European Wilderness Journal 01/2014

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European Wilderness Journal

Dear Friends o the wild!

Inthe past 15 years a lot has been achieved or Europes wilderness. heseachievements by various organisations were partially acknowledged bythe 10th World Wilderness Congress, the WILD10 in Salamanca, Spain.

Our visionSince we need to go urther or uture generations! he launch o the new

Vision or a Wilder Europe inspired us to set up the European Wilderness

Society, which is a new entity that strives or more and better protection o

wilderness in Europe.

Our objectives Identiying and assisting in the management and lobbying or existing

wilderness areas in Europe

Increase the total designated wilderness area in order to balance our hu-

man ootprint on the continent Inspire Europeans to care or our wild places across the continent

Our missionAs its name implies, the new entity ocuses its eorts on wilderness, on

Europe and on joint actions involving the public.

We are an inclusive entity, which will be supported by individuals, gov-

ernment, proit and non-proit organisations. Many are already part o the

European Wilderness Society but more are welcome to join and take part in

our mission. Like a wast network o partners, scientists, researchers, nature

conservationists, media experts, tourism specialists and management teams.

Join usOur new society will also ocus on the ambitious target o designating 5% o

Europes land territory as wilderness.

he engaged and very experienced team behind the European Wilderness

Society works ambitiously to reach this goal. But together with you we can

achieve even more! In case you are keen to publish anything, would like to

comment on our European Wilderness Society Web-page or would like ur-

ther inormation concerning the European Wilderness please let us know!

Welcome to the European Wilderness Society!

Te future of wildernessin Europe

Follow, contact and talk to usI you are interested in being notiied about European Wilder-

ness you can register or our Wilderness Newsletter or ollow

us on Facebook, and witter, or join our open Linkedin group!Our website is a one-stop-shop or inormation about the

European Wilderness.

www.wilderness-society.org

Zoltn Kun, Chairman | Max A.E. Rossberg, Deputy Chairman | Vlado Vanura, Director Wilderness Development

Letter to the Editors

Wilderness is nowhere as important as it is in Europe, the

worlds most densely populated continent. The good news isthat, in the last 20 years, great and critical strides have oc-

curred to help raise awareness of and protect wild naturebut

this work has really only just begun. The European Wilderness

Society is the force needed to continue and build this momen-

tum. We all need to join, assist, and promote this important

initiative.

Vance G Martin,

President: The WILD Foundation, World Wilderness Congress

he newborn EWS does a great job. Your homepage is

very attractive and well-made. Congratulations.Bernhard Kohler

WWF Austria

This is a very good initiative to save the population of wolves

especially in Europe where hunting is a serious problem!

Technical Specialist

UNESCO MAB Uganda

his a great opportunity or key core wilderness and wildlie

areas. Excellent stu.

Jim O.DonnellAround the world in 80 Years


3/203www.wilderness-society.org

Save the date

None of Natures landscapes areugly so long as they are wild.John Muir, Our National Parks, (1901),

Chapter 1, page 4.

Wilderness icker

Threat of winter tourism in the Tatra National ParkIconic protected areas such as the atra National Park, Slovakia and the Rila

National Park o Bulgaria are under threat by extractive industry and unsus-

tainable tourism development. Despite them having been recognised as IUCN

Category II Areas and their inclusion in the EU Natura 2000 system, investors

are suggesting massive ski lit developments in both areas.

FebruaryInternational Congress on Rural Tourism of Navarre

Kingdom

20. - 21. February 2014, Pamplona, Spain

August

The 7th International Conference on Monitoring andManagement of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas

20.-23. August 2014, allinn, Estonia

www.tlu.ee/en/mmv7/

October18th Forum 2000 Conference

12.-14. October 2014,

in Prague, Czech Republic

www.orum2000.cz/en/calendar/

NovemberIUCN World Parks Congress

12.-19. November 2014, in Sydney, Australia

www.worldparkscongress.org

National Wilderness Conference

15.-19. October 2014, in Albuquerque, USA

www.wilderness50th.org/conerence

European Natura 2000 Award

Wilderness areas orm an important part o the Natura 2000 system with-

in the European Union. here is an opportunity to reward best practices o

protecting wilderness through nominating your area or the Natura 2000

Award at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/awards/#

However our eorts should not stop here! Our team is currently working

on drating a new European Wilderness Convention that will recognise theimportance o wilderness in halting biodiversity loss and in delivering pub-

lic beneits.

