Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe is a transnational serial nature UNESCOWorld Heritage Site, encompassing 93 component parts (forests of European beech, Fagus sylvatica) in 18 European countries.[1][2][3] Together, the sites protect the largest and least disturbed forests dominated by the beech tree. In many of these stands (especially those in the Carpathians), these forests here were allowed to proceed without interruption or interference since the last ice age. These sites document the undisturbed postglacial repopulation of the species.[1]
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The Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians include ten separate massifs located along the 185km (115mi) long axis from the Rakhiv mountains and Chornohora ridge in Ukraine over the Poloniny Ridge (Slovakia) to the Vihorlat Mountains in Slovakia. The Ancient Beech Forests of Germany include five locations, cover 4,391 hectares and were added in 2011.
The Carpathian site covers a total area of 77,971.6ha (192,672 acres), out of which only 29,278.9ha (72,350 acres) are part of the actual preserved area, while the rest is considered a "buffer zone". Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians cover areas of Zakarpattia and Prešov Regions. Over 70% of the site is located in Ukraine. The area includes two national parks, and some habitat controlled areas, mostly in Slovakia. Both national parks, along with a neighboring area in Poland, compose a separate biosphere reserve, the East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. Besides Havešová, Rožok, and Stužica (all of them located in Bukovské vrchy), there is a fourth component situated in Slovakia, named Kyjovský prales of Vihorlat. Ukrainian locations include Chornohora, Kuziy-Trybushany, Maramarosh,[n 1] Stuzhytsia–Uzhok, Svydovets, and Uholka–Shyrikyi Luh. Only a few of the ten components are accessible to visitors. Stužica is the only one of three locations in Bukovské vrchy (Slovakia) with available hiking trails. In 2017, UNESCO extended the site, adding forests in Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain.[4] In 2021 UNESCO extended the site again adding forests in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, France, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia and Switzerland.[5]
The last intact virgin forest in the temperate latitudes of Europe is to be found in the Carpathians. Trees can live to a hundred years old in these forests, providing an important habitat for organisms such as mushrooms, moss, lichen, insects, rare birds (e.g. capercaillie and black grouse) and mammals (e.g. bats, brown bear, wolf and lynx). Large parts of the forest in the Romanian part of the Carpathians have been lost due to deforestation. The pressure on timber as a resource may increase due to international demand and European companies may start large-scale felling in neighbouring Ukraine. Currently unprotected areas of virgin forest can be permanently preserved in the Ukrainian Carpathians by expanding and reinforcing conservation areas. In the Ukrainian Carpathians there are nine national parks and two biosphere reserves. There is a general ban on tree felling in coniferous forest areas above 1,100 metres. If park administrations are shown to work, management of larger, previously unprotected areas of virgin forest to preserve them on a permanent basis, may occur. There are roughly 100,000 additional hectares of forest which could be integrated into the existing conservation areas.[6]
List of component parts
Map of the distribution of Fagus sylvatica in Europe (green)
Udava (Bukovské Vrchy, Slovakia) was created by modifying the boundary of Stužica before. Falascone (Italy) in turn was named previously Umbra Forest (Foresta Umbra).[13][14][2]
This is a transnational serial nature UNESCOWorld Heritage Site, encompassing 94 component parts (forests) in 18 European countries.[1][2] The total area of component parts is 98,125.15ha (242,472.5 acres), including buffer zones 392,846.02ha (970,743.7 acres). The largest total area of component parts is in Ukraine and Romania – 54% total (41% including buffer zones).
This forest is placed on the World Heritage Tentative list as a proposal for the expansion of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe site:
Bieszczady National Park is the third-largest national park in Poland, located in Subcarpathian Voivodeship in the extreme southeast corner of the country. In 2021, the national park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As of January 2024, there are a total of 1,199 World Heritage Sites located across 168 countries, of which 933 are cultural, 227 are natural, and 39 are mixed properties. The countries have been divided by the World Heritage Committee into five geographical zones: Africa, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean. With 59 selected areas, Italy is the country with the most sites; followed by China with 57, then France and Germany with 52 each.
Poloniny National Park is a national park in northeastern Slovakia at the Polish and Ukrainian borders, in the Bukovské vrchy mountain range, which belongs to the Eastern Carpathians. It was created on 1 October 1997 with a protected area of 298.05 km2 (115.08 sq mi) and a buffer zone of 109.73 km2 (42.37 sq mi). Selected areas of the park are included into Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Stužica is a uniquely preserved and undisturbed primeval beech forest of the Outer Eastern Carpathians. It is located in Slovakia and borders with Poland and Ukraine. The forest has been protected since 1908 and in 1993 the area was upgraded to a National Nature Reserve. In 2007 Stužica and several other locations in the range, including six components in Ukraine, were declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Five German components were added in 2011. Together they form Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany WH site with outstanding universal value.
