Planta Europa

Planta Europa is the network of independent organisations, non-governmental and governmental, working together to conserve European wild plants and fungi.

Vision

A world in which plants are valued - now and for the future.

Goal

The joint goal of all Planta Europa members is to halt the loss of wild-plant diversity in Europe.

Members

Planta Europa brings together more than 76 member organisations from 35 European countries. Among the members are non-governmental conservation organisations, governmental bodies, botanical gardens and universities. Learn more about our members.

Key developments

The Planta Europa Network was established in 1995 as a result of a conference in Hyeres (France) discussing pan-European cooperation for plant conservation. Since then, Planta Europa has held a conference once every three years (1998 in Sweden, 2001 in the Czech Republic, 2004 in Spain, 2007 in Romania and in 2011 it will be held in Polland) where hundreds of experts gather to discuss the directions and joint goals for plant conservation across Europe. Read more about past and future conferences of the Network.

In June 2001, the Network mobilised its plant conservation expertise to develop a master plan with concrete targets to halt the loss of plant diversity in Europe by 2007. The outcome of this conference was the European Plant Conservation Strategy (EPCS). The EPCS provides a framework and direction for wild-plant conservation in Europe and translates the internationally accepted Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) to a European scale.

The 42 targets of the EPCS are specific, measurable, realistic, achievable and time bound. A mid-term review of the EPCS was undertaken at the 4th Planta Europa Conference in 2004. 250 member and partner representatives found that the steps forward are promising. Over 50% of the targets are progressing well and two are already implemented.

Another outcome of the 4th Planta Europa Conference was the development of an action plan, the Critical Targets, describing the most crucial and minimum contribution of the Planta Europa Network to the delivery of plant conservation in Europe in 2007.

The Critical Targets and the Mid-term Review will act as the main indicators of success for the Planta Europa Network at the conference in 2007.

The outcome of the 5th Planta Europa conference was a new European Strategy to focus on experise, efforts and attention, but also developed a long term vision for plants beyond 2010.

Download the Planta Europa membership leaflet which illustrates the importance of our work and the benefits of membership:
Planta Europa leaflet (pdf 1.6 MB)