Wilderness and forest

Forests are important to the ecosystem, not only or conservingEuropes biodiversity but also to protect the last ragment o extreme-

ly rare wilderness. Forests are also a undamental element o Natura

2000. Nearly 50% o Natura 2000 habitats are orests and around 23%

o all EU orests are in Natura 2000 sites! So i European orests are

among the main repositories o European biodiversity then conse-

quently (whether we like it or not) wilderness is also by deinition an

extremely important reservoir o European biodiversity. Particularly,

wilderness orest is the kind o biodiversity reservoir that people have

already been longing or so many years.


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Importance of wilderness

Author: Allan Wattson US Forestry Service Member of NAWPA

Te general public ofen wonders why we researchers and increasingly the politicians

are so supportive o the wilderness. Here are just some o the vital role the wilderness

plays in dealing with challenges o industrial development.

Thegeneral public oten wonders whywe researchers and increasinglythe politicians are so supportive o the wilder-

ness. Here are just some o the vital role the

wilderness plays in dealing with challenges o

industrial development.

Conserving BiodiversityProtected areas are essential or conser-

vation. In a changing climate, they are sae

havens or plants and animals to reproduce

despite changing conditions.

Protecting Ecosystem ServicesWilderness and protected areas protect,

restore and provide essential ecological, so-

cial and economic services, like clean water;

weather, temperature and humidity regula-

tion; soil conservation; and genetic reservoirs

that may lead to the development o improved

crops, new medicines and other products vital

to human communities.

Connecting Landscapeshe unpredictable impact o climate change

may aect the ability o ecosystems and spe-cies to adapt to changing environmental con-

ditions either in-situ or via migration to more

suitable habitats. Protected area networks are

one o the most eective approaches or sup-

porting ecosystem adaptation. Connecting

terrestrial and reshwater habitats across var-

ied landscapes enables plants and animals to

shit ranges and thrive in new locations.

Capturing and Storing CarbonProtected areas store vast amounts o car-

bon in ecosystems such as boreal and tem-perate orests, coastal areas, oceans, and grass

lands. hese natural systems help reduce the

levels o greenhouse gases that cause global

warming through natural biological processes

that draw carbon dioxide out o the atmos-

phere.

Building Knowledge and Under-standing

Wilderness in particular, oers unique op-

portunities or research on climate change,

because these areas are among those least

modiied by human inluence. Applied sci-ence and research in protected areas can im-

prove our understanding o ecosystems and

species response to climate change, and im-

prove inormation or planning and manage-

ment to help communities adapt.

Inspiring PeopleInspiring natural surroundings provide the

perectsetting or tuning into nature, learn-

ing about it, appreciating it, respecting it and

pledging to protect it. Managers can serve as

conveners, acilitators, and leaders who inspireand engage their communities in partner-

ship or conservation and learning promote

resource stewardship to ensure a sustainable

uture.

Source:North American Protected areas as naturalsolutions for climate Change (2012), North American

Intergovernmental Committee on Cooperationfor Wilderness and Protected Area Conservation(NAWPA)

Is wilderness so

important for thechallenges of modern

days society?

Yes!



WILD 10Salamanca

Spain


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European Wilderness Society:

Mr. Meyer, the European Wilderness Soci-

ety has been ounded to promote the con-

cept o Wilderness in Europe. Most o these

wilderness areas are in less developed areas

with little tourism. As you have been very

active in identiying tourism trends, what

role could wilderness play in the uture

when it comes to alternatives to the main-stream tourism concepts?

Michael Meyer:

Wilderness areas already play a crucial role

or people. hese areas provide ecosystem

services such as clean water, clean air, or-

est products (wood, herbs, game) etc. On

top o this main unction, these areas are

important or recreation and educational

purposes.

In the uture this role will be even more

important. People tend to move to cities,

rural areas are abandoned. hat means

they move urther away in distance and

in knowledge rom what nature actually

is. In addition, our world moves aster in

comparison to 50 or 100 years ago. People

are stressed rom their jobs and rom the

daily pressures. In wilderness they can slowdown and learn about nature and them-

selves.


What are the key requirements or wil-

derness areas in attracting tourists?

