New project on cross-border management of protected areas in the Western Balkans

A new project on cross-border management of protected areas will be implemented in two transboundary pilot regions: Jablanica-Shebenik (North Macedonia and Albania) and Prokletije-Albanian Alps (Albania and Montenegro). The project will help to build capacities in the participating countries in setting up monitoring schemes that are fit for Natura 2000.

EuroNatur, together with partner organizations from North Macedonia (Macedonian Ecological Society, MES), Albania (Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania, PPNEA), and Montenegro (Center for Protection and Research of Birds, CZIP), is launching a new project to improve how protected natural areas are managed across borders along the Balkan Green Belt. The project will focus on two shared mountain regions: Jablanica–Shebenik, which spans North Macedonia and Albania, and the Prokletije–Albanian Alps, shared by Albania and Montenegro.

The goal of the project is to help local and national authorities in six Western Balkan countries better protect nature. It will support them in meeting European conservation standards and in establishing well-recognized protected areas that are part of the Emerald and the EU's Natura 2000 networks. In the two pilot regions, local stakeholders will learn practical ways to monitor and protect important species and habitats using Natura 2000 standards.

Based on these experiences, the project will develop clear policy recommendations to improve protected area management at the national level. Special attention will be given to working across borders and finding common approaches that countries can use together.

The project also aims to highlight the importance of biodiversity for decision-makers, businesses, and civil society. By encouraging exchange and cooperation between different groups, it will strengthen joint efforts to protect nature in the pilot regions. At the Balkan Green Belt Regional Conference, stakeholders from across the region will come together to share experiences and build on the project’s results.

 

This project is funded by the German Federal Environment Ministry's Advisory Assistance Programme (AAP) for environmental protection in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and other countries neighbouring the European Union. It is supervised by the German Environment Agency (UBA). 

 

For more information, please contact: Jessica Bitsch (project manager at EuroNatur)