Enhancing Biodiversity Protection in the Eastern Partnership Countries: Learning from EU Best Practices

The regional workshop on “Enhancing Biodiversity Protection in the Eastern Partnership Countries: Learning from EU Best Practices” took place on 28 April 2025 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

On 29 April 2025, a field trip was scheduled to the sites: Devínske rameno, Devínska hradná skala, and restored part of the Rudava river.

30 April 2025 was dedicated to the discussion of sustainable tourism in protected areas and interactive activities within the small groups.

Meeting objectives

The objective of this workshop was to equip the participants from the EaP countries with a better understanding of the management and conservation of the Emerald Network and learn from best EU practices. The event shared knowledge and best practices on legal frameworks, site management, enforcement, capacity building, community participation, economic activities, and the experiences of EU countries and related initiatives such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Nature Restoration Law.

Participants

The meeting gathered Government representatives from the EaP countries, EU institutions, CSOs, academia, representatives of the implementing consortium and the World Bank.

Background

The EU4Environment Programme supports the EaP countries in advancing the Emerald Network by developing national action plans and roadmaps, legal framework recommendations, management plan guidelines, and pilot management plans. It also enhances scientific knowledge, builds management capacity, raises awareness, promotes regional collaboration, and facilitates knowledge exchange.

Agenda

Presentation slides:

28 April 2025

National PA systems in the new EU Member States: transitioning from post-Soviet legacies to Natura 2000 (Valts Vilnītis, Team Leader, ELLE)

Road map to a functional protected area system (Jan Černecký, State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic)

Conservation and management of protected areas – from doing nothing to doing everything (Anete Pošiva-Bunkovska, Key Expert, ELLE)

Stakeholder roles in management of Protected Areas (Gatis Eriņš, Key Expert, ELLE)

Contribution of protected areas to economy (Anete Pošiva-Bunkovska, ELLE)

Forest management in Natura 2000 areas – a hot topic (Gatis Eriņš, Key Expert, ELLE)

30 April 2025

What’s new in the EU policies (Ľuboš Halada, Slovak Academy of Sciences)