EUROPARC Federation unites over 400 national parks in 40 countries and aims to improve the management of conservation areas through international cooperation, exchange ideas and experiences and contribute to shaping the European Union’s conservation area politics. A lot of information is exchanged inside this network – conferences, workshops, compiling information material, creating laws out of nature conservation stances, public awareness campaigns and education programmes such as the young conservationist movement Junior Ranger are all part of EUROPARC. The members of the organisation are informed on the topics of habitat restoration, developing sustainable tourism, organising conservation area visits, sustainable farming and European Union policies. Estonia works closely with the Nordic and Baltic branch of the organisation.
The Council’s role in the organisation is to form and introduce new strategies and take accountability for achieving the organisation’s goals.
Leelo Kukk says that she is most looking forward to the support the organisation provides for clearing the hurdles of nature conservation. “Nature conservation problems are very similar all across Europe, so it makes sense for us to share information and learn from each other,” says Leelo Kukk. The first Council meeting is to take place on the 8th of October.
It’s somewhat unbelievable that Estonia is represented for the third time in a row in a pan-European organisation. Leelo Kukk believes that this is a testament to the work done in Estonia for developing nature conservation as well as to the preparedness for international cooperation. In earlier Councils, Estonia has been represented by the former director of the Lahemaa national park, Ame Kaasik (in the years 1993-1999), project lead for the Environmental Board Nele Sõber (in the years 2017-2021) and the Environmental Board’s advisor Kaja Lotman (in the years 2015-2017). Kaja Lotman continues to be a part of several pan-European nature conservation work groups and received the Alfred Toepfer medal in 2019 for long-lasting nature conservation efforts and for sharing her experiences on restoring meadow habitats.
The new members of the EUROPAC Federation Council are Marta Mugica (Spain), Leelo Kukk (Estonia), Stefano Santi (Italy), Dominique Leveque (France), Pete Rawcliffe (United Kingdom) and Hendrik Roelof Oosterveld (Netherlands). They are all leaders of nature conservation efforts in their respective countries. The current Council will remain together for three years.
More information about the EUROPAC Federation can be found on their website.
More information
Leelo Kukk
Deputy director general of the Estonian Environmental Board
leelo.kukk@keskkonnaamet.ee
5559 7705
