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  • Annual membership meeting

    Annual membership meeting

    The annual membership meeting is a predecessor to the meetings of our Presidency and the Assembly. This time the meeting was held on January 10th at the MKC Restaurant. The members were greeted by our President, Professor Slavcho Hristovski, PhD. and the Executive Director Robertina Brajanoska, MSc, but we were especially honored by the speech given by out Founder Ljupcho Grupche, PhD.

    During the membership meeting we once again thanked and honored our Nature Heroes, Emanuel Lisichanec for his work on vulture conservation and Violeta Janeva on her visionary support of the Stork Village in Macedonia. This prestigious award was given to both our members by the President of BirdLife.  

    The membership meeting is also the forum where our members can find out more about the projects we are developing, the programs we support and to influence our work through the membership delegate who is a member of our Assembly.

    For all our members who could not make it to the event here are the videos, about our work in 2018 and a short video about the network we joined as full members – BirdLife international.

  • Promotion of the Conservation Action Plan for the Balkan Lynx in Mavrovo National Park

    Promotion of the Conservation Action Plan for the Balkan Lynx in Mavrovo National Park

    On 26 December 2018, the Conservation Action Plan (CAP) for the Balkan Lynx was presented in the Mavrovo National Park (MNP), foreseeing systematic activities for the conservation of Balkan lynx in the MNP area. Activities are financially supported by the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme, implemented by the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) for twelve years now, and will be conducted in close cooperation with MNP until the end of 2020. The document was prepared and revised in the last five years in partnership with MES, MNP and other relevant stakeholders from the country and abroad.

    –The main goal of the Action Plan is to give significant contribution to conserve the population of the critically endangered Balkan lynx. The CAP represents operative document specifying concrete activities and measures, also providing financial and time frames. The CAP pertains to the lynx population core area, currently within MNP, whereas planned activities include prey species monitoring, education, raising public awareness, establishing safe biocorridors for large mammals, transboundary cooperation, etc., stated Dime Melovski, MES Wildlife Programme Manager.

    Current situation with the Balkan lynx in Macedonia remains worrisome. Latest estimation show that lynx population in its entire potential region in the Southwest Balkans amounts to 40 adult individuals. Such figures were acquired using direct counting of individuals within the core area in MNP and their further extrapolation for the remaining suitable habitats. The counting of individuals was done using the globally accepted method of camera-trapping in the years 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018. MNP and its surroundings host between 10 and 18 lynx, with average population density of 1.7 individuals per 100 km2.  Its population size below 50 adult individuals earns the Balkan lynx the critically endangered (CR) status according to the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and therefore, it has found its place on the IUCN Red List ever since 2015.

  • Successful meeting between NP “Mavrovo and NP “Malet e Sharrit” in Kosovo

    Successful meeting between NP “Mavrovo and NP “Malet e Sharrit” in Kosovo

    On 11 December 2018, a meeting took place on Shar Mountain in Kosovo among
    representatives of the Mavrovo National Park in Macedonia and the Sharri National Park in Kosovo, organised by the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES).

    The aim of this meeting was to present the work of MES regarding Balkan lynx conservation and the initial results from the monitoring of chamois in the Mavrovo National Park, conducted in cooperation with park employees.

    Participants exchanged views about future transboundary cooperation between the two national parks, whereas also addressed were common problems pertaining to the decreasing number of livestock, transboundary utilisation of given resources, namely, game, pastures and blueberry, as specific challenges faced in both parks.

    The meeting was organised as part of the activities of the Balkan Lynx Conservation Action
    Plan in Mavrovo National Park, implemented by MES in partnership with Mavrovo National
    Park.

