The
Global Youth Biodiversity Network
in Europe
Many areas across the European continent foster biodiversity, including coniferous forests in Scandinavia, semi-connected seas namely the Baltic and the Mediterranean, wetlands such as the Camargue, and impressive mountain ranges that include the Carpathians and the Alps. Unfortunately, the huge amounts of biodiversity supported by the varied landscape and seascape have been threatened by humans over the course of history. According to the IUCN website (2012), "15% of mammals, 13% of birds, 37% of freshwater fishes and 23% of amphibians are threatened with extinction." These numbers are expected to worsen as more land and natural features in Europe continue to endure detrimental development.
GYBN Europe is welcoming many new faces to our regional chapter of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network, the youth constituency of the Convention on Biological Diversity!
More information is available on our Get Involved page >>
One of the biggest challenges facing biodiversity conservation within Europe is the fragmentation of habitats due to human development or borders. However, institutions such as the EU or cooperations amongst the countries of Scandanavia have resulted in multinational conservation projects and are working toward the halting and possible reversal of previous bad practices.
Our History
In August 2019, around 50 young people participated in the GYBN Europe Youth Capacity Building Workshop close to Vienna, Austria, all incredibly committed and determined to change the existing relationship between society and the environment. With this shared determination, the GYBN Europe network was formed at the workshop with Jessica Micklem and Christopher Baierl as the initial coordinators. Over the next months the group kept in contact and participated in various international projects together including the All in for Climate Action and the World Wildlife Day Challenge. On World Earth Day, the 22nd April 2020, GYBN Europe+ became an official chapter of GYBN and opened its doors to the wider community.
By 2021 our chapter had grown from just a few to around 80 young europeans from across the continent. We were running multiple projects, had set up different working groups on policy, advocacy, events etc. and we were building long term partnerships with other youth environmental organisations. In this phase of growing up, we decided to reinvent our logo with icons specifically from all across Europe such as the sturgeon, the baltic porpoise, the mediterranean Monk Seal, etc.
Youth Leaders
2022
2021
2020
Sponsors
