Editorial & Content
Dear Sir or Madam, dear Friends of EuroNatur, The year that has passed was marked by very encouraging action taken by the younger generation. They call on all of us to finally take serious measures to address the climate crisis, which is of course also a biodiversity crisis. Now that you are reading our 2019 Activity Report, our present is marked by a global pandemic, and to a degree that was almost unimaginable. The origins of the pandemic in turn have a lot to do with the destruction and ruthless exploitation of both habitats and people. Similar to the initiative shown by the young people involved in the Fridays for Future campaign, the expressions of solidarity in many places during the pandemic have made visible the positive and utopian potential of societal change.
EuroNatur’s work is based on the support provided by both individual donations and institutional project funding. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all our supporters. Our successes would be impossible without you. I invite you to learn more about the EuroNatur team’s visions and our work in 2019, as set out in this Activity Report.
Utopian visions, if correctly understood, are not pipe dreams but visions of an emergent positive future. One such tangible utopia that underpins my work at EuroNatur is a vision of a peaceful and friendly Europe with meaningful encounters between humans, and between humans and nature of which we are an integral part. This vision drives our civil society engagement as well as our endeavours at the socio-political level.
Prof. Dr. Thomas Potthast President of EuroNatur Foundation
Yours sincerely,
2 Editorial 3 Mission & vision 4 We have a dream 6 Organization & structure 7 Orientation map 8 Highlights 2019 10 European Green Belt 14 Migratory birds 16 Wolf, bear and lynx 22 Voices for EuroNatur 24 Our campaigns: for forests, for rivers, for migratory birds 34 Media & PR work 36 Economic situation in the 2019 financial year 44 Dealing with potential risks 45 Transparency – one of EuroNatur’s important tenets 47 How your legacy can do good 48 EuroNatur’s project foci in 2019 54 Imprint 2
Annual Report 2019
Photo: Thomas Potthast private
