Welcome to the CERI webpage!
Carpathian EcoRegion Initiative is a coalition of NGOs and research institutes working towards a common vision for conservation and sustainable development of the Carpathians.
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Become a member
Membership is open to NGOs, academic and research institutes committed to sign up to the CERI vision statement and accepting the CERI Statutes.
Support us
All support will be used within the CERI vision, for conservation of the unique Carpathian Biodiversity.
for any kind of cooperation or support
Provide us with your pictures/photographs to be used for free for the promotion of Carpathian region and conservation of biodiversity
Initiate cooperation with CERI network, contact us to elaborate common project
Take advantage of CERI expertise and involve CERI experts into your projects
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News
• Population level management of large carnivors
Pan-European Conference organized by EC DG Environment, MoE and Spatial Planning of the Republic of Slovenia, Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE), Slovenian Forest Service, Slovenian Institute for Nature Conservation
10-11 June 2008, Postojna, Slovenia
• Science for the Carpathians: S4C Strategy Development and Networking Workshop
27-28 May 2008, Kraków, Poland
• World of Carpathians – Awareness Raising about the Carpathian Biodiversity
New environmental educational project launched – CERI searches for cooperation. For more information visit www.daphne.sk/dbu-project08 or write to Andrea Kralovicova.
• Perspectives of wolves in Central Europe
Seminar organized by Hnutí DUHA
9 April 2008, Malenovice, Czech Republic
• Design of the Carpathian Ecological Network – Carpathian Biodiversity Information System
Bratislava, 3–5 March 2008
The third of the series of meetings of working group on Carpathian Biodiversity Information System under BBI/Matra project. The purpose of the meeting was:
• to link the process of design the Carpathian Ecological Network in the BBI-Matra project countries (Ukraine, Romania and Serbia), with an emphasis on the building of Carpathian Biodiversity Information System, with the remaing Carpathian countries
• to explain and clarify the process of biodiversity data collection and work flow for the experts from Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
• national teams Ukraine, Romania and Serbia present generated data, questions, clarifications
• to revise the outputs of the work of the teams in Ukraine, Romania and Serbia
• to discuss the scope, contents and target audience for common publication
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Presentations:
• Natura 2000: From Concept to Realization
Lviv, Ukraine, 23 – 25 October 2007
A training to increase understanding of Ukrainian CERI members and other NGOs and institutions on the principles of Natura 2000 supported by BBI Matra (Development of a Carpathian Ecological Network) and SEENET (Facilitation the establishment of the Pan-European Ecological Network in the Southeast European and the Black Sea regions).
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Presentations:
• Design of the Carpathian Ecological Network – Carpathian Biodiversity Information System – GIS/Database training 1
Herľany, Slovakia, 27-28 September 2007
Based on the results of the training needs assessment, which was carried out in December 2006 to identify the main needs and wishes of the Carpathian Ecoregion Initiative (CERI) members for receiving training in the course of the programme, the module on increase of GIS and database capacities was prepared. First training was held at the end of September in Eastern Slovakia. The second training is foreseen for June 2008.
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• 1st Meeting of the Clearing House Mechanism Working Group to the 2012 Protected Area Programme – The Carpathian Mountains Ecoregion
Organized by WWF DCP
Bratislava 27 June 2007
CERI is the member of the Steering Group to the 2012 Protected Areas Programme – The Carpathian Mountain Region. The objectives of the project is to establish a mechanism to drive, support and coordinate the implementation of the PoWPA´s, ensure that Carpathian Protected Areas are supported by a network of skilled professional practitioners, increase participation of key stakeholders, ensure that critical gaps in the Protected Area network are filled and improve capacity for the valuation of Protected Area goods and services and for cross-sectoral planning for effective management and benefit realization as well as increase public awareness.
The role of the Steering Group is instrumental and twofold – the group serves as an advisory to the Carpathian Project Management Team and ensures favourable conditions for the effective implementation of the programme in the Carpathians by engaging key partners and stakeholders in the project, e.g. national governments, national and international NGOs, intergovernmental institutions and bi- and multilateral aid agencies in the Carpathian countries. The Group meets twice a year to discuss progress made, comments on the annual work plan and specific activities and identifies challenges and opportunities.
The main elements of the meeting agenda were to define the structure of the Carpathian Clearing House Mechanism – main themes, to draft the structure of the CHM and discuss the issues of languages, hosting and administration etc. The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss the issues of the Matra BBI project and meet further potential co-workers from the Carpathian region (Romania, Serbia, Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine).
• Strengthening the Capacity of Governments to Implement Priority Activities of the CBD PoWPA. Central and Eastern Europe sub-regional workshop on the review of, and capacity building for, the implementation of the CBD programme of work on protected areas.
