Emerald Network launches new course for Eastern Partner countries – from legal frameworks to community engagement

The Emerald Network, a network of protected nature sites, has launched the online course ‘Mastering the Emerald Network: from legal frameworks to community engagement’ to help strengthen its implementation in the Eastern Partnership (EaP).

The Emerald Network is key to protecting Europe’s most valuable habitats and species while supporting sustainable development. 

The course offers a practical learning experience for policymakers, environmental stakeholders, and anyone interested in protecting nature and biodiversity.

This self-paced course takes about 3.5 hours to complete and includes 12 interactive modules. It explains how the Emerald Network works, how it connects to EU law and Natura 2000, and how sites are managed in practice. The course looks at how to adapt management over time, monitor results, and work with local communities, benefitting both nature and people.

The modules combine a rich mix of learning materials, including narrated presentations, animated videos, practical case studies, maps, expert interviews, further reading materials, and short self-assessment quizzes. 

Participants who score 80% or more in the final test receive a digital certificate. 

The course is also available in Armenian, Georgian, Romanian, and Ukrainian.

This course was funded by the EU under the EU4Environment Programme and developed by the World Bank with the support of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Environment, SIA (ELLE) and the Institute of Landscape Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (ILE).

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