1st EuroSpeleo Protection Symposium

When the cave of Praileaitz was discovered, we started to work hard in order to protect this "little" cave located near a "little" village in the Basque Country. Then, we realized that there was not any special law that would keep this wonderful historical, cultural and environmental heritage from being destroyed, so we looked up, to Europe. While trying to find any other associations in Europe that would also take care of this kind of matters, we found out that there was a big lack of communication between different organisms that would work on the same issues. We contacted a few of them, and made a meeting at the European Parliament in order to talk about the need of protection of the caves in their very different aspects.

That is how our "European Forum of Caves and Karst Environment Protection" was born. And its first deed was the Written Declaration on Protection of caves as acultural, natural and environmental Heritage. It is necessary to make all we can, each of us in our field, to make people realize that when a cave is being closed, thousands of years of history are being erased forever, but not only this, a wonderful habitat for different rare specimens of fauna, a natural reservoir of water resources, a marvellous environment sub terrae are gone. That is why we support the entire silent but continuous work is being done by the specialists involved, such as speleologist, archaeologists, biologist, climatologists, palaeontologists... and a vast etcetera.

Therefore, it is a pleasure for me to come to this first symposium, as I believe it is important to give the first step, which sometimes is the hardest one, but it is also important to make a good job and continue with it. Thank you very much for having taken all this job to prepare a needed big meeting like the one in Vercors, and let's work together for a second, a third... until we achieve our common goal; make people realize how rich is this planet, both the part we see, and the part we don't .

Mikel Irujo,
Member of the European Parliament
(pdf, 54 KB)

1st EuroSpeleo Protection Symposium

Agenda (update: 28th July)

program "1st EuroSpeleo Protection Symposium" (pdf, 41 KB)

1st information about the round tables (pdf, 42 KB)

***24th August: EuroSpeleo Protection Symposium - part 1***

9:00 am - 9:55 am:	official opening of the symposium under the patronage of MEP Mikel Irujo Amezaga opening presentation by the commission
10:00 am - 10:25 am:	C. Tscherter (F): Protéger pourquoi - pour qui - pourquoi faire
10:30 am - 10:55 am:	J.-P. Bartholeyns (BE): La Commission Wallonne d'Etude et de Protection des Sites Souterrains (CWEPSS)
11:00 am - 11:25 am:	V. Lascu (RO): Cave Protection in Romania, a Perfectible Model within the Framework of European Experience-Sharing
11:30 am - 11:55 am:	M. SOUVERVILLE (F): ARSPAN - une expérience de protection à l'aven de Noël
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm:	C.Grebe (D): The cave protection policy of the European Cave Protection Commission (ECPC-FSUE)

afternoon session:

14:00 pm - 14:40 pm:	Cavernes Magnétiques (DVD): Dépollution du gouffre du Camion, Htes Pyrénées
14:45 pm - 18:00 pm:	open round table: technical and scientific cave protection (more information soon available)

***25th August: alpine underground 2008***

9:00 am - 9:25 am:	opening of the symposium
9:30 am - 9:55 am:	B. VOGEL (D) : Overview on last Alpine Underground symposium edition
10:00 am - 10:25 am:	G. BOURNET (F): Le contrat de rivière Vercors Eau Pure : un outil de gestion à l'échelle d'un bassin versant
10:30 am - 10:55 am:	C. Tscherter (F): Les karsts d'altitude, victimes silencieuses de la ruée vers l'or blanc
11:00 am - 11:25 am:	R. Wenger & P-Y. Jeannin : Tenants et aboutissants de l'aménagement touristique du Majlis al-Jinn, l'une des plus grandes salles souterraines du monde (Sultanat d'Oman)
11:30 am - 12:00 pm	O. HITZ (CH): Cave and karst protection in Switzerland
12:00 am - 12:30 pm:	A. Flahaut, D. Knibbs & M. Souverville (F) : ARSPAN : une expérience de protection à l'Aven de Noël
12:00 am - 12:30 pm:	I. Ciumasu (RO): The speleological tourism in Romania - present and perspectives

afternoon session:

14:00 am - 14:25 pm	B. VOGEL (D): 10 points programm for the Alps - declaration on the protection of alpine karst areas in Europe
14:30 pm - 18:00 pm:	open round table: speleology in protected areas, specific approaches and problems for the protection of alpine karst areas (Bärbel Vogel, Géraud Bournet and ECPC)

***26th August: excursion day***

10:00 am - 12:30 pm:	FSUE GAM
14:00 pm - 18:00 pm:	Workshop & visit on the field : Karst destruction in Alpine ski resorts. (organised by Vercors park – G. BOURNET)

***27th August: EuroSpeleo Protection Symposium - part 2***

10:00 am - 12:30 pm:	open round table: cave protection and public politics
14:00 pm - 18:00 pm:	open round table: cave protection in laws, directives

***28th August: “European Conservatoire” : Caves conservation in Europe - European underground heritage***

9:00 am - 9:25 am:	D. Delanghe (F) : Présentation du concept de conservatoire souterrain
9:30 am - 9:55 am:	C. GAUCHON (F): Patrimoine des grottes
10:00 am - 10:25 am:	D. Haviarova, P. Gazik, Z. Visnovska & L. Vlcek (SK) : The longest cave system in Slovakia : Demanovska Cave System (Low Tatras Mts). A new Ramsar
10:30 am - 10:55 am:	J. BUSSELO et al (ES): Valorisation environnementale des cavités naturelles au Pays Basque
11:00 am - 11:25 am:	B. PERIC (SI): Old tourist pathways in Skocjan Caves and their renovation
11:30 am - 11:55 am:	V. LASCU (RO): Ciur Izbuc - an example for an unique underground heritage

afternoon session:

14:00 pm - 14:45 pm:	poster session: La réserve naturelle de la grotte de Hautecourt (Ain) (M. Des Chatelliers) Caves conservation in Russia (A. YUSHKO) Caves in Kosovo : Their values and their protection (F. BAJRAKTARI)
15:00 pm - 18:00 pm:	open round table: Towards a European Underground “Conservatoire” ? (Damien Delanghe and ECPC)

***29th August: EuroSpeleo Protection Symposium - part 3***

9:00 am - 12:30 pm:	open round table: cave protection in public campaign - strategies, ideas and activities (responsable of the ECPC: Viorel Lascu)
14:00 pm - 18:00 pm:	open round table: cave protection and publication - on the way to a European Charta!? (responsable of the ECPC: Ana Sofia Reboleira)

Oficial Website: protection.eurospeleo.org