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  • First Green Infrastructure Training Held in Skopje

    First Green Infrastructure Training Held in Skopje

    Proper planning of space and land use is essential for the maintenance and development of Green Infrastructure (GI) and all its benefits. In order to promote the concept of GI and to see how it is incorporated and implemented in our national and in EU legislation, we held the first training for GI with key stakeholders connected to spatial planning and nature protection. The participants in this training were representatives from the Ministry of Environment –  Department of Spatial Planning and department of Nature Conservation, PE National Roads, Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, as well as consulting companies and NGOs that work in the field of environment protection and spatial planning (Farmahem, Maneko, and Ursus Telea).

    The participants had the opportunity to get acquainted with the concept of Green Infrastructure, the analyses of the legislation related to spatial planning and GI here and in the EU, to see good practices of spatial planning, and to discuss the potential for improving the state of GI in our country.

     

     

     

  • The Experiential Learning Network met in Mavrovo to Define Methods and Strategy

    The Experiential Learning Network met in Mavrovo to Define Methods and Strategy

    In the period from October 31 to November 2, 2022, we held the first three-day workshop in Mavrovo with the team representing the Network for experiential learning and implementation of the first annual environmental and climate change education program. This network will work on developing new educational methods and materials that will in an experiential way bring the environment and climate change closer to children.  At the same time, the network will define the ways in which it will function and how it will act in the future. For this purpose, we worked on our team spirit as well as the strategic documents that will guide us through the next steps.

    The network team is represented by employees from all partner organizations: Educational Center for Nature Conservation, Negrevo; Natural Science Museum; Narodna Tehnika – Skopje; Hydrobiological Institute, Ohrid; Botanical Garden, PMF; and NP Galichica. A valuable partner in the process are SmartAP – Laboratory for Social Innovations Skopje.

    The project “Establishment of a network for experiential learning and implementation of the first annual environmental and climate change education program” is implemented by the UNICEF and MES with financial support provided by Sweden.

  • A round table with international organizations and donors was held at Popova Shapka

    A round table with international organizations and donors was held at Popova Shapka

    30.09.2022 – Over 30 representatives from the non-governmental sector, international organizations and donors met on September 28 at Popova Shapka to discuss the potential for cooperation in the Shara-Korab-Koritnik region. The purpose of the round table was to exchange information on current projects in the region and to initiate synergies in order to improve regional sustainable development in this mountainous region.

    “MES through its research and projects has been present in this region for more than two decades, we hope that in the future this region will develop even more, especially after the declaration of Shar Mountain as a National Park,” said Robertina Brajanoska, executive director of MES, in her address at the beginning of the meeting.

    According to the director of the national park, Ibrahim Dehari, the park, as the youngest institution, has a lot of challenges ahead of it.

    “Such meetings are particularly important for mutual exchange of experiences and support. Although the park has many challenges, we believe that rural development and nature protection require extensive cooperation from all involved, above all, we have a big job ahead of us according to the Management Plan of NP “Shar Mountain”, said Dehari while welcoming the attendees.

    Sandra Wigger from Euronatur presented the model projects supported by the overarching “Sustainable future for the Shara-Korab-Koritnik region” project, which are divided into four topics: tourism, animal husbandry, beekeeping and cultivation. Additionally, she presented the efforts of the project for cross-border cooperation and exchange in the three countries on the mentioned topics.

    The discussions showed that meetings of this type need to be organized more often. Current problems affecting the local population such as youth migration, lack of workforce in animal husbandry and similar challenges were part of the discussions. In addition to the donors, the representatives of the local action groups in the three countries participated in this meeting as one of the main drivers for cross-border cooperation. Within the framework of the meeting, the illustrator Zdravko Girov tried to convey and visually present some of the problems and challenges present in the region.

