarian collections or even more practically by offering park accommodation to house those fleeing the conflict.  Any park willing to make such an offer, please contact us and we can seek through our colleagues in Nationale Naturlandschaften e.V. (EUROPARC Germany) to coordinate such assistance.

EUROPARC Federation

President Michael Hošek

Chief Executive Carol Ritchie

EUROPARC Council, Staff and Sections

New entry in the EUROPARC Transboundary Parks Programme!

A wild arctic area between Finland and Norway

Haldi TBA map

The Háldi Transboundary Area consist of the Käsivarsi Wilderness Area in Finland and Reisa National Park and Ráisduottarháldi Protected Landscape in Norway. The cooperative area was formed in 2020 by an agreement between Metsähallitus and the Board of Reisa National Park and Ráisduottarháldi Landscape Protected Area. There are also other functional connections involved, in the surrounding area towards Kilpisjärvi, Kåfjord, Reisa Valley and Kautokeino.

The subarctic mountain and plateau area around the Háldi falls is divided between Finland and Norway. The large wilderness area has high natural and cultural values, which make it one of the richest arctic areas in continental Europe, with natural watercourses, alpine tundra, mountain birch forests, calcareous bedrock, with native flora and fauna. The whole area belongs to the Sami homeland with extensive reindeer husbandry on both sides of the border. It is also a popular destination for outdoor recreation, especially on the Finnish side, with a long tradition of hiking to the highest point of the country, the Halti Mountain (1,324 meters above sea level). Finland and Norway share the same rights of free access, and it is possible to cross the border anywhere, with some restrictions.

Because of these values, several Protected Areas have been established on both sides of the border. Their regulations are quite similar, but administration and management regimes are different. Because of common challenges in management, the need for closer cooperation is recognized on both sides. EUROPARC Transboundary Area (TBA) has been chosen as a tool to organize permanent cooperation, because of great experiences from existing TBA’s. Extra funding from the EU Interreg Nord programme has given resources to prepare a plan and start implementation of necessary actions.

Reisa National Park- Ph. R. Benonisen

The vision of Háldi TBA

Háldi Transboundary Area is a contiguous wilderness area, managed through the cooperation of partners and the support of stakeholders, to preserve the high natural, cultural and recreational values of the most arctic area of continental Europe and in the heart of the Sami Homeland.

The mission of Háldi TBA

Partners of the Háldi Transboundary Area are committed to joint efforts in the management of natural and cultural values of the area and to share their knowledge and good practices for added value through cooperation in the area and further in their organizations.

Haldi mountain – rune benonisen

Official partners of Háldi TBA

In Finland:

• Metsähallitus Parks & Wildlife is the legal Partner to the Agreement;
• Fell Lapland Park Unit is the operational unit responsible for the management of the area;
• Kilpisjärvi Nature Center is a visitor service point providing information about Háldi TBA.

In Norway:

• Board of Reisa National Park and Ráisduottarháldi Landscape Protection Area is the legal Partner to the Agreement;
• Management of the areas is led by NP Superintendent;
• Halti National Park Center is an associated partner to the agreement. It is an official visitor centre of Reisa National Park.

Partners will set up a Joint Management Board according to the Agreement.

Other partners in Project Halti will continue cooperation as stakeholders in joint actions and future projects. They will also be members of the Joint Advisory Board.

More information on EUROPARC Transboundary Cooperation can be found here in the Knowledge Hub.

EUROPARC is constantly working to improve coexistence between people and large carnivores in and around Protected Areas.

In February, the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores met to plan its actions for 2022. Soon the Platform will finalize and publish a new Toolkit for Establishing Regional Platforms on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores based on the results of the last 3 years in creating and managing pilot experiences of regional platforms for the dialogue among different local stakeholders. We hope that this instrument would be useful for the Protected Areas that have to deal with conflicts between farmers, shepherds and local communities with wolves, bears, lynxes and wolverines.

EUROPARC on the Coexistance with Large Carnivores

EUROPARC is one of the co-founders of the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores (*).

Back in November 2021, EUROPARC organized a participatory workshop, together with the EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores. This workshop aimed to better identify the needs and challenges Protected Areas and managing authorities are facing to implement processes and measures for coexistence.

For this a specific participatory session took place during the meeting, giving around 50 participants from 14 countries the chance to share concrete needs, challenges, perspectives and to propose solutions.

The workshop was also an opportunity to provide an update on progress made at EU level for the conservation of large carnivores, looking at policy developments, European platforms and project implementation, with an insight on new targets for the future and the role of Protected Areas.

We gave the chance to present and share some concrete case studies, looking at the role and experiences of Protected Areas in leading and promoting processes and measures for coexistence in their areas. We focused our attention on effective communication, participatory process, partnership building and damage prevention measures.

(*) The EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores brings together different interest groups with a common mission: “To promote ways and means to minimize, and wherever possible find solutions to, conflicts between human interests and the presence of large carnivore species, by exchanging knowledge and by working together in an open-ended, constructive and mutually respectful way”

Speakers on European policy updates and initiatives to strengthen coexistence

• Marco Cipriani, European Commission, DG Environment, Nature Protection Unit
• Katrina Marsden, Adelphi, EU Platform on Coexistence between People and Large Carnivores

Case studies

• Support coexistence with large carnivores through partnerships. By Valeria Salvatori, Istituto di Ecologia Applicata, Italy.
• Wolf/Human Coexistence. Research and Management in Maiella National Park. By Simone Angelucci & Antonio Antonucci, Majella National Park, Italy.
• Human and Iberian Lynx conflict: the challenge of peaceful coexistence. By Guillermo Zamora, Junta de Andalucia, Spain.

What better way to tackle an issue than by coming together and opening the floor for discussion and brainstorming? In fact, we held a productive interactive group exercise to stimulate discussion.

The discussion was inspiring and fruitful and will be used by EUROPARC to inspire further actions and initiatives for coexistence in Protected Areas.

said Federico Minozzi, Managing Director at EUROPARC and workshop leader.

Workshop Report

To capture the value and outcomes of this workshop, we prepared a Workshop Report which summarizes the main aspects raised and discussed during the session and provides the opportunity to access all the presentations and recordings of the event.

Read the full summary and download the materials here!

To know more, visit:

EUROPARC Knowledge Hub – Large Carnivores

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