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.
It is so wonderful to discover all the bounties nature provides, from nutritious foods to give us optimum health, to roots and herbs created to heal our bodies when we are injured, in discomfort or suffering from dis-ease. We have been blessed with an added bonus from the thoughtful creator of thousands of organics and minerals which give us the ingredients for a special form of maintaining great health on the outside as well as within…
All I can say is WOW! Being a mom, I can totally appreciate great style when I see it. And when one is expecting, we can truly let our outer beauty compliment our inner beauty. Have I found the perfect place to pamper ourselves! These stylish fashions are sure to help us feel confident and beautiful while waiting for our sweet little bundle/bundles to arrive. I remember the days when maternity clothes and fashion simply did not co-exist for the average mom! My very dear friend J is due any day now to have her first child, and I have been totally impressed with her maternity wardrobe.