The Wild and Beautiful Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian mountains, which stretch southwards across seven countries and over 200,000 km2, from the Danube in Austria to the Iron Gate Dam in Romania, are home to 16 million people, most of whom live in rural communities. The region is also the last refuge in Europe for thousands of bears, wolves and lynx.
People and predatory animals have been living side-by-side in the Carpathians for millennia. Farmers using traditional methods have developed protection systems that lead to a harmonious coexistence: shepherds sleeping with their flocks at night; deer and boar populations are maintained in the forests as prey; inhabited villages marking the limits of the carnivores’ roaming.
Indeed, the biggest threat to the Carpathian people’s traditional life, and to the survival of wildlife, is not predatory beast, but predatory man. Privatisation of forests since the collapse of Communism is leading to overlogging. Deforestation, due to climate change, is also occurring, threatening wildlife habitat. In some areas, poaching is out of control and the traditional nature protection methods practiced by livestock breeders are under pressure from the difficult economic situation faced by most Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.
In addition, five of the Carpathian countries will join the European Union over the next few years. The prospect of EU accession will see new economic development in the region. Roads, factories and hotels could ruin the Carpathians unless a comprehensive system of habitat protection is established. New nature conservation standards are needed in the eastern Carpathian countries—the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine—if wildlife and traditional communities are to be preserved.
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3 comments
cristina on November 22, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Have they already commited to becomeing part of the EU ? Some many beautiful contries are losing their traditions and ways of life when they join the giant… Yes it has many benefits but at what cost?
msterilinn on November 23, 2008 at 3:47 pm
I do believe they are part of the EU Christina. It is sad to see so many rich and wonderful cultures disappearing or changing so much. The old traditions are so full of balance and there is great beauty in earth loving traditions. People are encouraged to worship money, instead of the land and all her gifts. Most will not realize their error until it is much too late..
radu on November 25, 2008 at 7:24 am
Well,
first of all congratulations for the brief, but very good post. It definitely rises a question mark about the future of the Carpathian Mountains.
The situation, of course, is more complex than that, like the intense and allow me to say brainless deforestation that affects many of the areas, hunting on very cheap prices, garbage thrown by tourists of houses built by some local “bosses” in the middle of national parks.