The Conference of the Parties
1. Welcomes the ratification and the entry into force of the Protocol on Sustainable Transport to the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (hereinafter Transport Protocol) for the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic and Ukraine, and encourages the ratification of, or accession to, the Protocol by the Party which has not yet done so;
2. Adopts the Joint Strategic Action Plan (SAP) 2021 – 2026 for the Implementation of the Protocol on Sustainable Transport (Transport SAP), expresses its appreciation to the WG Transport and the relevant partners, especially WWF CEE and CEEweb for their crucial contributions, with support of the TRANSGREEN project, and Eurac Research for the support in its development, and encourages the Parties and involved actors to implement the provisions of the Transport SAP accordingly;
3. Welcomes the Declaration “Pathways to Greener Transport Infrastructure” adopted by the final conference of the TRANSGREEN project organized on 25 June 2019 in Bucharest, Romania, under the aegis of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, further welcomes the successful implementation of the TRANSGREEN project, appreciates the efforts made by the project partners, especially the Lead Partner, WWF CEE in contributing to safer and environmentally-friendly road and rail networks in the mountainous regions of the Danube Basin with a special focus on the Carpathian Mountains; and invites the Parties to make use of the project results, especially “Wildlife and Traffic in the Carpathians - Guidelines how to minimize impact of transport infrastructure development on nature in the Carpathian countries”;
4. Welcomes the new project SaveGREEN on safeguarding the functionality of transnationally important ecological corridors in the Danube region, approved by the INTERREG Danube Transnational Programme, building on the key results of the previous INTERREG projects important for the Carpathians, TRANSGREEN and ConnectGREEN; welcomes the cooperation with WWF CEE as the Lead Partner, and requests the Secretariat and relevant Working Groups to participate in the project implementation by providing expertise through an agreement with the Lead Partner, especially in regard to support for mainstreaming of ecological connectivity into EU and global policies through cooperation among macro-regional strategies and other processes, and strengthening of cross-sectoral cooperation among key players, promotion of project results in the Danube-Carpathian basin and beyond, and capacity building at the national level.
5. Welcomes the Workshop on minimising the negative impacts of power lines on birds organized by the EUSDR PA 2 “Sustainable Energy” on 29 May 2019 in Ostrava, Czech Republic, back-to-back with the WG Biodiversity meeting, as a good example of common activities and strengthened cooperation between the EUSDR and the Carpathian Convention, and appreciates the support given by the government of the Czech Republic.