In the northwestern most stretches of the country of Georgia lies a sparsely populated region called Racha-Lechkhumi. There, Georgia has recently created a new national park, part of a broader initiative to expand Georgia's protected natural areas by 100,000 hectares. This protected area aims to safeguard local biodiversity, promote tourism, and create new jobs in the region.

These mountains are one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots: the richest and most threatened reservoirs of life on Earth. This park helps protect many of Georgia’s endemic plants, and a number of imperiled animal species. In the park’s core wilderness area, virgin forests host many of the park’s bear, lynx, wolf, red deer and chamois.

Carpathian National Nature Park is Ukraine’s first and largest national park, and the largest protected area in the Carpathian region. The Carpathian Mountains harbor Europe's largest remaining tracts of primeval forest, and support the continent's largest montane populations of wolves, lynxes, and brown bears.

Shar Mountains is a stunning example of high elevation mountains and forests in the heart of the Balkans. It's a European biodiversity hotspot and an area with outstanding natural values in the border area of North Macedonia and Kosovo.