IUCN – The World Conservation Union – is the firs (founded in 1948), most important and most representative international conservation organization. During last years IUCN increases its attention to the European stage. As a pioneering action it established (officially in 1988), even before the major political changes, a special programme for its East European Region. The East-European Programme of IUCN does not intend to continue the isolation of the former “socialist“ countries of Central and Eastern Europe. On the contrary, it aims at support to national and local, mainly NGO´s initiatives and activities and at their integration within an all-European and even global framework. Today EEP has a small professional staff in the IUCN Headquarters, focal points in all countries of the Region, a Programme Advisory Group consisting of member organizations´ representatives, and – of course – a developing number of projects to accomplish. The Czech and Slovak Federative Republic is very actively involved since the earliest beginnings of the Programme. The Czechoslovak Programme Coordination Unit in Prague even executes one project of a regional dimension: editing, publishing and distributing the quarterly IUCN NEWSLETTER (which can be obtained upon request free of charge from the IUCN PCU, Slezská 9, CS-12029 Praha 2, tel. xx42-2-2152700, fax: xx-2-254555).