Michael Meyer:

Wilderness areas need to be authentic

and as unspoiled as possible. People living

in and around wilderness areas have to be

proud in being there and invite tourists to

learn about their daily living.


What are the key success actors when

developing a tourism strategy incorporat-

ing wilderness as its key element?

Michael Meyer:

People consider wilderness areas as areas

without any human inluence. hey think

no people live there. For most o the wil-

derness areas in Europe this is certainly

not true. hereore, one o the key success

actors or a tourism strategy is the owner-

ship by local people or designing and im-

plementing such a strategy. Wilderness isdependent on people and vice et versa. he

second key element is the ull support o all

governmental bodies involved in managing

a wilderness area, no matter i at national,

province, district or community levels.


What do you suggest to the European

Wilderness Society (EWS) when it comes

to incorporating tourism in its portolio?

Michael Meyer:

he EWS could be HE platorm orpromoting sustainable tourism in wilder-

ness areas in Europe. It should provide all

the existing tools and methodologies avail-

able to make sustainable tourism a success

together with the tourism business sector,

governments, NGOs and science.

Interview with

Michael Meyer

Interview: Max A.E. Rossberg

Michael Meyer is the Project Manager or the World ourism Organization (UNWO)

based in Germany. Michael Meyer started his career as a consultant on management o

tourism acilities, working about 15 years on quality assessment and training o staff.

In 1999 he became a member of the board of EcologicalTourism in Europe (ETE) to work on the topic of sustainable

tourism development in and around protected areas fore-most within Central and East Europe. Since 2006 he is alsoworking for the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)

giving advice to member states on sustainable tourism plan-ning and biodiversity-based tourism product development.

He is a member of the roster of experts of the Conventionon Biological Diversity (CBD) and co-author of the Interna-

tional Guidelines on Biodiversity and Tourism Developmentof the CBD. His specialties are coaching of tourism planning

processes, capacity-building of local communities and entre-preneurs and sustainable tourism product development.



Oneo the outcomes o the conerence was something that hasthe boring title o Resolution 17. What does this numberreally mean?

Milestone Resolutionhis is a resolution which calls or improving the legal protection o

wilderness through a European Wilderness Convention.he European

Parliament passed a resolution on wilderness in February 2009, some o

the recommendations having been realised through: the development o a deinition o wilderness

the development o guidelines on wilderness management in the

Natura 2000 network

and a wilderness register that documents and maps wilderness in a

subset o countries in Europe

Finding wildernessA review o status and conservation o wild lands throughout Europe,

completed or the Scottish Government, revealed that the word wil-

derness is not oicially included in most o the national protected area

legislation o European countries. However, strictly protected area types

that are ound in the national legislation in most o the European coun-

tries do give rise to areas across Europe that have wilderness character-istics. Some o these areas, like the Swiss National Park in Switzerland

and the Lagodekhi State Nature Reserve in Georgia, have had this strict

protection in place or 100 years or more.

Wild10We commend the Alpine Convention as an example o a supranation-

al agreement between countries that share geographical regions, with

protocols or speciic common actions deined and pursued by the de-

cision-making body o the Convention and through participation o the

signatories to the regular meetings o the Alpine Conerence. We recog-

nise the example o the model law or Biosphere Reserves proposed by

the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Program, based on the analysis ovarious examples o existing legal translations o the biosphere reserves

concept into national protected area legislation.

Join Togetherhereore our society along with other organisations calls upon all

European Countries to join together in a European Wilderness Conven-

tion based on a ramework that incorporates the wilderness deinition,

and has a model law or wilderness as a protocol or its protection de-

rived rom existing national legislation or strict protection. We want

to ensure that the ramework includes a commitment on Contracting

Countries to explore the possibility o establishing additional strict wil-

derness reserves in their territories in line with the protocol.And inally we also encourage Contracting Countries to incorporate

their strict wilderness reserves in the European Wilderness Preservation

System.

Call for the Wild in

Legislation

wo of our colleagues are amongthe initiators of the European

Wilderness Convention!

Te 10th World Wilderness Congress also known as WILD10 organised in Salamanca

turned into a major milestone to promote wilderness protection in Europe.