  • Natural Beauty of the Shara-Korab-Koritnik region – regional fair held at Popova Shapka

    Natural Beauty of the Shara-Korab-Koritnik region – regional fair held at Popova Shapka

    29.09.2022 – In September, the representatives of 14 model projects from Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia supported by the project “Sustainable future for the Shara-Korab-Koritnik region” presented their work at the regional fair that we organized in Popova Shapka in cooperation with the foundation Euronatur from Germany as well as the project partners PPNEA from Albania and CNVP from Kosovo.

    The aim of the fair was to present regional highlights: the nature of the protected areas, traditional food, music, and culture. At the stands, the participants presented their local products and promotional materials prepared within the framework of their projects.

    After having worked for more than a decade in the region, we learned that we cannot help to protect the nature without cooperation with the local population, and this project especially teaches us that by supporting traditional practices such as beekeeping and animal husbandry, we indirectly preserve biodiversity,” states Pandurska-Dramikjanin, project manager in MES.

    The organizations Wild Iris, Mountaineering Club Ljuboten, Center of Education and Development and Initiative for Civil Integration are involved in the realization of the model projects from North Macedonia. Within the framework of these projects, support is given to beekeepers, livestock farmers, tourist offers and infrastructure are developed, and young people from the region are educated on the cultivation of aromatic and medicinal plant species.

    As part of the fair, cultural and artistic societies from the region and performers of traditional songs and dances also took part. The activities of the project “Sustainable future for the Shara-Korab-Koritnik region” are supported by the German Environmental Foundation DBU and the charitable foundation JENSEN.

  • Newsletter (September, 2022) – An Era Ends, A New One is About to Begin

    Newsletter (September, 2022) – An Era Ends, A New One is About to Begin

    The Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme Newsletter is a publication which promotes the most important news and achievements of all partners involved in the Programme. This issue covers news surrounding the implementation of the Programme; advances made in researching wild animals in Kosovo; the contribution that hunters make to the Programme; personal stories from our colleagues as well as the most important events and national changes to nature conservation.

    The Newsletter is available in three languages:

    Билтен на Програмата за закрепнување на балканскиот рис

    Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme Newsletter

    Programi për rimëkëmbjen e rrëqebullit të Ballkanit Newsletter

     

  • Young People Deserve Good Environmental Education – Educational Resources for Future Environmental Leaders

    Young People Deserve Good Environmental Education – Educational Resources for Future Environmental Leaders

    The SHAPE project “Local Action for Better Environmental Policies” enabled us to reach out to young people and help them become future leaders in environmental protection.

    The educational and promotional materials we made in cooperation with the Institute for Communication Studies, with the financial support of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), serve to raise public awareness of the need for environmental activism, with a special focus on youth.

    As part of the project, we supported non-governmental organizations from six regions in Macedonia that in cooperation with high schools conducted their own projects to solve certain local environmental problems. The documentary “Youth for Nature” follows this process and shows how young people are activated, organized and find creative ways to approach environmental problems that affect us all.

    We also created short animations that are educational and cover topics of environmental protection. These topics are current in our country and are broadly related to the topics of grantee projects and have proven to be important to young people. The first video shows how agricultural practices affect the entire ecosystem and how many benefits we can have when working with nature. The second video highlights the problem we still have with waste management. The third video shows the biodiversity of Prespa and the need to protect the entire ecosystem.

    The Eco-cards contain messages about the environment. In them we cover basic topics related to the environment such as ecology and global warming, but there is also data on Macedonia, as facts about the biodiversity in Macedonia or the state of waste management. We hope that these educational materials will serve as a resource in further education of young people. You can download them with this link.

  • Open Call for Spatial Planning Expert

    Open Call for Spatial Planning Expert

    Photo: Sillerkiil

    The Macedonian Ecological Society, as a part of the project “Enhancing the Connectivity of the Balkan Green Belt” is launching a Call for engagement of a Spatial Planning expert to be involved in the process of development of a new Law on Spatial Planning of the Republic of North Macedonia. The main objective of this engagement is to provide expert support during the process of development of a new Law, in particular, the requirements for incorporating the green infrastructure. The Spatial Planning expert shall work in close cooperation with the Department of Spatial Planning within the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning and the project team. More details about the call, the conditions and the criteria cab be found here.