  • Second European Mammal Atlas

    Second European Mammal Atlas

    Published in 1999 and with more than 450 citations on the Web of Science, the first edition of the European Mammal Atlas has become one of the most cited books on mammals in Europe. The need for a new edition became obvious in 2015 due to the fact that many studies contributed to the increased knowledge about mammals at European level, and also considering that the European part of Russia was included in the project too. The new edition is due with publication in 2024, exactly 25 years after the first one. The Macedonian Ecological Society is a partner of this project and the main contributor of mammal knowledge for Macedonia.

    For more information please visit the following link:

    http://discovermammals.org/projects/the-2nd-european-mammal-atlas

  • Leaflet for bike trails on Osogovo mountain

    As part of the project “Supporting a sustainable future for people and nature in the Osogovo mountain”, as a result from the component for development of sustainable tourism in the region three leaflets for bike trails were made.

    The leaflets are available on the following links:

    Easy trаil

    Medium and hard trаil

    Bike trail – Ponikva

  • Transboundary Summer School “Nature interpretation and Environmental Education” in Prespa, Albania

    Transboundary Summer School “Nature interpretation and Environmental Education” in Prespa, Albania

    From 17th – 21st September, students from the three countries sharing the Prespa region came together in Albanian Prespa to learn about “Nature Interpretation and Environmental Education in Prespa”. The Transboundary Summer School organized by PrespaNet members – Macedonian Ecological Society (MES), Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) and the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP), took the students through series of outdoor and indoor sessions that helped them gain knowledge in a variety of areas, working together to discover the wide range of benefits from environmental education and to gain professional experience in various fields through different ways of interpreting nature. In addition to the interactive group sessions, presentations and discussions, the participants had the opportunity to get to know from first hand the natural values of Prespa Region.

          

  • Egyptian Vultures numbers still dropping in Macedonia

    Egyptian Vultures numbers still dropping in Macedonia

    The intensive monitoring activities of the known Egyptian Vulture’s territories were restarted this year by the Macedonian Ecological society within the project “Egyptian Vulture new LIFE” financed by the LIFE program from the European Union (LIFE16 NAT/BG/000874).

    Sadly, our expectation was confirmed. The results from this year’s monitoring suggest that the population of the Egyptian Vulture in Macedonia is still in decline. This year marks the all-time low, with 13-14 pairs recorded throughout the whole country. This result clearly states that the numbers are constantly dropping having in mind that only in 2014 we counted 18-20 pairs while in 2013 there were 20-21 pairs.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The Egyptian Vulture is a globally endangered species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is strictly protected by the Bern and Bonn International Conventions, as well as by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In our legislation it is on the list of strictly protected species. The Republic of Macedonia is one of the last countries in the Balkan where the species can still be observed. In the past it’s presence was a common sight, but now their numbers are estimated to be less than 90 pairs in the Balkan. The reason for the vulture population decline is mainly the anthropogenic influence like illegal use of poison, poaching, disturbance, habitat loss, electrocution, wind-farm generator collision and lack of food due to abandonment of traditional farming practices. Having this in mind, the Macedonian Ecological Society will put efforts in the following period in mitigating these threats within the “Egyptian Vulture New LIFE” and the Balkan Anti Poison Project.

  • Teacher’s educational material “Birds and Nature” available in Macedonian for all teachers and educators

    Macedonian Ecological Society within the project ” Empowering Teachers and Pupils for a Better Life through Nature “, implemented in cooperation with five environmental NGOs from Europe, and financed by the Erasmus + program of the European Union on September 24 in the Municipality of Tearce and September 26 in the Municipality of Resen will hold two one-day workshops for kinder garden teachers and teachers from the first to the fifth grade in order to get acquainted with the educational materials for nature and birds that the teachers can use in their educational programs as well as the mobile app Migration of birds.

    The project encourages educators working with children of the earliest age in rural or smaller urban areas to spend more time in nature and to study it closely. The team of six environmental organizations from Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Ireland and Macedonia, with the support of the University of Gdansk, developed a mobile application, as well as innovative educational materials in six languages ​​and a plan for research in nature in addition to regular classes in primary schools and kindergartens.

