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Risk of impaired ecosystem functioning and loss
of biodiversity due to wildfires.
Conservation of forest biodiversity and sustainable
forest management are considered in most national
legislation related to forestry and agriculture. These
do not, however, integrate climate change and
adaptation issues yet. Some countries pay particular
attention to forest fires as one of the biggest threats to
biodiversity and explicitly address this risk in their
national policies (BiH, Serbia and Croatia).
BioREGIO Carpathians was a transnational project
(2011–2013), which aimed to show how the
integrated management of the Carpathians’ natural
assets could boost both sustainable development
and ecological connectivity in the region. The
project involved 16 partners from 9 different South
European, Central and Eastern European countries.
The seven Carpathian Ministries of Environment
were observers to the project.
One of the main goals of the BioREGIO project
was to develop management approaches that
could facilitate coordination and cooperation
between the institutions, regional and local
authorities, and other stakeholders of protected
areas and natural assets. A special focus was
placed on the development of a methodology
for integrated forest management and integrated
wetland management.
Key activities of the project included the
identification of regional development
opportunities; the development of financial
mechanisms and innovative economic tools
for protected areas, and common integrated
management measures. The project included
three pilot sites which together covered all five
Integrated management of biological and landscape diversity for sustainable regional development
and ecological connectivity in the Carpathians
Transboundary cooperation in the Carpathian mountain region
Carpathian countries. Each pilot site consisted of
two bordering protected areas:
• Duna-Ipoly National Park (Hungary) and
Poiple (Slovakia)
• Iron Gates Nature Park (Romania) and Djerdap
National Park (Serbia), and
• Maramures Mountains Nature Park (Romania)
and Carpathian Biosphere Reserve (Ukraine).
The project resulted in the enhanced management of
theCarpathianprotectedareas andnatural assetswhile
maintaining the biological and landscape diversity as
well as the ecological connectivity of its mountains.
The joint pilot actions involving a multitude of local
and regional stakeholders resulted in transboundary
agreements for long-term cooperation. Throughout
the project, the development of a joint biodiversity
geo-referenced web-based information system
provided a solid information basis for the decision-
makers at the national and transnational levels. The
Carpathian Integrated Biodiversity Information
System (CCIBIS) can be accessed at http://www.
and the BioREGIO Carpathians WebGIS
at
For further general information, please visit: www.
GOOD PRACTICES
• Limited regional/national policy coverage
for adaptation and biodiversity conservation
related to damage from wildfires
• Limited budget for specific adaptation
measures related to wildfires
• Lack of/limited institutional coordination
across sectors
Key Policy gaps:
Risk of loss of habitats and ecosystem services
due to flooding. Risk of loss of riparian habitats
and agricultural land due to flooding in
industrial hotspots.
The Framework Agreement on the Sava River
Basin (FASRB) between BiH, Croatia, Slovenia
and Serbia governs the coordination of activities
on conservation, protection, and improvement
of aquatic ecosystems of the Basin, as well as the
management of emergency situations. The Neretva
and Trebišnjica Management Project (NTMP)
(2008–2015) implemented in BiH and Croatia
aimed to improve transboundary water resource
management. Among its activities were enhancing