The Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Carpathian Convention) was adopted in May 2003 in Kyiv, Ukraine, entering into force in January 2006. The Countries requested the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) to support the Convention process and to host the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention established in May 2004.

The Carpathian Convention

The common vision of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention is to pursue comprehensive policy and cooperation in order to guarantee the protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians. The improvement of the quality of life, the strengthening of local economies and communities, and the conservation of natural values and cultural heritage should go hand in hand in the Carpathian area. In order to implement the Convention, activities in several thematic areas are developed ranging from the development of new protocols and the establishment of strategic partnerships with key actors in the region, to the realization of different initiatives within the Carpathians and beyond. The Convention also provides a platform for dialogue between all the stakeholders acting in the Carpathian area including local communities, NGOs, regional and national authorities and international organizations.

The Strategic Agenda on Adaptation to Climate change

At the fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention in 2014 the “Strategic Agenda on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Carpathian Region” was adopted. The aim of the agenda is to assist Member States of the Carpathian Convention, local and regional authorities and other stakeholders in formulating responses to climate change as a way to secure sustainable development in the region. The Strategic Agenda includes recommendations for policy development, institutional change and ecosystem-based adaptation measures.

DG Strategy

The Carpathian Convention is closely cooperating with the EU Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG Regio) in mainstreaming and profiling mountains at EU level, both in the macro-regional strategies and through new possible initiatives, whose final aim will be the possibility to develop a "Mountain Agenda" for Europe.Within this cooperation, a Joint Synergy Paper between the Carpathian Convention and the relevant Priority Areas (PAs) of the European Strategy for Danube Region (EUSDR) was developed. Related to this, different Memoranda of Cooperation between the Carpathian Convention and the EUSDR Priority Areas have already been signed:

• The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Carpathian Convention and EUSDR PA 1B “Mobility Rail-Road-Air”, 07 June 2016
• The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Carpathian Convention and EUSDR PA 04 “Water Quality”, 30 August 2016
• The Memorandum of Cooperation between the Carpathian Convention and EUSDR PA 02 “Energy”, 03 November 2016

The Memoranda will facilitate an enhanced/strengthened cooperation between the Carpathian Convention and the EUSDR and will have a positive impact on the implementation of the objectives set up by the Carpathian Convention and the EUSDR.To ensure the coordination of all relevant activities of the EUSDR and the Carpathian Convention, the Memoranda builds upon already existing approaches and proposes some new practical mechanisms for collaboration which for instance include: strengthening networks; closer coordination; contribution to the alignment of funding; Danube – Carpathian projects and cross-sectoral cooperation.

For more information: Spatial Development – Carpathianconvention

Organizations

To support the implementation of the Strategic Agenda, the Conference of Parties established a Working Group on Climate Change Adaptation. More specifically the WG has the following tasks:

• Benefit national and regional authorities of the Carpathian Region;
• Support policy proposals in line with the Commission White Paper on Adapting to Climate Change and the objectives of the Carpathian Convention;
• Contribute to a Carpathian and EU Information System on Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation.

The WG exchanges information and fosters communication with other relevant WGs of the Carpathian Convention (e.g. WG on Biodiversity, WG on Sustainable Forest Management, WG on Spatial Development) and cooperates with other interested constituencies and organizations beyond the Carpathian Convention, e.g. the International Commission for the Protection of the River Danube (ICPDR), WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme (DCP), the European Environment Agency (EEA), the Alpine Convention, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Eurac Research, Science for the Carpathians (S4C) and the Global Water Partnership.   .