European Alpine Programme Europe/Middle-East > -Regions- > Alps
Europe/Middle-East > Europe General Europe/Middle-East >
Southern Europe > Italy Europe/Middle-East > West Central Europe
> Austria Europe/Middle-East > West Central Europe > Germany
Europe/Middle-East > West Central Europe > Switzerland At the
end of 1999 an Alpine Programme was initiated by WWF Austria,
Germany, Italy and Switzerland to explore the feasibility of
adopting the ecoregional conservation (ERC) approach in the
Alps. ERC is a philosophy and methology of intervention
recommended for ecoregions identified through the Global 200
Ecoregions of WWF. The Alps are amongst the 12 priority
ecoregions of Europe and Middle East as they represent a fine
example of a particular habitat type, namely the European-
Mediterranean Montane Mixed Forests. Furthermore, they were
identified as a world hotspot for plant diversity, and their
conservation status based on the direct impact of human
activities is considered critical or endangered. By adopting E