Eighth Message of the European Environment Agency – Mountain Ecosystems

 

The eighth EEA assessment of European biodiversity is dedicated to mountain ecosystems. It stresses on the fact that European mountain regions provide essential ecosystem services for lowlands and host a great diversity of habitats and species, many adapted to specific extreme climatic conditions. Mountain ecosystems are fragile and vulnerable, and face severe threats from land abandonment, intensifying agriculture, impacts of infrastructure development, unsustainable exploitation and climate change. Frameworks for cooperation are the basis for sustainable mountain management and development in Europe. Long-term success depends on detailed implementation at regional and local levels. As in the other EEA messages, the document describes the goods and services provided by mountain ecosystems in Europe, habitat and species diversity in European mountains, including species of community interest and High Nature Value (HNV) farmland and mountain areas in Europe. The mountain areas with high endemism and their distribution across the continent are illustrated. The crucial role of traditional cultivation methods for the maintenance of semi-natural habitats rich in biodiversity is described, along with the high cultural diversity and varied adapted land-use practices that reflect traditional knowledge.

Then the threats to the mountain ecosystems are analysed, such as climate change, which for the European mountains is considered very high, abandonment and intensified farming of mountainous agricultural land, mass tourism, etc. The role of international, national and local policies is also reviewed with a focus on Natura 2000 network as 43% of the areas within it are in the mountains.

The authors conclude that economic, social, and environmental factors need to be integrated in management strategies for mountains and other ecosystems in Europe.

10 messages for 2010: Mountain ecosystems- Full text, PDF

Additional information on the 10 messages for 2010 of the EEA can be found here

Source: European Environment Agency