Author: Gaia Angelini, Policy and Project Director LuminaConsult and Zoltan Kun


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10/2010


TheWildland Research Institute(WRi) at the University o Leeds,UK, is a world leader in wilderness/wild-

land research, and had a prominent role in

WILD10, the 10th World Wilderness Con-

gress last October in Salamanca, Spain. WRi

gave two plenary talks under the congress

heading o Make the World a Wilder Place,

contributed signiicantly to a new drat Vision

or a wilder Europe, contributed to 5 congressresolutions, moderated 6 sessions, and sub-

mitted 10 papers. So it is no surprise that WRi

welcomes the new European Wilderness So-

ciety and others, such as Wild Europe, who

support the ideals o wilderness.

International Wilderness ResearchWRi aims to identiy and develop the re-

quirements, strategies and policies or a tran-

sition to a greater presence o wild landscapes.

In support o this speciic intent WRi has de-

veloped many o the approaches, tools and

methods used in mapping wildness at local to

continental scales and, together with World

Universities Network (WUN) unding, WRi

was the initiator o the International Wilder-ness Research Network (iWRN) to promote

and develop a network o mapping champi-

ons or wilderness throughout Europe.

The Gold StandardWRi also oers a body o knowledge about

sel-willed land, non-intervention manage-

ment and the gold standard or wilderness

(see e.g. Wild or natural the challenges

Europe aces in setting aside wilderness). In-

terests in wildland, wilderness and wilding

are oten interdisciplinary, so the activities o

WRi combine social and natural sciences, aswell as the arts. WRi has had a longstanding

partnership with social and natural scien-

tists at the Aldo Leopold Research Institute,

Missoula, USA, working with tribal and in-

digenous knowledge and helping develop

approaches to mapping wilderness character.

his led recently to a new project about tradi-

tional phenological knowledge, unded by the

US Forest Service.

Interesting Times for Wildernistas

A new step in the development o recognis-ing European wilderness is the WILD10 reso-

lution on establishing a supra-national agree-

ment in all European countries or a European

Wilderness Convention. he proposal is based

on a ramework that incorporates the wilder-

ness deinition and has a model law protocol

or wilderness protection derived rom exist-

ing national legislation. Under that European

wide umbrella, every country can maintain

dierences in its legislation and in its cultural

approach to wilderness and still aord essen-

tial protection to this threatened resource.

Finding Words for WildernessSome European languages dont even have

a speciic word or wilderness. An example o

the need to take a country-speciic approach

is the work o WRi in Scotland. his began

through WRi developing a method to map

wildland within the two Scottish National

Parks. he approach was then adapted by

Scottish Natural Heritage to map wildness

across all o Scotland. he mapping can now

be used in support o long and diicult dis-

cussion and policy making, about the world

amous Scottish wild land, (the Scottish High-lands are visited by people rom all over the

world); about ecosystems services; and about

renewable energy development. For urther

inormation about WRi and its activities see

http://www.wildlandresearch.org

Te Wildland ResearchInstitute (WRi) in EuropeTe general public ofen wonders why we researchers and increasingly the politicians

are so supportive o wilderness. Here are just some o the vital roles which wilderness

can play in dealing with challenges o industrial development.

Author: Mark Fisher, Steve Carver, Alison Parfitt



Berlin

Vienna

Bratislava

Roma

Budapest

Bucaresti

Sofia

Tirana

Kiev

Warszawa

Bern

Ljubljana

Ankara

TheEuropean Bison (Bison bonasus),

also known as Wisent, is exem-plary as one o the ew herbivore wilderness

species listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. wo

subspecies are recognized, the lowland (Bison

bonasus bonasus - extinct in the wild in 1919)

and the Caucasian (Bison bonasus caucasicus

- extinct in the wild in 1927).

Safegard European Wildernesshe EWS works to saeguard European

wilderness, the continents most undisturbed

areas o nature or uture generation. he

ambition o EWS in this long-term project isto re-establish a viable, sel-sustaining popu-

lation o European bison in the eastern Car-

pathian Mountains in order to revive wilder-

ness values to this area and to oer support to

the local communities. he initiative started

within a Global Environment Facility (GEF)

operation between 1999 and 2006: a World

Bank Project on Biodiversity and Conserva-

tion Management.