    All interested experts should send their offers latest until 10th April 2022 to the following e-mail address: stojanov@mes.org.mk

  • Wildlife Crime Academy: Advanced Course equips participants to improve forensic and police investigation on poisoning incidents in the Balkans and beyond

    Wildlife Crime Academy: Advanced Course equips participants to improve forensic and police investigation on poisoning incidents in the Balkans and beyond

    In today’s conservation work, combating wildlife crime is essential to effectively protect and preserve certain species. The sad reality is that people behind serious wildlife crimes like poisoning and poaching usually go unpunished. And impunity facilitates these illegal activities to continue, exploiting and killing wildlife in the meantime. The Wildlife Crime Academy (WCA), organised by the Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) and the Junta de Andalucía, aims to change that.

    The Advanced Course of the Wildlife Crime Academy

    After years of preparation, the first Wildlife Crime Academy course took place this summer in Spain. Ultimately, the WCA strives to provide the opportunity to as many people as possible across Europe and eventually the world to receive the training necessary to combat wildlife crime. Subsequently, participants will implement the practices learned in their respective countries to help deter people from committing these crimes so that less wildlife suffers.

    A few months ago, the Basic Course hosted key stakeholders working in conservation, law enforcement and forensic science from eight countries in the Balkans and elsewhere to train them on how to detect, manage and investigate wildlife crime, and in particular poisoning incidents. The participants reunited last week for the Advanced Course, where they were able to enhance their specialisation in their corresponding areas of expertise.

    Specialisation in forensic and police investigation of wildlife crime

    Based on over 15 years of experience, training specialists from the Junta de Andalucía and EUROPOL devised the syllabus for the latest course. The concept is straightforward – take the necessary procedures to treat wildlife crime with the severity it deserves. So, if a GPS-tagged vulture disappears or if the carcass of a bear emerges in the middle of a forest, the key stakeholders should be able to act swiftly and take the appropriate steps to investigate these potential wildlife crimes. The Wildlife Crime Academy’s Advanced Course demonstrated how to do just that.

    Participants got the chance to learn all about Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) – how to conduct systematic examinations, collect and secure evidence while using deductive and inductive reasoning to help determine the facts of the case. WCA covered various associated topics, from collecting fingerprints to utilising canine units and identifying deception through body language.

    Let’s not forget forensics – a crucial part of the investigation where forensic scientists analyse evidence to develop objective findings that can reveal causes of death and even assist in the prosecution of perpetrators. The WCA delved into key areas, including forensic entomology, non-conventional sampling and interpretation of toxicology results, among others.

    We can only fight wildlife crime if we work together and learn from one another. The WCA team will continue to work diligently and dedicatedly to keep growing the teams of wildlife crime experts across Europe and elsewhere, achieving convictions and justice for wildlife!

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Next year, the WCA will host a second cohort of enforcement agencies, pathologists, forensic veterinarians and toxicologists, and the VCF is stringing to find the funding to continue this initiative and programme beyond as results so far have been very promising, and there is defiantly interest from many countries to join.

     

  • It’s All in the Genes: Saving the Balkan Lynx

    It’s All in the Genes: Saving the Balkan Lynx

    A joint multidisciplinary effort by scientists from Europe recently produced a scientific paper on the Balkan (Lynx lynx balcanicus Bureš, 1941) and the Caucasian (Lynx lynx dinniki, Satunin, 1915) lynx, which gives fresh perspective of the genetic status of the Balkan’s critically endangered cat and provides a direction for future conservation measures.

