The Endangered Landscapes Programme is building a future in which landscapes are enriched with biodiversity, establishing resilient, more self-sustaining ecosystems that benefit both nature and people
Photo: Viktar Malyshchyc
Featured Project
Extensive and ethereal, Białowieża (Beloveshskaya Pushcha) is one of Europe’s last great primary forests. The outstanding biodiversity value of this UNESCO World Heritage Site includes one-quarter of the world’s European bison among 59 mammal species plus an astonishing 12,000 invertebrate species. Following decades of exploitation and drainage in the Belarus part of the forest and recent controversial logging in Poland, however, Białowieża is under threat.
Building on experience from Belarus, the project will plan landscape-level restoration of the forest’s hydrology. It intends to adopt a transboundary approach to address the international stalemate over Poland’s intensive logging. The project envisages that returning groundwater to near-natural levels should enable the rewetting of forests, up to 20,000 ha of drained mires and formerly straightened riverbeds.
All projects
The world’s wetlands are disappearing three times faster than its forests, with 90% lost since the 1700s. Wetlands are a hugely undervalued and overlooked ecosystem, yet they play a crucial role in water purification, flood and drought mitigation, as well as providing a home for wildlife and people. While forests are often attributed to carbon…
19th February 2021
The Endangered Landscapes Programme (ELP) is thrilled to announce a second phase of funding from Arcadia, a charitable fund of…
February 11, 2021
The Ticino River, an eco-corridor shared by Switzerland and Italy, is of great biodiversity importance – particularly for aquatic life…
January 29, 2021
A herd of 20 konik horses has been released onto Ermakov Island in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta,…
January 21, 2021
