Bern Convention

The Convention on the conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (in short 'Bern Convention') was adopted on 19 September 1979 in Bern and came into force on 1 June 1982. The aims of this convention are to conserve wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats, especially those species and habitats whose conservation requires the co-operation of several States, and to promote such co-operation. Particular emphasis is given to endangered and vulnerable species, including endangered and vulnerable migratory species.

The Convention lists protected species on four Appendices:

• Appendix I: strictly protected flora species,
• Appendix II: strictly protected fauna species,
• Appendix III: protected fauna species, and
• Appendix IV: prohibited means and methods of killing, capture and other forms of exploitation.

Each contracting Party is obliged to take appropriate and necessary legislative and administrative measures to ensure the special protection of the wild fauna species specified in Appendices II and III. Any exceptions that are made regarding these measures need to be reported to the Standing Committee every two years. More information and the whole text of the Convention can be found on the WebPages of the Council of Europe: http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/104.htm.

The number of Contracting Parties to this Convention is limited and is generally restricted to the members of the Council of Europe. For this reason, the majority of the species that are of importance to the LHF are not covered by the Bern Convention.

Of special value for the the large Herbivore Foundation is article 11 paragraph 2a of the Convention stating: 'Each Contracting Party undertakes to encourage the reintroduction of native species of wild flora and fauna when this would contribute to the conservation of an endangered species, provided that a study is first made in the light of the experiences of other Contracting Parties to establish that such reintroduction would be effective and acceptable.'

This paragraph encourages the reintroduction of large herbivore species into their former range, like the European Bison, the Elk and the Onager (Cromsigt, 2000).