important plant areas in central and eastern europe - hirc.botanic.hr ...

Executive SummaryRecommendations:IPAs should be recognised as priority sites in local, national and regionalconservation policies and action.Threatened IPAs should be prioritised for conservation action and protectionincreased where necessary.Poor forestry management is one of the most significant threats to IPAs andthere is no pan-European or EU sustainable forestry legislation.• IPAs, especially those with old growth or ‘virgin’ forest, should be targetedfor inclusion in protected area systems• IPAs with forestry activities should be targeted for sustainable forestrymanagement schemes and forest certification schemes• All afforestation schemes should undergo thorough and effectiveenvironmental impact assessmentsAgriculture (land abandonment and intensification) is one of the most importantfactors affecting IPAs, especially natural and semi-natural grasslands.• The Kiev Declaration (2003) and the message from Malahide (2004)highlighted the need to bring high nature value farmland under biodiversitysensitive management. IPAs should be recognised as criteria for high naturevalue farmland and included in national and regional programmes such asagri-environment schemes of rural development programmes.Development, especially tourism and recreation, and urban and transport, arewidespread threats to IPAs.• Tourist development at IPAs should be assessed for sustainability anddeveloped with local land managers and relevant specialists.• All EU funded development projects should undergo environmental impactassessments to ensure that they do not contradict EU biodiversityconservation aimsMonitoring the status of species and habitats at IPAs should be an importantpart of national monitoring programmes, and should be incorporated intoregional monitoring systems such as the EU Habitats Directive and the WaterFramework Directive.IPA identification is an ongoing process and gaps in the identification of sitesshould be targeted.• Each country has indicated that more sites will be identified as more databecomes availableNational and European Red Lists are essential for providing sound data on themost threatened species in Europe.The annexes of the Bern Convention and the EU Habitats Directive should beupdated to recognise important species and habitats from all regions of Europeand all taxonomic groups.The European Commission and member states should confirm theircommitment to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010 by providing adequatededicated funds for biodiversity conservation either through an improved ‘LIFE+’ fund or through the Rural Development Programme.BRANO MOLNARNEJC JOGANANTOANETA PETROVA9