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hidden europe 14

Peace parks

by hidden europe

Summary

International peace parks that seek to promote conservation across national boundaries while also encouraging cooperation across borders, are becoming increasingly common. Bringing projects like the current plan for a Balkans Peace Park to fruition demands not just environmental understanding but also a hefty dose of political acumen.

hidden europe 14 / Snippet  / By hidden europe

It was almost a hundred years ago that an area of land was set aside on the border between Norway and Sweden with the explicit purpose of marking the spirit of peace that obtained between the two countries. In the mid nineteen-twenties Poland and Czechoslovakia, having then just settled a border dispute, signed the Kraków Protocol which provided for the setting up of joint conservation zones along their mutual frontier. The cross-border national parks in the Tatra and Krkonose Mountains are a legacy of that early initiative. Nowadays transboundary peace parks and conservation areas are popping up in many parts of the world.

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Blog post: 23 March 2025
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