Bison Reintroductionhe reintroduction area is situated in the

South o the park, a potential wildernessarea with low human disturbance. he area

(Cracului Valley) is a orested area o around

5000 ha. he European bison has been roam-ing ree in this area since the program started

in the spring o 2012. he releasing area was

evaluated by Polish and Romanian specialists

and was considered as being suitable or ur-

ther European bison reintroduction.

he project includes the transer o six

captive-bred emales rom our samplings on

the British Isles, to provide additional release

stock or the on-going Romanian European

bison population. he transport o the ani-

mals rom the British Isles is planned to take

place during March 2014. he ree bisonrom the Cracului area has already started

to concentrate in the proximity o the enced

area and they are expected to stay there until

spring. hereore i everything will go accord-

ing to plan, the new bison coming rom the

UK will be able to adapt and integrate with

the Cracului bison.

Detailed Work since 2005he reintroduction o Europes largest land

mammal represents one o the most challeng-

ing tasks in the restoration o European wil-

derness heritage. With respect to bison con-servation, the irst achievements were seen in

2005 in Romania: there was the irst quaran-

tine arm or European bison, the irst genetictests, the irst regular system or veterinarian

treatments, the irst bison imports o genetic

basis rom Western Europe, the training or

the sta involved and the establishment o a

Bison Management Centre (acclimatization

enclosure o 180 ha, eeders, acilities, bison

herd dedicated to reintroduction purposes,

with 20 animals).

Scientific Supportechnical studies undertaken by the Ro-

manian Forest Research Institute - ICAS(1994) and he Zoological Society o London

(1998) revealed the suitability o the Vanatori

Neamt Natural Park to support a viable ree

roaming bison population. Further studies by

Polish and Romanian experts conirm these

results. It is worth mentioning that during the

GEF project, the program has beneited rom

the assistance o a team o Polish consult-

ants: ecologist (Pro. Kajetan Perzanowski),

genetician (Pro. Wanda Olech), veterinarian

(Pro. Wojciech Bielecki) and bison breeder

(Mr. Mieczyslaw Hlawiczka) with a huge

experience in bison management.

Bison reintroductionAuthor: Vlado Vancura

Te European Wilderness Society (EWS) is engaged in the reintroduction o the

European Bison to the Vanatori Neamt Nature Park in Romania.


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12

Wilderness in Focus

Hohe auern NP, Austria

Author: Vlado Vancura

Once bearded vultures were

ound in almost every moun-

tain range o southern Europe

and the Alps. In numerous

legends the bearded vulture,

with its glowing red eyes, was

eared and it was believed they

attacked even young children.As a result, they were hunted

and almost eradicated. Te

vultures have been reintro-

duced in the Austrian Alps

through a captive breeding

programme by the Hohe

auern National Park and its

partners.



Berlin

Vienna

Bratislava

Roma

Budapest

Bucaresti

Sofia

Tirana

Kiev

Warszawa

Bern

Ljubljana

Ankara

Believeit or not, there is stillwilderness in CentralEurope in the most populated and modiied

mountainous area on our globe the Alps. Di-

icult terrain provides an opportunity to sae-

guard the remains o wilderness that cannot be

developed, just a couple hours drive rom big

European cities such as Vienna, Salzburg or

Munich.

Nationalpark Hohe Tauern SalzburgOne such place is certainly the Nationalpark

Hohe auern Salzburg, where the very concep-

tual pro-wilderness approach deined almost

10 000 ha o wilderness in a demanding Euro-

pean wilderness quality standard.

In the middle of AustriaNationalpark Hohe auern Salzburg is the

largest national park in the Alps. A land o con-

trast would describe it shortly. he park is an

area with a wild, primeval landscape and simul-

taneously it has ields cultivated by mountain

armers over several centuries. Wilderness inthe Nationalpark Hohe auern Salzburg in-

cludes typical high Alpine zones and high level

o Alpine biodiversity e.g. Alpine ibex (Capra

ibex), Red deer (Cervus elaphus), Chamois

(Rupicapra rupicapra), Alpine marmot (Mar-

mota marmota), Mountain hare (Lepus timi-

dus), Alpine salamander (Salamandra atra),

bats, birds, lichens, etc.

Research and ExperienceUniqueness o this wilderness area is high-

lighted by ree-running natural processes and

original landscapes, the high Alpine spacious

glaciers, and it is an excellent area or research,

monitoring and experiencing sustainable wil-derness.

