Here you can find relevant links to the websites of the organizations and initiatives dealing with connectivity as well as links to projects and relevant documents. According to their language links are listed and described in different language versions of this website (English, German, Italian, French and Slovenian).
ArcGIS Tools and Information for Designing Wildlife Corridors
Background on Green Infrastructure
A brief description and the purpose of green infrastructure as well as the link to the Natura 2000 network, integrated land management, eco systems and climate change.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/background.htm
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
ECOCHANGE project: Biodiversity and Ecosystem changes in Europe
http://www.ecochange-project.eu
Ecological Networks - Database Central and Eastern Europe
http://www.iucn-ce.org/econets/database/
Ecological networks - SPEN and KEN projects
http://www.ecologicalnetworks.eu/
ECONNECT project: restoring the web of life
http://www.econnectproject.eu/
European Green Belt - Create the backbone of an ecological network
http://www.europeangreenbelt.org
Futurescapes
Futurescapes is an initiative by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in order to make landscapes in the UK more wildlife-friendly.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/futurescapes/
Green Infrastructure - information from the DG Environment
Ecosystems in the Wider Countryside and in Marine Environments outside Natura 2000
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/index_en.htm
Green Infrastructure for Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
Green infrastructure has been defined in North West England as the region's life support system – the network of natural environmental components and green and blue spaces that lie within and between our cities, towns and villages and provide multiple social, economic and environmental benefits.
http://www.greeninfrastructurenw.co.uk
HABIT-CHANGE project - adaptive management for protected areas
The HABIT-CHANGE project is implemented within the INTERREG IV B CENTRAL EUROPE programme. It not only stands for the expected habitat changes caused by climate change but also for the necessary adaptation of our own habits in close connection to this. Investigation regions of HABIT-CHANGE cover protected areas from all over Central and Eastern Europe with a focus on wetlands, forests, grasslands and alpine areas, including two areas in the Alps. The habitat types of these regions and their composition seem to be very vulnerable regarding climate change. Main aims of the project are to evaluate, enhance and adapt existing management and conservation strategies in protected areas to pro-actively respond on likely influences of climate change as a threat to habitat integrity and diversity.
IENE – Infra Eco Network Europe
IENE is an initiative for creating a transport infrastructure that harmonizes with the surrounding landscape. In 2008, IENE was re-vitalized after some years and is currently establishing its network across Europe. The general goal of IENE is to promote a safe and sustainable pan-European transport infrastructure through recommending measures and planning procedures to conserve biodiversity, counteract landscape fragmentation, and reduce vehicular accidents and wildlife casualties.
Italian Ecological Network - An approach for Italian vertebrates conservation
http://www.gisbau.uniroma1.it/ren.php
Lessons from the implementation of Biodiversity Corridor Initiatives in the EU
IEEP's workshop on the implementation of biodiversity corridor initiatives in the EU took place on the 2nd of July in DG Environment in Brussels. The workshop contained presentations on the specific implementation of corridor initiatives by experts from eight countries in the EU and two presentations on general issues related to the topic. The workshop aimed to facilitate an in-depth and critical assessment of the schemes which will input into a project led by IEEP for DG Environment called Reflecting environmental land use needs into EU policy.
http://213.198.115.240/projectminisites/landservices/workshop.php?PHPSESSID=3...
MALME - Metapopulation Approach for large Mammals in Europe - Case Study Alps
The portal has two interlinked websites (so-called compendia), one for more general, theoretical and Alpine specific information, the other one focussing on the species. Many documents are available in several Alpine languages.
The Species Compendium offers information about the biology, status, conservation and management of the large carnivores (brown bear Ursus arctos, Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx, and wolf Canis lupus) and the large herbivores (Alpine chamois Rupicapra rupicapra, Alpine ibex Capra ibex, mouflon Ovis gmelini musimon, red deer Cervus elaphus, roe deer Capreolus capreolus, and wild boar Sus scrofa) in the Alps. Further documents from outside the Alps are integrated if the subject is of general relevance.
The Alpine Compendium contains documents on landuse and management (i.e. protected areas, infrastructure, forestry, agriculture, hunting, tourism, etc.) and policy.
http://www.kora.ch/malme/20_malme/home/index_en.htm
Mountain Biodiversity at COP 10
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the governing body of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Since 2000 it meets every 2 years where ministerial level meetings take place to move ahead for the implementation of the Convention. The COP also includes side events where civil society and governments inform what they are doing regarding biodiversity.
