INCLUDING BRYOPHYTES IN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS ― A SUCCESS STORY FROM EUROPE

Abstract

  Due to the increasing threats from intensive agriculture, forestry, development, habitat loss and tourism, the bryophyte flora of Europe continues to decline because of destructive human activities. One way to counteract this deterioration is an increased co-operation between scientists, politicians and the general public. In 1990 the European Committee for Conservation of Bryophytes (ECCB) established a list of 26 bryophyte species in need of conservation measures and submitted it to the Bern Convention committee (Council of Europe). All 26 species were subsequently accepted as conservation priority species. The aim of the ECCB is to highlight bryophytes in general in the nature conservation work throughout Europe, and to increase the publicity about threatened bryophyte species and their habitats. The species were selected in such a way that a wide range of European regions and habitats were represented. The Bern Convention, however, is not a forcing legislation. Therefore very little happened until 1992, when most of the species were also added to the list of protected species in the European Community Directive. After that, considerable progress has been made within the 15 individual countries of the European Union with regard to implementation of the legislation as well as practical conservation measures. A more detailed account of this is the topic of this article.