Europe’s last wildernesses are under threat – can we save them?

Stefano Unterthiner/Wild Wonders of Europe/Unterth/NaturePL

EUROPE’s last bastions of true wilderness – and the unique animals that roam in them – are under threat. A rush to build dams and motorways in eastern and south-eastern Europe in the name of economic development means rare flora and fauna could soon be gone for good.

Environmental campaigners are up in arms, but these projects have the potential to greatly improve the lives of people living in the region. Is it fair to make them bear the cost of maintaining Europe’s last truly wild places, when richer Western Europeans