
Over forty years ago, an innovative legal text was adopted to protect Europe’s wild plants and animals. The Council of Europe’s Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (1979), or Bern Convention, was the first international treaty to protect both species and habitats and to bring countries together to decide how to act on nature conservation.

The Bern Convention turned 40 on 19th September 2019, and to mark the occasion, a special website was made in which 40 stories depicting the work of the Convention through colourful images and narratives are displayed. You can access the website here.


Voices of Nature is an online campaign promoting the inextricable connection between wildlife and people. On the dedicated website, you can find success stories highlighting the benefits that the Bern Convention's tools can provide to nature and people.

- 13th meeting of the Group of Experts on Protected areas and Ecological Networks - 15 June (online)
- 1st meeting of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Reporting - 15 June (online)
- Emerald Network biogeographical evaluation on habitats and species including birds for Iceland - 21-22 June 2022 (Reykjavik, Iceland)