European

WILDERNESS SOCIE

TY

WWW.WILDERNE

SS-SOCIETY.ORG

WILDERNESS

TheEuropeanWildernes

sSocietycertifiesthat

NATIONALPARK

HOHETAUERNSALZ

BURG

AUSTRIA

isaEuropeanWildernessPreser

vationSystemPartneracco

rding

tothesocietysindependentwildernessprinci

plesandstandards.

Thisdiplomacertifiesth

attheNationalparkHo

heTauernSalzburg

joinstheEuropeanWil

dernessPreservationSy

stembyprotecting

9.136haofwildernessr

epresentingthebestof

Europeswilderness.

Givenat1stFebruary2

014

validuntil 31.01.2016

DIPLOMA

ZoltnKun

Chairman

MaxA.E.Rossberg

Deputy Chairman

VladoVanura

DirectorWilderness De

velopment

JOINANDBEPAR

TOFIT

Nationalpark Hohe Tauern

Salzburg

Country: Austria

Area: 80.500 ha

Wilderness Area: 9.136 haWebsite: www.hohetauern.at

Te Nationalpark Hohe auern Salzburg has recieved the

European Wilderness Diploma 2014


14/2014


Nowmore than ever beore. As such, the European Wilder-ness Society works in partnership with tourism compa-nies who share common norms and values concerning wilderness. he

interested vacationer can ind several travel oerings rom our partners

on our special website www.wilderness-travel.org.

Tourism as education tool

ourism in our view is really not an industry: it is the education toolo the 21st century. It creates local jobs in rural, economically depressed

regions, it highlights dierent culinary tastes, it oers income possbib-

lites to local guides and it brings people rom dierent cultures togeth-

er. It also provides the visitor the opportunity to interpret wilderness in

a unique setting.

Where does the idea stem from?When many Europeans think o wilderness, they tend to reer to li-

ons and jaguars that can be seen on saari in Arica. But when we think

about places like Oulanka National Park or Soomaa National Park,

which are two very wild landscapes in Europe, we seldom think about

these destinations in the context o a unique travel experience in a true

European wilderness area. We realised that we needed to open peopleseyes and raise awareness o these stunning places to achive our goal o

saeguarding wilderness in Europe. Our tourism partners thereore play

an important part in the preservation and conservation agenda in these

wilderness areas and not only entertain but also educate the general

public about the most pressing wilderness issues.

Travel2WildOne o our partners in this endeavour is ravel2Wild. ravel2Wild

was ounded by nature-lover travel enthusiasts, who realised that while

Europes wilderness oers so many wonderul holiday opportunities,

people do not associate the words Adventure, Europe and Wilderness

together. At the moment, ravel2Wild oers several tours to eight un-dicovered wilderness areas in Europe. heir plan is to cover all o the

wilderness locations across Europe in the next 3 years as an alternative

to mass tourism.

Making Europes wildernesssexy again

Author: Janos Pereczes, Zoltan Kun

We like to think o tourism as a tool to mobilise people or wilderness and not as an industry

creating nature conservation problems. People are increasingly seeking adventure;

Europes wilderness is in serious need o getting more public support.

We encourage all interested wilder-ness advocates to consider the next

vacation in a European Wilderness- there are many to pick from...



Thereare very ew wilderness areas in Europe that have al-ready been protected or decades. Yet Berezinsky Bio-sphere Reserve in Belorussia ounded in 1925, covers an area o 85.192

ha with 27.204 ha o wilderness, is deinately one o them! Because o its

biological diversity and unique combinations o natural conditions, thereserve is very important not only or Belarus but also or Europe. here

are our types o ecological systems at the Reserve: orests, bogs, water

reservoirs and meadows.

Tracks of the pastBerezinsky has become a world-amous model o intact primeval na-

ture o orest, marsh, lake and river systems. hanks to the enthusiasm

o many generations o scientists, orest experts and naturists, over 6.000

biological species are ound here, including 187 rare ones listed in the

National Red Data Book o Belarus.

Natural heritage of Europehe reserve is situated at the watershed o the Baltic and the Black

Seas. he reserve is the oldest o all the protected sites that orm the

wilderness heritage o Europe.

