Very important dark sky areas in Europe and the Caucasus region

ALAN (artificial light at night) can give, if done adequately, a lot of benefits for human society, but it affects reproduction, navigation, foraging, habitat selection, communication, trophic and social interactions of the biota in the same time. Taking into account dramatic increase in light pollution of the night sky and night environment during the past decades, the creation of refugia where natural habitats are not influenced by ALAN is very important. We selected promising territories without, or with a low impact of, ALAN for the development of a VIDA (Very Important Dark Area) Network in Europe and the Caucasus region. 54 VIDAs within the borders of 30 countries were chosen, located in different biogeographic regions, at different altitudes, and in juxtaposition with protected areas. Special attention has been paid to sea and ocean islands, non-polluted by ALAN, as well as to large parts of European Russia and Kazakhstan where there is still a low level of light pollution. These places might be a basis for the protection of biodiversity from the consequences of ALAN, and they can also serve as key education centers for increasing the awareness of the problem of light pollution of the sky at night. Due to the fact that light propagates far away in the atmosphere, the protection of VIDAs can be obtained only if a strong anti-light pollution action is enforced also in the surrounding areas, at least 100 km from the borders of the VIDAs.