Mountain Connectivity Conservation Management information portal
An Australian initiative to establish a continental scale wildlife corridor.
http://conservationconnectivity.org
Mountain Invasion Research Network
National Ecological Network as a Part of the Pan-European Ecological Network & NATURA 2000 Network, Croatia
http://www.cro-nen.hr/home1.php?id=1
NATREG project: Managing Natural Assets and Protected Areas as Sustainable Regional Development Opportunities
The NATREG Project is addressing the challenge that the potentials of the protected areas as an important instrument of biodiversity conservation and a great potential for social and economic development are still largely unrecognized. Furthermore, the connection between nature conservation and development of protected areas is too weak. Therefore, the project’s main aim is to acknowledge and promote the potentials of natural assets and protected areas as drivers of sustainable regional development, and to increase the perception of preserved nature as a valuable asset.
The Project is connecting six protected areas in the Adria-Alpe-Pannonia territory, namely in Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia.
Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS)
PANet - Protected Area Networks
Protected Area Networks - Establishment and Management of Corridors, Networks and Cooperation
PANet 2010 is aimed to improve the cooperation between protected areas. The very successful precedent project "IPAM-Toolbox" focused on the developement of methods, instruments and infrastructures for planning and managing protected areas.
PANet will go further and concentrate on the networks among the protected areas. This includes measures like corridors as well as combined management plans and strategies. The experiences made within pilot actions carried out in seven countries will contribute as best practice to the expert system. The results are distributed among relevant stakeholders and experts to help them building up new connections.
Paths of life - French project on the restoration of ecological corridors in the Isere Department
Protection of nature and biodiversity: Natural habitats (Natura 2000)
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/index_en.htm
Restoring the web of life – Ecological networks for more biodiversity in the Alps
http://www.cipra.org/en/ecological-networks/
SCALES project: Securing the conservation of biodiversity across administrative levels and spatial, temporal and ecological scales
South and East European Ecological Network, part of PEEN
The Alpine Convention
The Alpine Ecological Network - Ecological Continuum Initiative and general information on ecological connectivity throughout the Alps
The website provides among others information services such as a database with experts and projects related to the topic of ecological networks.
http://www.alpine-ecological-network.org
The Alpine Network of Protected Areas
The Carpathian EcoRegion Initiative
The Carpathian EcoRegion Initiative is an international coalition of NGOs and research institutes working towards a common vision for conservation and sustainable development in the Carpathians. The website also offers access to the Carpathian biodiversity information system.
The Carpathian Network of Protected Areas
http://www.carpathianparks.org/
The International Connectivity Conservation Network
The IUCN-WCPA Mountains and Connectivity Conservation International Connectivity Conservation Network (ICCN) is a WCPA voluntary network of managers working on individual terrestrial and marine large-scale connectivity conservation projects and initiatives around the world. It works on a voluntary basis and primarily aims at providing information, sharing knowledge and offering assessment in order to foster the preservation, protection and promotion of connectivity conservation in the face of climate change’s challenges to conservation and sustainable development.
http://connectivityconservation.net/
The Message from Athens on the future direction of EU policy on biodiversity protection
From 27 to 28 April 2009, the European Commission organized a conference in Athens to consider the future direction of EU policy on biodiversity protection. The conference concluded by presenting "The Message from Athens" which represents the main issues raised by stakeholders and aims to give policy makers an idea of priorities for future action.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/conference/pdf/message_fi...
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
Towards a green infrastructure for Europe: integrating Natura 2000 sites into the wider countryside
This website provides results and documents (see chapters "Proceedings" and "Background" of the conference that was held on 25-26 March 2009 in Brussels.
http://green-infrastructure-europe.org
TransEcoNet - Transnational Ecological Networks in Central Europe
Two countries, one forest
2C1Forest is a major Canadian-U.S. collaborative of 50 conservation organizations, researchers, and foundations working to conserve and restore the forests and natural heritage of the Northern Appalachian Acadian ecoregion. A major focus is to achieve connectivity between protected areas in Vermont's Northern Green Mountains and Mounts Suton and Orford in Québec.
Wildlands Network
Wildlands Network is restoring, protecting and connecting the best wild places throughout North America because people need nature, and nature needs space to survive. By connecting the biggest parks and healthiest conservation lands, wildlands network creates Wildways©, landscapes large enough to sustain wildlife for the long-term.