EUROPARC 2009: What is the price of a national park or nature reserve?

This is one of the main questions hundreds of people from 30 countries asked as they gathered to celebrate 100 years of nature conservation at the annual EUROPARC Federation conference. '100 years of National Parks in Europe - a Shared Inheritance; a Common Future' was hosted 9-13th September by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in Strömstad, Sweden.

Keynote speaker Pavan Sukhdev, author of the Report on the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB Report), reminded the delegation that while the world is searching for new ways to cope with carbon emissions and combat climate change the answer can often be found in the world’s protected areas. “There is a natural carbon capture and storage system based on technology that’s millions of years old. It’s called a tree,” commented Sukhdev.

EUROPARC Federation President Erika Stanciu welcomes and encourages growing recognition for the invaluable services nature provides. “We see a time when it’s not just nature conservationists working for this. We look forward to people from all sectors cooperating to achieve a sustainable future when protected areas will not be just pockets but cover most of the planet.

“During the past 100 years we have built a solid foundation for nature conservation,” said Stanciu. “But when future generations celebrate the next centenary of national parks I hope the ratio will have shifted and respect and protect all of our natural heritage across the globe.

There are more than 100,000 protected areas covering almost 19 million square kilometres worldwide, but this only represents 11.5 percent of the earth's land surface. There are 43,000 sites in Europe.

Full press release here.

A full report of the conference will be made available at the EUROPARC Federation website by the end of the year.