A collection on the Carpathian Convention

"Since the International Year of Mountains in 2002, the Italian Ministry of the Environment, holding then the presidency of the Alpine Convention, strongly supported the development of an international legal instrument for the protection and sustainable devel-opment of the Carpathian mountain region. An Al-pine-Carpathian partnership was established to promote an experience sharing process between the two regions upon request of the Government of Ukraine and UNEP-ROE. The scientific and technical support of the European Academy proved precious in this process. Carpathian States immediately espoused the idea of a Carpathian Convention which was promptly negotiated, drafted and finalized. Only two years elapsed between the launching of the idea in 2001 and the opening to signature of the Convention at the end of 2003; and only four between its signature and its entry into force in all Carpathian States at the beginning of 2008. This reflects the Car-pathian ownership of this Convention and the local support for this international legal instrument, as well as the urgency to protect the vulnerable environment of this region, which is experimenting rapid change. The challenge for the years to come and for the Carpathian Convention is to develop these regions, while pre-serving its rich natural and cultural heritage. Two years have passed since the First Conference of the Parties in Kiev, Ukraine, in 2006; the Carpathian Convention has fared a long way since then; a number of decisions were taken, working groups created, reports and terms of reference adopted. The time has come to publish a first collection of the main documents developed in the framework of the Carpathian Convention. A first volume of the collection is published at the occasion of the Second Conference of the Parties in Bucharest, Romania, on 17-19 June 2008, while a second volume will be pub-lished shortly after in the same series, including the decisions and outcomes of the Conference. In the spirit of and continuity with the Collectio on the Alpine Convention pub-lished by the European Academy in 2004, our wish is that this collection proves to be a useful instrument for the many stakeholders involved in this vital and inno-vative process." (Corrado Clini Director General)