TEWN

Transeuropean Wildlife Networks (TEWN)

The Balkan Peninsula hosts natural landscapes outstanding in Europe for their low degree of fragmentation. The Balkan region therefore is the most important distribution ranges for large mammals in Europe, and constitutes a high priority spot for European nature conservation in general.

Otherwise, mainly the new member-states of the European Union in this region currently undergo a dramatic increase of the transport infrastructure development. Despite of European Union conservation regulation mandatory for all members, the danger of underrating landscape conservation requirements in favour of infrastructure development is immanent with periods of industrial improvement. To prevent from non reversible habitat destruction and landscape fragmentation, a sound balancing of infrastructure planning and conservation issue is urgently required from the outset in the Balkan region.

Our project described here is meant to strengthen the position of nature conservation in the political discourse and to institutionalise the significance of landscape conservation in the decision making processes. Establishing an international expert network and knowledge pools, we aim on knowledge transfer and exchange of experience between the countries on the Balkan Peninsula. These processes result into methodological and technical support for the development of fragmentation mitigation strategies on national and supra national level. Based on the experience and alliances of the project partners, we target on definite implementation of these transboundary conservation schemes and strategies into the planning processes and political decision making of the respective countries.

The project is conducted as a joint work of diverse institutions and organisations. In the frame of the project, The Institute of Landscape Management took over the task of developing tools for conservation planning on a national and over-regional spatial level.

To the TEWN Declaration of Partners (pdf download, 556 KB)

2008 - 2010

Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt,  Frankfurt Zoological Society

Dr. Thomas Kaphegy

PD Dr. Matthias Dees, Dr. Christoph Ueffing, Dr. Diana Zlatanova, Csaba Domokos