    Teachers and kinder garden educators from more than 10 municipalities from regions Polog, SouthWest and Pelagonia will take part in the workshops.

    The materials for educators and teachers are available in Macedonian language on the following link and the YouTube channel of MES.

     

     

     

  • Fighting illegal wildlife poisoning with the Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project

    Fighting illegal wildlife poisoning with the Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project

    Working across five states in the Balkans, the Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project brings together governments, wildlife conservation groups,  hunting associations, farmers and scientists in an ambitious conservation project to tackle the single biggest threat to vultures, illegal poisoning.

    Vultures in the Balkans

    Cinereous vulture (This species no longer breeds in Macedonia)

    Once a common sight over the Balkan states the populations of the four European species of vultures, drastically declined over the course of the 20th Century. This led to the almost regional extinction of the bearded vulture and reduced the population of cinereous vultures to a small colony in Greece of 30 breeding pairs, while about 60 pairs of Egyptian vultures are left on the peninsula. Griffon vultures have become extinct from several countries including Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro and the 600 pairs are found in isolated populations across the region, larger populations of 100 pairs can be only found in Croatia, Bulgaria and Serbia.

    Illegal poisoning in the Balkans

    Wildlife poisoning is the single biggest threat to vultures in the Balkans today, and is the cause of the dramatic decline and regional extinction seen over the last 30 years. It is affecting the wild populations remaining in the Balkans and the conservation efforts to recover the populations across the whole of the region. Poisoning has been recognised as the single most important threat that vulture populations are facing worldwide within the  Vulture  Multi-species Action Plan (Vulture MsAP),  a global plan for the conservation of 15 species of vultures, co-developed by the Vulture Conservation Foundation.

    Griffon vulture – poison victim in Greece (2018)

    The practice of using poisoned baits by farmers and hunters is seen as a quick and affordable ‘solution’ to control predators such as wolves, jackals, foxes and feral dogs to protect livestock and in commercial hunting areas.  Despite being illegal throughout the Balkans, the practice is widespread partly due to poor enforcement of the law protecting wildlife and the free availability of poisons in markets and online.

     

     

     

    The Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project 

    Funded by the Mava Foundation the Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project is led by the Vulture Conservation Foundation and aims to secure real and continued engagement of the relevant national governmental authorities in the Balkan region against illegal wildlife poisoning and increase their capacity to counteract it and working together to take positive steps to protect vultures.  The Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project is a partnership between us here at the Macedonian Ecological Society guided by the Vulture Conservation Foundation and the Albanian Ornithological Society-AOS, Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania-PPNEA, Ornithological Society “Naše ptice”,Association BIOM, Hellenic Ornithological Society-HOS. The Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project directly contributing into the implementation of the Vulture MsAP by implementing anti-poisoning actions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece and Macedonia and is building on the work of the Vulture Conservation Foundation implementing the Balkan Vulture Action Plan.

    Next steps

    To achieve the aim of the Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project the project team will work with partners in each of the five Balkan states to establish national anti-poison working groups, comprised of representatives from relevant governmental institutions and conservation organisations. Each working group will be tasked with developing national anti-poison road maps which will set a baseline for future work combating wildlife poisoning. As well as developing of road maps the project will also launch a large scale awareness raising campaign to inform public audiences in the five states about the impacts of illegal poisoning on wildlife.

    The Balkan Anti-Poisoning Project builds on many other projects in the area that have worked to protect vultures in the area from the threat of illegal poisoning working with anti-poisoning canine units, many funded by the European Union’s LIFE programme such as our own LIFE Re-Vultures and Vultures Back to LIFE and others including Return of the Neophron, Egyptian Vultures New LIFE and the work of numerous  conservation organisations, such as the Fund for Wildlife and Flora and the Hellenic Ornithological Society, BIOM, Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds WWF Greece and many others.

