NATURE CONSERVATION

NATURE CONSERVATION is part of an integrated webdomain system that together make up NATURE WORLDWIDE, the official website of the World Institute for Conservation and Environment, WICE. It is the heart of an seamlessly integrated network of non-profit web sites that cause you to jump from one domain to the other, without change of format. The navigation bar on your left will help you find your way through the system.

NATURE WORLDWIDE deals with different topics on nature, the conservation of nature, natural resources management and most and for all, on nature and national parks and protected areas:
Pages for all countries of the world over 20,000 km2 of terrestrial area; National checklists of all the species of birds and mammals, of the world; Most national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas of the world, where known, with

travel information on how to get there and where to stay; Special theme pages deal with topics that we consider of great importance: a. b. c. d. Management of national parks, nature reserves and other protected areas, ecosystem and biodiversity mapping, biodiversity monitoring, applicable geographical information systems (GIS) for biologists and natural resources managers; e. integral water management.

A roadmap to these different themes is given on our general natural resources management page or you can follow the links from our navigation bar on the left side of this page or our site map. You will find for downloading state of the art tools for all of your natural resources management needs:
ILWIS, the most comprehensive vector + raster GIS in the world for a mere 100; The world's most comprehensive stand-alone ecosystems and protected areas monitoring database with manuals and field forms in various languages; The latest and most comprehensive protected areas analysis book with the famous MICOSYS analysis programme; The world's best region-size ecosytems map of the tropics downloadable as a shapefile; The Land Cover Classification System, LCCS classification tool.

Endangered species - a wandering exhibition in Central Europe 2009 Crocodile shoes, caviar, shark fin soup, wolf fur, ivory just to name a few of those products, which helped to push some species to the edge of extinction. Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association is the national coordinator of a regional wandering exhibition on the illegal trade of endangered wild fauna and flora the exhibition has been implemented by the CITES Working Group of CEEweb for Biological Diversity.
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Boat patrol for the safeguard of the Tisza mayflies Nimfea Association, Hortobgy National Park and the Water Police of the Tisza has conducted concerted actions to prevent the illegal collection of the protected mayfly of the Tisza. The Tisza River is in full blossom in June as the swarming of this fragile is called, because the huge masses of buzzing mayflies make the river look like a flowery meadow.
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IUCN supports the Global Ecotourism Conference 2007 (Oslo, Norway, 14-16 May 2007 The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has joined the Global Ecotourism Conference as one of its key supporters. The conference, to be held in Oslo, Norway, from 14-16 May 2007, will discuss ways in which ecotourism can contribute to making travel and tourism a viable sector of a global sustainable economy.

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European eel on the agenda of the CITES CoP 14 Nimfea Association as a member organization of the CEEWEB CITES Working Group - developed a short position paper in support of the proposal of the European Community to include the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) in Annex II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Please read the main conclusions.
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Threatened forests of the Hungarian Plain According to forestry statistics the area of forests is continuously increasing in Hungary, thanks to the versatile subsidy schemes, but the real tendency is just the opposite states the report compiled by Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association. The report uses case studies to illustrate the threats to the forests of the Great Hungarian Plain.

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Artificial nest for the Sakers Last week the colleagues of Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association were shocked to see that the poplar trees next to the grassland called Fehr-t were cut. Unfortunately there was no possibility to avoid logging trees, including the tree holding a nest of Sakers.

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End of project for making tourism sustainable at the Lake Tisza The project "Strengthening public participation in the tourism development of the Lake Tisza region" implemented with the support of the PHARE Access programme and the Swiss Foundation for Solidarity Tourism was closed in October.

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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. (Margaret Mead) Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association wishes a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Report on the Nimfea symposium Nature conservation measures for plant species and plant communities In November the Istvn Fekete Educational Center hosted the next round of the symposium series organized by Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association on practical nature conservation measures this time the focus was on plant species and plant communities, following earlier occasions dedicated to invertebrates and vertebrates.
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Nimfea joins The World Conservation Union The IUCN Council at its 66th Meeting held in Gland from 6-8 November 2006 approved the admission of the Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association as a member of the Union in Category B (c) - national non governmental organizations. For the Association it is a great opportunity to enhance its capacities through participating in the network, and to find innovative and more effective ways to promote the conservation of natural values. -more... Floodplain Farming for the Living Tisza Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association is a cooperating partner of a three-year GEF-funded project aiming to promote the revival of traditional floodplain farming practices in the Tisza watershed actually the Hungarian Great Plain. The project puts a special emphasis of community needs and local natural and cultural conditions. -more...

