Many BESTbelt projects were successfully completed in autumn 2025!

Since the launch of the BESTbelt project, a total of 49 projects have been initiated, focusing on protecting local biodiversity, restoring important habitats, raising environmental awareness, organising various workshops and collaborating with municipalities and other key local stakeholders. Now, a further 13 projects have been successfully completed.

 

BESTbelt projects range from training people to restore habitats and remove invasive species to cross-border monitoring of otters at Lake Skadar, assessing the effectiveness of cross-border wildlife corridors, and engaging local communities to promote human-wildlife coexistence. BESTbelt projects come in various shapes and sizes, each with its own thematic focus and approach. 

Find out more about:

• The ‘CONABI’ project in Finland, which aimed to encourage and support local communities, farmers and rural businesses in North Karelia to take concrete actions to protect biodiversity.
• The project ‘Protecting the European otter and its habitat within the cross-border Skadar Lake National Park’ which conducted cross-border monitoring at Lake Skadar (Montenegro and Albania), delivering a first comprehensive assessment of the presence and distribution of the Eurasian otter there, while engaging local communities and stakeholders in conservation efforts.
• How the project ‘Connecting people and wildlife on the Balkan Green Belt in Greece and Bulgaria’ assessed whether the cross-border wildlife corridor (the “ecoduct of Bulgarian-Greek Friendship”) effectively enables safe movement of large mammals — such as brown bear, wolf, deer and wild boar in the region. 

Over the coming weeks, more completed projects will present their achievements and results on their BESTbelt project websites. Stay tuned and take a look at the 'Completed projects' section.