ECCB
Promoting conservation of bryophytes across Europe
ECCB is a consortium dedicated to the conservation of bryophytes in Europe. The consortium comprises persons affiliated to universities, museums, conservation agencies and private individuals with expertise in bryology.
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ECCB is represented by a board and functions as a regional chapter of the Bryophyte Specialist Group (BSG) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC). The affiliation with BSG is secured through membership of ECCB board members in the BSG, ensuring alignment with the vision of IUCN and fostering integration of European bryophyte conservation at the international level and the strategic plan and targets of BSG.
The ECCB Board
IUCN Representatives
IUCN representatives are adjunct members of the ECCB board without voting rights and provide the link between the activities of ECCB and the target of the IUCN SSC Bryophyte Specialist Group (BSG), which is co-chaired by Irene Bisang.
A brief history of the ECCB
ECCB was established at the first conference on Bryophyte Conservation in Uppsala in 1990.
A group of conference attendees submitted a proposal to the Bern Convention committee (Council of Europe) to include 26 bryophyte species in Appendix I. This proposal led to a crucial achievement for bryophyte conservation in 1992 when the species lists of the Bern Convention were integrated into Annex II of the Habitat Directive of the European Union. The ECCB consortium also initiated transnational networking and conservation initiatives at the European level.
Beside holding regular bryological conferences, one of the major achievements of ECCB was the realisation of a first European Red list in 1995 and second one in the frame of an IUCN project (European Commission LIFE14 PRE BE 001), which was published in 2019.
While ECCB was a loose network for many years, in 2024, it restructured with an elected board and established its connection to the IUCN as a European chapter of the SSC BSG.
Our partners and collaborating organisations
