Christoph Promberger, spoke during the Friday (13 November) WILD9 plenary session on Saving Wildlands through Private Finance, Philanthropy and Commitment, specifically on"National Parks, Private Philanthropy and Securing the Wild Heritage of the Carpathian Mountains, Romania."

1. WILD EUROPE Barbara & Christoph Promberger Foundation CONSERVATION CARPATHIA CARPATHIA

10. A truly wild place ... ... in the heart of Europe!

11. This is a land, threatened to be lost forever!

12. A land, where an environmental disaster is happening right now

13. Welcome to the Carpathian Mountains of Romania!

14. The Carpathians: 209,000 km², 1,500 km long, covering seven countries 33,000 km² (almost the size of Yucatan state) very important conservation areas – 2/3 without any form of protection (WWF International) THIS IS THE GREEN BACKBONE OF EUROPE!

15. Largest consecutive forests of Europe Ca. 4,000 plant species Almost 50% of all European large carnivores

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17. Over 3 million hectares of forests will be restituted to the heirs of former owners ...

18. ... who have only one idea: Turn these forests into cash!

20. The results are devastating

21. Today, some areas look like this

22. or like this ...

24. Even protected areas are not safe, forests have been restituted and logged even inside the National Parks The Romanian government is not capable to protect this unique European heritage. Conservation is no more priority in Romania!

25. To face this challenge, a group of dedicated biologists, conservationists, and philanthropists with a long-standing conservation experience in Europe, North and South America, and Africa developed a project in the Southeastern Romanian Carpathians.

26. Who we are: Hansjoerg Wyss Doug & Kris Tompkins Markus Jebsen Paul Lister Manfred Hell Toby Aykroyd Hedi Wyss Peter Bennett Horatiu Hanganu Barbara Promberger Christoph Promberger

27. Where we are: The Piatra Craiului National Park

28. Our Vision: 50,000 ha FOREVER WILD!

29. Creating Europe‘s largest forest wilderness,

30. a new private National Park, by using private and public financing …

31. The Foundation shall contribute to the conservation and restoration of the natural ecosystem in the Carpathians

32. for the benefit of biodiversity and local people in an area large enough …

33. … to support significant numbers of large carnivores and to allow evolutionary processes

34. by acquiring, protecting, and administrating forests and natural grassland.

35. First results: We have already saved 5,500 ha of forest, basically everything that has been restituted throughout the last two years We have raised 14.2 mln €uro in our first two years We have set up the Foundation CONSERVATION CARPATHIA We have started to build a network of donors, supporters, and sponsors

36. Where we need to go It definitely is one of the most ambitious conservation projects in the history of Europe. But it offers a unique chance to create one of the largest forest wilderness areas in Europe. We have to act fast, we have only a very limited time window. With several strong partners we can do it! The overall project will cost over 130 million €uro (180 million $US), but we have already raised over 10% of this sum in less than two years.

37. WILD EUROPE We need you as a partner! CARPATHIA Photos: Cornelia Doerr, Wild Wonders of Europe; B&C Promberger