Cross-border conservation in East Central Europe: The Danube-Carpathian complex and the contribution of the World Wide Fund for Nature

• Published in: GeoJournal 2001, Vol.55 (2/4), p.655-681
• Main Author: Turnock, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biodiversity conservation; Borders; Conservation; Cooperation; Dams; Donors; Ecological sustainability; Ecology; Economic development; Economics; Environment; Environmental conservation; Environmental hazards; Environmental impact; Environmental policy; Environmental pollution; Environmental protection; Environmental restoration; Europe; Finance; Floodplains; Geography; Harmonization; Hydroelectric power; International cooperation; International relations; Marine ecology; Momentum; National parks; NGOs; Non-governmental organizations; Nongovernmental organizations; Political integration; Pollution; Protected areas; River deltas; Rivers; Socioeconomic aspects; Socioeconomic development; Socioeconomic factors; Summit conferences; Sustainable agriculture; Sustainable development; Transition economies; Wetland restoration; Wetlands; Wildlife conservation
• ISSN: 0343-2521; 1572-9893
• DOI: 10.1023/a:1021709515847

Cross-border cooperation in environmental matters has become much more evident since 1989 because open frontiers facilitate contact while common tasks emerge as protected areas in frontier zones lose their isolation. Pollution hazards have been discussed more openly since 1989 while further stimuli arise from the harmonisation process in the run-up to EU enlargement and the finance available from Brussels and other international donors to solve pollution problems and create international ecological networks. The paper examines the progress made in the Danube Valley and the Carpathians which together constitute the core of East Central Europe. Particular attention is paid to the role of environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) -and especially the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) -in the progress of conservation. Along with the World Conservation Union (IUCN), WWF has demonstrated the value of floodplain wetlands and ensured that wetland restoration is an important part of the Strategic Action Plan for the Danube. And by involving local ENGOs in specific projects the role of the non-governmental sector in environment matters is enhanced. Also, with momentum growing for a pan-European ecological network ('Natura 2000'), WWF has attracted the support of international donors for a ecoregion-based conservation (ERBC) in the Carpathians where priority areas have now been identified. Ecological and diplomatic capacities are thus deployed to maximise the scope for biodiversity conservation commensurate with sustainable socio-economic development.