DELEGATES from wildlife and conservation organisations from across Europe will be converging on the North Pennines next week to find out more about the area, its wildlife and the conservation initiatives under way.

Representatives from as afar afield as Romania, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary and The Netherlands will be staying in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham, as guests of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

During a four-day conference from Tuesday to Friday, they will be visiting a wide range of sites in the North Pennines and hearing from leading UK conservationists.

The conference brings together members of Eurosite - the largest network of organisations devoted to the protection of nature in Europe. The North Pennines meeting is hosted by the RSPB and representatives from other leading UK nature conservation organisations will also attend.

It is discussing the monitoring of protected areas, a vital conservation tool in evaluating the success of habitat management initiatives.

The delegates will be visiting Upper Teesdale to look at English Nature's conservation monitoring work in the area, and on Thursday they will travel to Herdship Farm, Harwood-in-Teesdale, to hear about monitoring bird populations.

The delegates will also hear updates on the work of organisations including The National Trust, Butterfly Conservation, the Game Conservancy Trust, English Nature, and The RSPB.