Dlaboka River, literally meaning Deep River, is a river in western North Macedonia located in the Upper Reka region. It is a left tributary to Ribnička river, which is one of the largest tributaries of Radika river. Its source is high on Mount Korab, forming a steep valley which is one of the few places with alpine climate in North Macedonia.
Carpathian Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in Ukraine that was established in 1968 and became part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO in 1992. Since 2007 bigger portion of the reserve along with some territories of the Uzh River National Park was listed with the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe.
Svydovets protected massif Ukrainian: Свидовецький заповідний масив is a protected area in the Ukrainian Carpathians near Rakhiv in the Zakarpattya region. The protected massif has an area of 6,580 hectares and is located at an elevation of 600–1883 m.a.s.l. in the highest region of the Svydovets mountain range.
The Gashi is a 27-kilometre-long (17 mi) river located in Tropojë, northern Albania. It was a nature reserve, spanning an area of 3,000 ha. The nature reserve forms a part of the European Green Belt and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site within the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. In 2022, the protected area was amalgamated to form the Alps of Albania National Park.
Uzh National Nature Park is a protected area in Ukraine. It is located in Uzhhorod Raion of Zakarpattia Oblast, at the border with Poland and Slovakia. The park was created on 5 August 1999 and has the area of 39,159.3 hectares (151.195 sq mi). Since 2007, it is part of the World Heritage site Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. It is also part of the East Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. The park was created to protect pristine beech forest of the Carpathians.
The protected forest area, Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh, is located in the Trancarpathian region of Ukraine and belongs to the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. It is the largest primeval beech forest worldwide with an area of 8800 ha. Since 1920, some parts of this forest have been protected. In 1992, Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh primeval beech forest was designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Later, several other primeval and old-growth beech forests in Europe were included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe as well. As a primeval beech forest, Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh is an important research hotspot. In 2001, a 10 ha research sample plot was installed in Mala Uholka as part of a Swiss-Ukrainian research project, and in 2010 a full statistical inventory of the primeval forest was carried out. The next inventory is planned in 2019 to detect any changes.
The Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of Albania encompasses the beech forests of Gashi in Valbonë Valley National Park and Rajcë in Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park. They form an integral section of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians because for their outstanding naturalistic value and the diverse biodiversity.
1 2 "World Heritage Minor Boundary Modification Proposal – IUCN Technical Evaluation Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine) – ID No. 1133QUINQUIES". IUCN World Heritage Evaluations 2022 and 2023 (WHC/23/45.COM/INF.8B)(PDF). Vol.II: IUCN World Heritage Evaluations 2023. IUCN. 2023. pp.93–97. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
↑ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; World Heritage Committee (11 May 2007). "WHC-07/31.COM/8B; Item 8B of the Provisional Agenda: Nominations to the World Heritage List"(PDF). World Heritage. Vol.31.COM: Thirty first Session, Christchurch, New Zealand, 23 June – 2 July 2007. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved 7 August 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
↑ United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; World Heritage Committee (6 May 2011). "WHC-11/35.COM/8B; 8B. Nominations to the World Heritage List"(PDF). World Heritage. Vol.35.COM: Thirty-fifth session, Paris, UNESCO Headquarters, 19 – 29 June 2011. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved 7 August 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
1 2 3 4 5 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Committee (19 May 2017). "WHC/17/41.COM/8B; 8B. Nominations to the World Heritage List"(PDF). World Heritage. Vol.41.COM: Forty first session, Krakow, Poland, 2 12 July 2017. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved 7 August 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
1 2 3 4 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage; World Heritage Committee (4 June 2021). "WHC/21/44.COM/8B; 8B. Nominations to the World Heritage List". World Heritage. Vol.31.COM: Extended forty-fourth session, Fuzhou (China) / Online meeting, 16 – 31 July 2021. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved 7 August 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
1 with Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine 2 This is the extension of the site that has been inscribed in North Macedonia since 1979. The area around the town of Pogradec at the shores of Lake Ohrid was inhabited by the Illyrians in the 5th century BC, followed by the Romans and the Slavs. Traces of the Roman road Via Egnatia are evidence of an important passage route in the region. The ruins of the paleo-christian church of Lin together with its floor mosaics reveal the presence of Christianity. The historical centre of Pogradec represents an example of 19th to 20th century Albanian vernacular architecture.
1 Listing shared with six other countries, which includes Belgium's Maison Guiette; 2 Listing shared with France; 3 Listing shared with the Netherlands, which includes Belgium's Wortel; 4 Listing shared with France 5 Listing shared with seven other countries, which includes Belgium's Spa; 6 Listing shared with seventeen other countries, which includes Belgium's Sonian Forest.
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