Protecting Europe’s Ancient Beech Forests: UNESCO Joint Committee Meets in Slovakia
UNESCO World Heritage: Primary and Secular Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe
The Joint Management Committee of the UNESCO natural site “Primary and Secular Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe” recently convened in Humenne, Slovak Republic, near the Vihorlat and Poloniny components.
From September 16-19, 2024, the meeting, organized by the UNESCO site Transnational Series Coordinating Office, focused on ensuring integrated management of the national components and discussing future actions, as outlined in the report on the state of conservation of the site (SOC) for 2024.
The committee analyzed the implementation of general recommendations provided by the decisions and reports related to the transnational site. The need for integrated communication at the level of all UNESCO beech components was also emphasized.
A Romanian delegation, comprising Mihaela Ștefănescu, representative of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, and Robert Pache, forestry expert and UNESCO’s national focal point for the file, actively participated in the debates.
Robert Pache presented on the technical aspects of the multi-year strategy intended to be implemented at the level of the transnational series.
The Romanian delegation reiterated the need to harmonize the conservation objectives of the UNESCO site with the real needs of local communities within the range of some components, for which the limits of some components need to be updated.