    According to the paper, Asian and European lynx populations started to diverge around 100 thousand years ago, after which followed a decline in population size, which intensified during the last 750 years. Analysis was performed on the mitogenome, i.e. mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on through the maternal line, revealing in the Balkan lynx two haplotypes, whereas, in Caucasian lynx, defined were six haplotypes. A haplotype constitutes a group of alles (versions of a gene) inherited from a single parent – the mother in this case. Seeing the relatedness of these haplotypes, it was concluded that the Balkan and Caucasian lynx populations separated genetically around 46 thousand years, compared to the separation from rest of the Eurasian lynx almost 93 thousand years.

    On the other hand, analysis of the nuclear genome (DNA found in cell’s nucleus) suggests that the Balkan lynx is closely related with the Carpathian population, even though they represent two different sets of haplotypes (haplogroups) that separated around 100 thousand years ago. This closeness is owing to the regular and most recent interaction of these two neighbouring populations. Moreover, such gene flow is thought to be male-biased.

    Another important consideration ensuing from this paper is the yet-another confirmation of the genetic erosion in the Balkan lynx population, due to the long-term inbreeding caused by the small and fragmented populations. Such low level of genetic diversity in this subspecies calls for immediate conservation action.

    The Balkan lynx is now considered the most threatened native subspecies of the Eurasian lynx. It is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and numbers estimated to be a mere 50 or less mature individuals. As its distribution restricted to the southwestern Balkan Peninsula, the animal’s core areas are along the Macedonian-Albanian border, with Mavrovo National Park being its stronghold. Major conservation efforts started in 2006 with the initiation of the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme, now in its sixth phase. The Macedonian Ecological Society has been the project partner since the very beginning.

    All these findings are crucial to designing a better-suited conservation approach that could avert the imminent extinction of our beloved cat! Read the full paper at the following link.

  • Shar Mountain finally declared a National Park after 27 years!

    Shar Mountain finally declared a National Park after 27 years!

    MES and Friends of Shara greet the passing of the Law on the Proclamation of Shar Mountain as National Park

    The Macedonian Ecological Society and the Friends of Shara Platform greet the passing of the Law on the Proclamation of Shar Mountain as National Park at Assembly’s 43rd session on 30 June 2021, with 66 votes in favour.

    @JovanBozinoski

    As supporters of this long-term process, we would like to express our great satisfaction and give recognition to all stakeholders involved in the proclamation of Shar Mountain a national park – a rather long and painstaking process concluded through the faith and hard work of the institutions, donors, NGOs, and the locals, who gave their support over the years.

    Among the initiative’s most ardent supporters was professor Ljupcho Melovski, Ph.D., the former President of MES, who best knew Shar Mountain in terms of natural values, and also continuously engaged in all activities relevant to the proclamation of Shar Mountain a national park and its protection ever since 1997/98.

    I wished I would hear the good news about Shar Mountain’s proclamation as national park on 30 June, the day of prof. Melovski’s birthday, who dedicated his whole life exploring Shara – and it happened. Shara holds tremendous values in terms of biodiversity, but also significant are its cultural values and the traditional resource use practices. In fact, this is what makes Shara a unique mountain. Its legal protection presents great success and a step forward to overcoming the pressures it is facing, but there still remains a bigger task – undertaking efficient measures to conserve and manage this important area, states Robertina Brajanoska, executive director of MES.

    According to MES’s President, Slavcho Hristovski, Shara’s proclamation is a historic step, because it’s been 63 years since the last proclamation of a national park in the country, following the Galichica National Park.

    I feel obliged to express my gratitude to the Assembly, the Government, the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, in particular to the Minister Naser Nuredini, for the effort and the ultimate success. I would also like to congratulate to the citizens of the Shara region and to the citizens’ associations, wishing that all of us jointly protect and promote Shar Mountain’s nature, take good care of the cultural and traditional values, which will provide manifold benefits through regional development and improved livelihood of the locals. I wish that very soon we witness how the Shar Mountain National Park brings progress and facilitates transboundary cooperation, and I am also confident that this proclamation further demonstrates the civilizational values of our society, even though we tend to doubt them, states Slavcho Hristovski, the President of MES.