Ecology of the futureCovering nearly the whole spectrum o natural complexes o the Re-

serve - orests, mires, meadows, rivers and lakes - the ecological routes

are designed or dierent kinds o visitors and welcome organised

groups accompanied by experienced guides and specialists.

Author: Vlado Vancura

Wilderness in FocusTe Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve in Belorussia is the oldest Europeanpreserved natural territory


16/2016


Welcome back home,dear Wolf!

Author: Max A.E. Rossberg

We are responsible to care or animals that belong to the natural biodiversity. Te wol

is part o our natural heritage. Hunting and loss o their habitat as well as several myths

have almost led to their extinction, but they are staging a comeback.

Weall know the story of the big bad wolf in fairy tales likeLittle Red Riding Hood and the gruesome stories aboutwerewolves that even today return to the big screen in movies. But the

mythology also tells the story that the founders of Rome, Romulus and

Remus were raised by wolves. This cultural-historical background re-

veals the often difficult relationship between wolf and mankind leading

to the ambivalent roles of the wolf as a hunter and as a prey.

Hunter or prey ?Previously mistaken as a bloodthirsty man-eater, scientific research

has shown that the wolf is actually a very shy predator, that has primari-

ly deer and rabbit on the menu. But nevertheless, over the past centuries

wolves in Europe have not fared well. Wolves were nearly eradicated in

Central Europe since the beginning of the last century. Hunters made a

living from the bounties paid by villagers, because they hated the wolf

as a competitor threatening their farm animals and the local wildlife.

Enjoys highest level of protectionWolves are the most important and last missing natural predator in

Central Europe. Without the wolf, governments for example need to

spend immense amount of resources managing the deer population.This is why more and more regions and countries are working so hard

on a reintroduction of the wolf across all of Europe. According to the

EU legislation, the wolf is a priority species and therefore enjoys the

highest level of protection in most European countries and a pan Euro-

pean anti hunting code was agreed upon.

Returning to their original homeLegal protection helped to increase the number of wolves quadruple

since the 70s. They are rapidly expanding their territories in Europe

from eastern Europe into France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Austria,

Poland and Italy. Their choice of territory is often a mystery as Hnuti

Duha, who are dealing with the monitoring and conservation of largecarnivores around the Czech-Slovakian border, have observed. For in-

stance, last year, the only one confirmed case was a dead female wolf hit

by car near the town Valask Mezi while in another instance a wolf

was already seen in the Netherlands and at the time wolves have been

observed in urban areas like Berlin, Hanover and Rome.

Chilling howling, but not dangerousIn general however, wolves are so shy that people hardly get to see

them. The only way we are becoming aware of a wolf in our region is the

chilling howling of wolves at night. The image of the wolf as a danger to

man is still ingrained in the collective mind of Europeans even thoughit is scientifically proven to be incorrect. We tend to overreact as can

be seen in the case of the derogation agreement, which permitted 120

wolves to be killed annually in Slovakia. Our colleagues at Hnuti Duha

as well as several in Slovakian and Polish environmental organizations

and hundreds of letters written by citizens of these states has started a

EU Commission investigation into this unnecessary killing of the pro-

tected wolves.

Improve the coexistence between carnivores and humans:In former times, herds consisted of 200 to 300 sheep, watched by at

least 3 or 4 shepherds and their dogs. The dogs wore special spiked col-

lars to fend off possible attacks from wolves. With the extinction of the

large carnivores this skill and knowledge on how to protect the livestockhas been lost. The herds have become larger while the shepherds and

dogs have become less for instance up to 1000 sheep with one shep-

herd and no watch dogs has become common.

Old and new techniquesThere are several projects to reduce the impact of the wolf on the

agricultural sector while allowing it to take its role in the natural food

chain. Instead of ignoring the hunting ban, old methods should be re-

called and used in combination with new technology. This is done by

using simple tools, such as electric fences around sheep pens, by using

Wolf Patrols to monitor populations and guard against illegal hunting

and trapping, and by protecting migration corridors from ongoing frag-mentation through the purchase of land and replanting / regeneration,

and undertaking a public awareness campaign using the data collected.



N.

Stmk.

W.

Ktn.

O.

Sbg.T.Vbg. Bgld.

