Former Slovakian ranger inspired by Jasper to bring nature across the Atlantic

Jasper National Park needs to act as an inspirational force to help create wilderness areas in Europe, according to a former Slovakian park ranger.

Vlado Vancura of Panparks, a World Wildlife Federation initiative that is preserving high end wilderness land in Europe, spoke to a small crowd at the Pine Bungalows on Saturday, Sept. 26 to discuss the struggle to bring nature back to Europe.

“We need examples to prove we are not dreamers. We have such areas, but it’s not easy,” Vancura said.

Panparks has created a network of 11 parks across Europe in an effort to preserve what little wildland is left.

“There are still fragments of untouched nature in Europe,” Vancura said. “We put an emphasis on the spiritual and emotional, which most Europeans are missing.”

Vancura has been working throughout his career to protect the wilderness in Europe, but said it was a trip to Banff and Jasper that truly inspired him to help preserve the natural world. Having recently returned from a backcountry camping experience, he reflected on how attitudes about nature differ from Jasper and Europe, as he notes there is ‘wilderness momentum’ growing in the continent.

“When I was in Jasper 16 years ago, Wilderness was a dirty word in my home country,” he said. “I came here and started to learn what it really means. I realized the emotional power of this area and I fell in love with the topic,” Vancura said.

Wilderness is not a topic many associate with Europe, however Vancura said what has been protected is quite special. That specialty is leveraged into a brand through Panparks, which is valuable to its partners.

“There is a quality standard... they have to be well managed and have credibility through an independent verification system,” Vancura said.

Vancura said after the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was discovered that the natural world was better protected in eastern Europe. That accompanied with dropping farm subsidies which could promise to free up millions of hectares of farmland and a new appreciation for nature in Europe helped convince Vancura to join the Panparks program. The first parks appeared in Finland, Sweden and Poland, however each of the original parks have been removed from the Panparks network.

“Europe is slowly re-wilding. It’s critical to protecting wilderness in Europe,” Vancura said.

Despite the goal, Vancura said it hasn’t been an easy sell.

“Wilderness is still a threatening word. We don’t want to threaten people. We try to interpret it in a positive way.

In order to show the positive aspects of bringing nature back to Europe, Vancura said wilderness areas have been brought together with sustainable tourism ideas, which can create more jobs. He said wilderness conservation in Europe is an exercise in compromise, as hectares preserved must offer something back to the people.

“It’s a slow and potentially dangerous process,” Vancura said.

Climate change is another tool being used to promote the need for a more naturalized Europe.

Vancura said there is very specific requirements for Panparks: They must be at least 20,000 hectares in size, and there is no extraction allowed in the park, such as hunting, fishing, grazing, logging, etc. Only sustainable tourism and restoration work is allowed in Panparks. Sites require inspection through an independent auditor

While individual national governments have not supported the Panparks initiatives to date, the European Union has. This year, the EU hosted a conference on wilderness, which was the first of its kind, Vancura said. Much of the support was fostered at a grass roots level, where park managers were brought on board, who in turn convinced their bosses to join the Panpark effort.

“It starts at a very personal level. It’s all grassroots,” Vancura said.

Despite the victories, he knows there is still much work to be done.

“In Europe, the Alps are 12,000 kilometres of mountain range. So far there is not a single Panpark because there is no wilderness. However there are tow or three small areas that can qualify.”