    The proclamation of Shar Mountain as the country’s fourth national park is the missing piece in the regional jigsaw, which results in a transboundary protected area with total land area of 244,617 hectares. There is a national park in Kosovo since 1986, and in Albania, there is the Korab-Koritnik Nature Park, established in 2011. These areas naturally connect with the Macedonian Mavrovo National Park, ensuring integral protection for the entire land area, which carries extraordinary biological and aesthetic values.

    The President of the Friends of Shara Platform, Metin Muaremi, extended congratulations to the Government and the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, as institutions providing firm support during this long, but much needed process for all citizens of the Shar Mountain region, but also for all those who appreciated the values this region holds.

    The Friends of Shara Platform, for more than five years, went through many hardships and challenges, facing both supporters and opponents, but not only once have we considered giving up on our cause, because we strongly believe in the values it holds for the locals and the wider region. We believe in good cooperation with the administration of the future Shar Mountain National Park and the support for a modern park taking care of both nature and people, states Metin Muaremi, President of the Friends of Shara Platform.

     

    It is expected that the national park, housing more than 26,000 citizens, will provide many benefits, not only in terms of nature protection, but also in terms of socio-economic and demographic aspects. We are convinced that the Shar Mountain, protected as such, can attract tourists like the famous national parks throughout the world and the region, since in terms of natural values, it has all that is needed. Protection will not only hinge on its administration, but also on changing awareness in all who have been using the mountain’s natural resources, starting from the business sector, public enterprises, but also including the locals.

    @JovanBozinoski

    MES, Friends of Shara and the initiative to proclaim Shar Mountain a national park

    MES has been part of the initiative for the proclamation of Shar Mountain since the beginning, mainly in the capacity of studying Shara’s biodiversity, while in the last 10 years it also organized numerous events, workshops and conferences at local and regional levels, attended by representatives of institutions, local citizens and all 6 municipalities of the Polog Region.

    We dedicated our work in this topic ever since our mission was recognized by the Centre for Education and Development, from Tearce, the Ljuboten Mounteneering Club, from Tetovo, and the Initiative for Civic Integrations, from Gostivar, with whom we became active through the informal Friends of Shara Platform, which in the last 6 years dedicated selflessly to this initiative, making the issue of Shara’s becoming a national park a constant hot topic in the public.

    Through the work of the Friends of Shara Platform, awareness is raised in the region about the natural values of Shar Mountain at national and regional level, lobbying constantly and making sure that the proclamation process does not come to a halt.

    @AleksandarDonev

    Expectations:

    MES and Friends of Shara believe that in the initial years of national park establishment, proper managing authority will be key to proper nature protection, with role both to protect nature and maintain mountain’s traditional resource use.

    After the establishment of Shar Mountain NP, the responsible the public enterprise will have to prepare a management plan to be presented to the locals and the relevant stakeholders. The future managing authority will have the obligation to mark the special protection zones in the park, inform the locals about their role, conduct monitoring of the flora and fauna, and also implement other activities on nature protection.

    MES and Friends of Shara will continue their activities in the region. The members of the Friends of Shara Platform are involved in all projects promoting region’s natural values and tourism and supporting local initiatives and stakeholders both in Shar Mountain and the region.

    Threats to nature still remain present. In addition to the “small” hydro power plants, there is also illegal logging, poaching, and ongoing urbanization through illegal construction of buildings, new roads and land conversion. The law proclaiming the national park and the management plan should ideally put an end to these issues, but this does not mean that all the problems will be gone. The future management authority will have a lot of work controlling such events, educating the locals and ensuring activities that will provide benefits from this protection.

    Click on this link for a reminder of the road we walked to get here

    Find more information at:

    http://friendsofshara.mk/mk/

    Pandurska@mes.org.mk

    metin.muaremi@ced.org.mk