Posted on 08 May 2014

Eight south-east Europe countries, from Albania in the south to Slovenia in the north, have committed to regional cooperation on conservation and sustainable development, and to increase protected area by 13% including two new national parks and three marine protected areas. The countries have agreed to include nature conservation goals in national development plans and boost nature-based tourism.
The five polar bear range state countries committed to ensure the future of this species as climate change hugely threatens its ice habitat. In Moscow in December at an international forum, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and US agreed to implement a circumpolar action plan for polar bear conservation.