More than any other continent, Europe is a mosaic of countries
with relatively humanised landscapes. The ecosystems and
processes affecting biological diversity are by large not
limited by national borders. Thus measures taken in a local,
regional or national context are often insufficient or even
fail. Only an international framework, supporting coordinating
initiatives, facilitates the approach of developing a common
safeguard for biodiversity and landscape. The Council of Europe
has pioneered such cooperation since the early 1970's.