International cooperation

In addition to being the subject of long-term cooperation between Czech and Polish scientific communities, Krkonoše has been an important focus for research projects with a pan-European or even global context. Many activities relate to integration of the mountain range in the European Natura 2000 network, or another one incorporating major wetlands around the world under the Ramsar Convention. Moreover, a lot of these projects result from the region's inclusion in the Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) Network, this being part of the Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme within the remit of the global activities of UNESCO. The mountains are also included in the ITEX project (International Tundra Experiment), which is dedicated to long-term observation of the impact of climate change on the tundra biome. Longstanding international cooperation also exists between Krkonoše and various science institutions in Scandinavia, such as those in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia, since the region is an important isolated zone of Nordic nature in the middle of Europe. Therefore, it provides a unique opportunity for conducting comparative research and monitoring long-term changes to the tundra biome that occupies the European continent.