National Ecological Network of the Republic of Moldova

National Ecological Network of the Republic of Moldova Map

Moldova has a well-established system of protected areas. However, these sites have historically been identifi ed on the basis of national conservation priorities. It was only with the ratifi cation of the Ramsar Convention in 1999 that for the first time international criteria were formally applied in delineating and managing valuable habitats. At the same time, Moldova’s endorsement of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy in 1995 brought with it the commitment to contribute to the establishment of the Pan European Ecological Network.

The Ecological Network of Moldova presents a totality of natural habitats that are inter-connected physically (territorially) and functionally through populations of species and ecosystems, natural and historic landscapes, natural and cultural monuments, which inherently belong to landscapes. These include artificial landscapes and elements of special value for biodiversity protection, maintaining geo-systemic balance and for research and aesthetics. The Ecological Network presents an informational, co-coordinative, and legal mechanism to safeguard its physical components, the sovereignty of Moldova and State responsibilities in relation to national and international components of biological diversity.

National Ecological Network of the Republic of Moldova Info:

http://www.biotica-moldova.org/ECO-NET/index.htm

XIV Iberian Colloquium on Geography in Portugal

The Iberian Colloquium on Geography has formed over the last 13 editions, as a privileged place for the discussion of geographical problems between the Portuguese and Spanish researchers forum. 

In a context of continuing globalization and increase of scientific relations between researchers in the transatlantic space, it is essential to extend the scientifically oriented initiatives in order to promote the integration of an increasingly wide range of stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of developing the knowledge geographic in its various forms, projecting it in society, through an increasingly effective intervention. 

Thus, it is intended with this event together "at the same table" geographers not only the Iberian Peninsula, but also from countries in Africa and Latin America, with special emphasis on Lusophone and Hispanic. 

The themes proposed for the XIV Iberian Colloquium on Geography precisely reflect the breadth needed for wide open and the various problems that affect society in the Iberian world space and discussion.

Poster presentation of the dissertation: Spatial Modelling of Regional Ecological Networks: Contributions and Proposals for the North of Portugal

  

XIV Iberian Colloquium on Geography - http://xivcig.weebly.com/

European Green Belt

European Green Belt Map

Launched in 2004 by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and IUCN, the corridor is to be created through joint projects along the Green Belt with the support of the respective countries and other partners. The structure of the corridor will differ depending on the circumstances in each region. In some areas the Green Belt will be a continuous strip of land constituting part of existing or new protected areas; in other areas it will be established by linking transfrontier protected areas and protecting other priority transfrontier habitats. Examples of how the Green Belt can be configured have been developed for the northern section along the Finnish-Russian border and for part of the former border between West and East Germany.

http://www.europeangreenbelt.org/

The Green Belt of Amur-Heilong

The Green Belt of Amur-Heilong Map

The three basin countries - China, Mongolia and Russia had by 2005 established approximately 700 Protected Areas (PA) that cover 205,572 km² or about 10 percent of the Amur-Heilong River Basin. PA coverage in the Amur-Heilong basin is actually lower than nation-wide average in any of the three basin countries.

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/amur_heilong/structure2/greenbelt/

The Netherlands: The National Ecological Network

 The National Ecological Network of Netherlands Map

The Dutch government decided in 1990, following a multi-year research programme, to develop a National Ecological Network that could provide the long-term basis for ecological sustainability throughout the country. Given the scale of the initiative, establishing the network is a long-term enterprise, with full implementation scheduled for 2018.

The National Ecological Network as originally adopted in 1990 was an “oversized” indicative map of core areas, nature development areas and corridors. It is the task of the 12 provinces to delineate the precise boundaries of the network. This will be done using 132 habitat and landscape types for which minimum aggregate total areas have been fi xed at the national level. The final network is intended to cover about 730,000 hectares, or 17.5 percent of the Dutch countryside.

The realization of the ecological network requires cooperation between a wide range of stakeholders: national, provincial and local governments, protected area managers, water authorities, farmers, foresters, other land owners and business.

Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunities

The world has vast amounts of deforested and degraded forest landscapes that deliver limited benefits to both humans and nature. These areas of historical and recent loss provide opportunities for future gain. The maps in this atlas represent a first-ever global approximation of the extent and location of the opportunities for forest landscape restoration – opportunities to reduce poverty, improve food security, mitigate climate change, and protect the environment. The atlas includes maps on current forest coverage, potential forest coverage, forest condition, and human pressure on forest landscapes. The map of Bonn Challenge pledges describes the countries, regional organizations, and other entities that have made pledges toward the Bonn Challenge goal of restoring 150 million hectares of lost forests and degraded forest lands worldwide by 2020.

http://www.wri.org/applications/maps/flr-atlas/#

The Vilcabamba–Amboró Conservation Corridor

Vilcabamba–Amboró Conservation Corridor Map

In 1998, the Organization of American States funded a proposal that involved the creation of a transboundary Biosphere Reserve. The proposal incorporated corridors and buffer zones into its confi guration and complemented a similar idea that was being developed by Conservation International. These developments evolved into a more ambitious ecological network called the Vilcabamba–Amboró Conservation Corridor, which is built up around large protected-area complexes composed of protected areas, multiple-use areas and indigenous peoples’ reserves.

The programme now encompasses 18 protected areas, which are the core areas of a developing ecological network. Three of the areas are also indigenous reserves, and a series of Inca and pre-Inca archaeological sites are located in the network, including the world-famous Machu Picchu. The next phase in the programme is the preparation of detailed action plans.

The majority of the funding for developing the Vilcabamba–Amboró Conservation Corridor comes from a range of international donors. These include, in addition to Conservation International, WWF, USAID and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (a joint initiative of Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank).