Terry, Andrew

Numerous scientific studies show that biodiversity in Europe has been declining rapidly for some time and that this pattern has been matched by the great periods of expansion and intensification of land use. This first assessment of the Red List status of Europe’s and the European Union's mammals shows us that 15% of our species are threatened with extinction, 27% were identified as declining and another 33% had an unknown population trend.

The Iron Curtain, running from the Barents Sea to the Black Sea, divided Europe for almost 40 years and no activity was allowed in this "forbidden" zone. When it fell in 1989, it left a strip of land that runs the entire length of Europe and that has remained comparatively undisturbed – a green belt. The Green Belt initiative aims to integrate this entire strip of land with its key habitats and ecological areas as part of an international network of valuable ecosystems.