WLFE IN EUROPA

WLFE IN STERREICHIm 19. Jhdt. ausgerottet

Seit damals immer wiedersporadisches Vorkommenvon Einzeltieren

Gefhrdungsstatus: Rote Listesterreich Ausgestorben

Wolfshinweise 2010, 2011 und2012

Karelien

150-165Geschtzte Zahl

Baltikum

870-1.400

Iberische Halbinsel

2.500 Italien600-800

Skandinavien

260-330

AUT

STECKBRIEF WOLF(CANIS LUPUS)

Lebt zurckgezogen und scheuin Familienverbnden (Rudeln)mit starken Bindungen

Gre: zwischen 100und 160 cm

Gewicht: bis zu 38 kg

Reviergre: bis zu 300 km2

Alter: 8 13 Jahre

Nahrung: hauptschlich Rehe,Wildschweine, Hirsche

Westalpen

250

Balkan

3.900

Karpaten3.000

WWF sterreich 2013Bilder:iStockphoto,

Shutterstock

Deutschland-Westpolen

150

Tourism and wolfLandscape and nature are the business foundation of regional

tourism. Accordingly new media-friendly wild species like the wolf

actually boost regional tourism opportunities. Tourist regions where

wolves have returned not only have nothing to fear, but actually attract

interested visitors. The wolf is not the devil, it is just an animal we must

learn to live with again. Should you need more information concerning

wolves please contact the Europe Wilderness Society.


18/2018


Wilderness Stuff

.

The wolfMountains

Thewolfmountain

s

Willkommen zu HauseDie Wlfe kehren zurck

10 14 Jahre (ISCED 2) Schlerarbeitshe

DVD - The Wolf MountainsThe European natural world could be even wilder than we might imagine. Large

herds of bison and wild horses, huge bears and rivers teeming with salmon were once

part of a wild Europe. As western civilisation grew, this natural paradise disappeared

centuries ago and it is hard to imagine how it might once have been. But there are now

places in Europe where the wilderness of yesteryear returns. This film is a unique por-trait of a pocket of European wild nature that has not been witnessed for generations.

This is a story about life in the Wolf Mountains of the Eastern Carpathians.

Magazine for Kids - Welcome HomeThe WWF Austria has developed a series of educational and informational set of

material focusing on the return of the Wolf into Austria. Especially interesting is the

16 magazine targeted at the 10-14 year old teenagers informing them about the history,

habits, dietary plans, hunting skills and the role the Wolf plays in the food chain of our

natural environment.



Join and be part of it!

TeamZoltan KUN, Chairman of the Society, EU Advocacy and Fundraising,

Max A.E. ROSSBERG, Deputy Chairman, Sustainable Tourism Expert

Vlado VANCURA, Director Wilderness Development

Anni HENNING, Senior Editor, Marketing Communications

Susanne WERTH,Marketing Assistant, Marketing Communications

Gaia ANGELINI, International Policy Director

Bodo ROSSBERG,Art Director

We acknowledge our advisorsStephen Carver, Wildland Research Institute

Mark Fisher, Wildland Research Institute

Allison Parfitt, Wildland Research Institute

Dr. Michael Jungmeier, E.C.O. Institute of Ecology

Michael Meyer, OETE Stiftung und UNWTO

2014 European Wilderness Society

Dechant Franz Fuchs Str. 5; 5580 Tamsweg; Austria

Phone: +43 (0)676 913 88 04

Email: [email protected] | www.wilderness-society.org

All rights, errors and changes are reserved.

Photo Credits: Stephen Carver, Michael Meyer, Max Rossberg, Bruno

DAmicis, NP Kalkalpen, Wild Foundation, NP Majella, Berezinsky

Biosphere Reserve, Vanatori Neamt NP, Vlado Vancura, Sebastian

Catanoiu, WWF, fotolia.de

Design: www.diemedienwerkstatt.info, 5580 Tamsweg, AustriaPrinted in Austria

SubscriptionBecome one of our 2000 subscribers. If you want to subscribe visit our

Website: www.wilderness-society.org

www.wilderness-society.org

We appreciate your donation to supportwilderness in Europe

European Wilderness SocietyIBAN: A98 3506 3000 0015 8089 BIC: RVS AA2 S063


20/20

European

WILDERNESS SOCIETYWWW.WILDERNESS-SOCIETY.ORG

JOIN AND BE PART OF IT

Documents

European Wilderness Journal 01/2014