Although the Nordic countries have different obligations for biological conservation - some are e.g. EEC-members others not - the Nordic countries are facing the same basic challenges. This motivated the project manager to arrange a Nordic workshop, where scientists and administrators with insight and interests in the issues could meet and exchange knowledge and ideas. The workshop was focussed on natural areas of high conservation priority. The workshop attracted participants from Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia and had invited speakers from the Netherlands. All speakers at the workshop were given the opportunity to present their contribution for a wider audience in this proceeding. The contributed papers differ considerably in length, from short abstracts to extensive introductions or reviews. This simply reflects that not all speakers have had the opportunity to allocate the time required to produce a written contribution.