Another successful volunteer weekend The last weekend of October was a busy weekend in and around the Istvan Fekete Educational Center. Some thirty volunteers gathered from all over the country to help us. The youngest one of our active and dedicated volunteers was about three years olda, while the oldest participant was over 70. We would like to thank again for their enthusiastic and effective work. -more...

Participation of Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association at the IUCN Pan-European Meeting IUCN, The World Conservation Union held its Pan-European meeting dedicated to the 2010 initiative on 18-21 October, 2006 in Barcelona. Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association was represented at the meeting as an applicant member to IUCN. -more... Migration of cranes in Hortobgy The migration of cranes (Grus grus) is a memorable late autumn experience. The number of cranes passing over the Hortobgy at the end of October can be as high as 85000. This bird also has a special role in Hungarian culture and traditions, therefore it is especially important to preserve their feeding and resting sites where they can gather strength during their migration. -more...

Busy days in our bird rescue center End of summer and early autumn have been a busy period in the life of our bird rescue center. Inexperienced chicks often become the guests of Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association: unfriendly weather can be harmful for these young birds, but traffic and electrocution is also a frequent reason for bird injuries. -more...

Climate change campaign The last station of the one-week long Climate Deal campaign was organized in Szolnok by Nimfea Environmental and Nature Conservation Association and Tisza Klub in partnership with Friends of the Earth Hungary, joining to the Europe-wide campaign. During the campaign all passers-by could make their deal to the policymakers: they could offer a small change in their own life in exchange for a request from the decision-makers, in order to stop climate change. -more... A summer of successful youth camps at Nimfea Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association has organized and hosted several camps during the summer, introducing dozens of children and young people to the beauties of nature here at the Educational Center as well as at the Padis Plateau in the Romanian Bihor Mountains.
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Joining the network of wetland educational centers The Educational Center of Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association became a member of the international network of Wetland Link International, an official partner of the Ramsar Convention in education and awareness-raising in the field of wetland and nature conservation.
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Bird watching and canoeing what can we offer for nature lovers?

If you would like to see the natural beauties of the Great Hungarian Plain, especially Nagykunsg, our ecotourism selection is for you! Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association offers nature-friendly birding trips with photographing opportunities, excursions on horse-back or by horse-cart across the grasslands and along the river, canoeing and fishing tours on the silent but wildlife-rich waters of Beretty... Here you can read about our offer in more detail. -more... The shoes of Cinderella why motorway construction is against rural development? Why Cinderella is mentioned in the title? Because the shoe doesn't fits the lady at all: the environmental impacts of motorways are much more harmful, while the economic and social benefits are significantly smaller, than policy-making supported by the mass media suggests us. What is the rationale of spending immense amount of public money on transport infrastructure development instead of the wise use of local resources? Why decision-makers seem to ignore that the shoes simply do not fit???
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Strengthening public participation in the tourism development of the Lake Tisza region Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association is implementing a project in the region of the Tisza Lake to raise awareness on the threats and opportunities of tourism development and to promote a multi-stakeholder approach in rural development, building on the needs and interests of the local community, while preserving the unique natural values of the lake. -more... You can also support the programs of our Association! Anybody has got the chance to support the aims of Nimfea. The Association have made three different kind of "brick tickets". If you buy one of our tickets you can support the implementation of one of our main programs. The first brick ticket is for the reconstruction and development of the windmill in Trkeve. We would like to have the windmill as an industrial monument declared then give back the mill's original functions and preserve it for the future generations. -more... Nimfea at the Shepherd Festival of Trkeve This year the 8th Shepherd Festival was held in Trkeve on 13-14 May. Nimfea Environment and Nature Conservation Association was represented at the festival, where the main focus was on the preservation of local traditions. So the colleagues of the Association welcomed the guests of the Nimfea stall wearing traditional local folk costumes. The visitors could meet some of the most important actors of the Landscape Rehabilitation and Regional Development Program of Trkeve, such as the small flock of traditional racka and merino sheep.
The flock was very popular among the visitors, there was always someone around with a handful of grass feeding and making friends with the sheep. The sheep were shepherd to the Nimfea stall on their feet, causing some surprise and amusement among the participants of the festival. A typical element of the traditional local architecture, a reed hut ("kontyos kunyh") was built with the enthusiastic help of volunteers. This kind of reed hut was an essential building in the time where huge flocks of sheep grazed the grassland guarded by a shepherd and his dog. -more...