Europe's Wilderness Days 2011

Europe’s Wilderness Days is the annual conference of the PAN Parks Foundation which is a unique event bringing together people dedicated to European wilderness protection. This year’s event - the 10th conference in a row – was held between 14-16 September 2011 in Estonia, hosted by Soomaa National Park. The event welcome nearly seventy participants from 16 countries representing protected areas, governmental and research institutions, NGOs and media.

The conference gave an overview on different aspects of wilderness, a common vision, goal and cause for Europe uniting people. Participants could deepen their knowledge in topics including ecological connectivity, relations between humans and wilderness and funding opportunities for protected areas. They also got valuable up-to-date information from American and European experts of diverse fields - conservation, communications and policy - all essential for wilderness protection. The exchange of ideas was facilitated by a field trip to Soomaa National Park and various workshops which offered a deeper look into wilderness management. Moreover the event provided opportunity for informal expertise exchange and networking.

Location

Soomaa National Park, Estonia

VISIT Soomaa

Date and venue

14-16 September 2011
STRAND Spa & Conference Hotel, Pärnu, Estonia

Programme

DOWNLOAD the conference programme
DOWNLOAD the programme of the post-conference trip

Recommendations from Pärnu

READ findings of Europe's Wilderness Days 2011

Speakers

You can download the presentations of speakers:

Bruno D'Amicis, wildlife photographer
Montagna Madre; Stories of wilderness - (delivered by Edit Borza, PAN Parks Foundation)

Elfrieke Van Galen, Foundation for Natural Leadership
Journeys into wild nature, inner nature and the nature of leadership
VIDEO version

Zoltan Kun, Executive Director, PAN Parks Foundation
The Million Project
+ Introduction of Polistovsky Nature Reserve, Russia
+ Introduction of Lagodekhi Protected Areas, Georgia
+ Introduction of Rodna Mountains National Park, Romania
+ Introduction of Čepkeliai-Dzūkija National Park, Lithuania

Ivan Liška, Director of Bavarian State Ballet
Bavarian State Ballet's project: Ballet and wilderness
VIDEO about the Ballet and wilderness project

Giuseppe Marcantonio, Majella National Park
Abruzzo, the Green Region; The first natural Ecological Network in Italy

Barbara Mayer, Tourism Development Manager, PAN Parks Foundation
Wilderness protection using tourism as tool: the tourism model

Murel Merivee, Regional Chief Specialist of Nature Conservation, Estonian Environmental Board
Soomaa National Park, member of the PAN Parks network

Olli Ojala, EC DG Environment
Wilderness in the new European biodiversity agenda
VIDEO version

Garry Oye, Chief of Wilderness Stewardship Division, U.S. National Park Service
Citizens' participation in protecting wilderness; Lessons from North America
VIDEO version

Minttu Perttula, Senior Advisor, Metsähallitus, Finland
Volunteer work in Metsähallitus: Labour of love or just hard labour?
VIDEO version

Jo Roberts, CEO, Wilderness Foundation + Duncan Alistair Little
VIDEO version - Humanizing the enemy: Wilderness and peace building

Hajnalka Schmidt, Business Development Manager, PAN Parks Foundation
Wilderness protection, a common cause for corporations

Alan E. Watson, Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
Restoring human connectivity with wilderness
VIDEO version

Cliff White, Canadian Rockies Bison Initiative
Visions of the wild, Ecosystem Management in the Yellowstone to Yukon Bioregion
VIDEO version

Hanno Zingel, Advisor, Ministry of Environment of Estonia
Estonia and its wilderness values