    Follow our work on social media #BalkansAgainstPoisoning

  • List of Selected Endemic Terrestrial Plant and Animal Taxa of South-East Europe

    List of Selected Endemic Terrestrial Plant and Animal Taxa of South-East Europe

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1533561992605{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]Support for developing the List of Selected Endemic Terrestrial Plant and Animal Taxa of South-East Europe (hereinafter: List of Endemic Taxa of SEE) was provided by the Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Biodiversity (GIZ/ORF-BD), as part of its sub-project „Regional Network for Biodiversity Information Management and Reporting (BIMR)“ funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

    The South-East Europe (SEE) is exceptionally rich in biodiversity and hosts a variety of species and ecosystems. A number of animal and plant species occur only in the SEE. These endemic taxa (species and subspecies) are among the most attractive living organisms of the region; they are unique to a limited geographic location and highly vulnerable.

    The main goal of developing the List of Endemic Taxa of SEE is to record all taxa (species and subspecies) described on the territory of SEE economies (or in their immediate vicinity) whose present distributions are restricted to the Western Balkan region. Data was compiled on the basis of direct review of a large number of published monographs and articles containing a scientific description of a particular taxon. From the compiled literature, the original (verbatim) scientific name (under which it is described) and localities where it was first found (classic locality) were extracted. Compiled data were inserted into Excel templates (one for taxons and one for occurrences), with columns compatible with Darwin Core.

    The current List of Endemic Taxa of SEE includes vascular plants, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and beetles. The Regional Expert Team which developed the list of Balkans endemics consists of 14 taxonomists (5 botanists, 1 mammologist, 2 herpetologists and 5 coleopterologists) and 1 GIS analyst. A number of taxonomists, experts for Balkan flora and fauna, were also consulted.

    As a result, there are nearly 2.200 endemic taxa (from selected groups) described from the SEE region; 1.598 species and 576 subspecies. Almost 2.500 classic localities were spatially determined, of which 2.430 were georeferenced (i.e. have exact coordinates) with accuracy ranging from 50 to 10.000 m.

    The intention is to make the List of Endemic Taxa of SEE freely available at any time, with actual and updated information. In accordance with the anticipated needs, the raw data and data subsets underlying the List of Endemic Taxa of SEE were distributed to different stakeholders at the national, regional and international level:

    • Cumulative and national lists of taxa (with only taxon names and general distributions) were provided to the appropriate national governmental authorities (ministries in charge of environment) in SEE economies.
    • Complete raw data ready to be imported into the developed Biodiversity/Nature Conservation Information System (BIS) were provided to the appropriate national institutions in charge of BIS maintenance in the region, IT companies/experts from 3 economies (Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina) that are engaged in establishment of BIS and to all regional/international organisations interested in a regional overview of biodiversity (i.e. IUCN – ECARO).

    The data were collected and structured according to internationally accepted standards (Darwin Core) which makes it eligible for publishing on the GBIF network. Hence, the implementing partner of this activity, Macedonian Ecological Society (MES), possesses appropriate access rights and technical capabilities for publishing data directly to the GBIF database.

    https://www.gbif.org/publisher/856529fb-02f1-4539-80c1-174f7231ef0f

    It is expected that the list and the data prepared and provided in the framework of this activity will need some corrections in meantime. The completed inventory of living forms of the SEE region is far from sufficiently explored. Discovery of new species of beetles and plants is very likely. Also it is expected that further field work will enable better insight into the distribution of taxa from the current list. Adding newly discovered species, completing distributions of taxa, eventual data correction are some of the activities foreseen in the maintenance of the database. All these activities will be performed by IT experts from MES, according to the instructions and with consent of Regional Expert Team that compiled the data. The data will be corrected on a local database (within MES) using web services automatically synchronized with the GBIF database. GIZ ORF-BD together with MES will also communicate this information via email to all national institutions (in charge of BIS maintenance) from the SEE region which received the original data. The List of Endemic Taxa of SEE will have to be updated by locally engaged people in the national institutions.

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