Organized by: WWF International, IUCN/WCPA, the CBD Secretariat, German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation
Isle of Vilm, 17-21 June 2007
CERI was invited to participate in and contribute to the workshop with the Carpathian experience on the ecological gap analysis based on the on-going BBI/Matra project „Development of a Carpathian Ecological Network“. The main objectives of the workshop included review the progress in implementing the CBD PoWPA, increase in the capacity of government officials to implement the PoWPA and demonstration of the relevance of national Master Plans. The workshop contained lectures, case studies, discussions and group work on:
• the overview of the CBD PoWPA and links to NATURA 2000 and WWF´s „2012 Protected Areas for a Living Planet“ programme
• elements and procedures for developing National Master Plans for protected areas as a means for guiding implementation of PoWPA
• ecological gap analysis including developing plans for national analyses
• management effectiveness assessment for developing management capacity
• sustainable financing including national action plans
overview of progress on country level implementation of the PoWPA
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• Design of the Carpathian Ecological Network – 2nd expert meeting
Brasov, 31 May – 1 June 2007
The second meeting of the experts working on Carpathian Biodiversity Informaion System, which supports design of a Carpathian Ecological Network aimed to assess the first phase of biodiversity data collection and to clarify further steps of biodiversity data collection. National coordinators presented the process of:
• assessment of availability and reliability of databases storing biodiversity data
• assessment of availability and reliability of data on biological aspects
• refinement of the boundaries of orographical units
• preparation of the national lists of habitats, plant and animal species, being conservation features to design of ecological network
The coordinators and experts summarized the result of the work and shared their experience with the problems they encountered during this phase of the work. Extremely important part of the meeting was discussion in the groups (habitats and plants, animals) and finalization of the lists of conservation features. Data on their distribution in the orographical units in the three project countries will be collected in the next phase.
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Presentations:
• CERI has published its new leaflet.
Please feel free to download 
and distribute it.
• Development of a Carpathian Ecological Network: Strengthening the Capacities of the Carpathian EcoRegion Initiative (CERI) in Supporting the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention
The period September 2006 - February 2007 is covered by second progress report. Click here to view a concise version.
• Design of the Carpathian Ecological Network - 1st expert meeting
Bratislava, 7-9 February 2007
This was the first common meeting of the work group heads, EU experts and national experts from Ukraine, Romania and Serbia, who were identified during the first phase of the project. The agenda of day one and day two was focused on ecological network design. The objectives were to identify the conservation features to be used to define the parameters of the ecological corridors and to identify those factors that determine the feasibility of their successful conservation. The purpose of the day three on Carpathian Biodiversity Information System was to explain and clarify the process of biodiversity data collection and work flow.
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Presentations:
• CERI signed Memorandum of Cooperation with the Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention
11th December 2006
The CERI is partnering with UNEP - the Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, relevant governmental bodies and national nature conservation organisations with the aim to contribute to the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians, constituting a major ecological, economic, cultural, recreational and living environment in the heart of Europe, shared by numerous peoples and countries. Mechanism of mutual cooperation between ISCC and CERI is stipulated in Memorandum of Cooperation, which shall be signed during the CERI Side Event.
• Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention - CERI´s side event
First meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP 1), 11-13 December 2006, Kyiv, Ukraine
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Photos:
• Development of a Carpathian Ecological Network: Strengthening the Capacities of the Carpathian EcoRegion Initiative (CERI) in Supporting the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention
The activities performed during the period May 2006 - 31 August 2006 are summarized in the first progress report. Click here to view a concise version.
• Development of a Carpathian Ecological Network: Strengthening the Capacities of the Carpathian EcoRegion Initiative (CERI) in Supporting the Implementation of the Carpathian Convention
Submitted by IAC Wageningen, Netherlands; financed by BBI-Matra.
Start-up meeting took place April 3, 2006 in Bratislava. Activities within the work packages were surveyed and discussed in deep, particularly those related to strengthening the organisational structure and capacities of the CERI. Draft Terms of Reference for CERI as a Local Programme Management Organisation and for Local Programme Manager were commented. The participants decided upon Inception meeting (of all partner organisations), which is to be May 17-18, 2006 in Bratislava. CERI selected and contracted Anna Guttova as Local Programme Manager, who is based in CERI Secretariat in Bratislava. Upcoming activities will be available soon.
• Establishment of CERI Secretariat
Since 1st March 2006 the headquarters of CERI are based in Bratislava, Slovakia. The CERI Secretariat is hosted by Daphne - Institute of Applied Ecology. Monika Chrenkova is the new CERI Executive Secretary.
• Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Proposal
The current Carpathians GEF proposal was accepted into the UNDP/GEF pipeline on the third attempt. That means, that the project has been reviewed and cleared by the Secretariat for GEF eligibility. Projects in the pipeline are in Phase I, "Project Preparation," of the GEF Project Cycle, which includes a second phase, the PDF-B.
The next steps are to make the project more relevant in terms of 'regional' implementation plans and to start the full-sized project with demonstration projects, small grants, connectivity of key landscapes and CNPA (Carpathian Network of Protected Areas) operationalization. Read more…
• Launch of new website for the Carpathian Convention
Finally, CERI is pleased to announce that the Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention, UNEP (UN Environmental Programme), in cooperation with EURAC (European Academy, Bolzano) and the Italian Environment Ministry, have launched a new website for the Carpathian Convention, www.carpathianconvention.org, which contains all the latest activities concerning the draft framework Convention.
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