The decision on the future of one of the most precious floodplains along the river Danube is just around the corner. Shipping plans to regulate the Danube along a 53 kilometres section between the border of Croatia and Serbia.Working on an international level, EuroNatur categorically rejects the planned channelling.[more]
The riverine landscapes of Mur, Drava and Danube count among the most important resting and wintering refuges for waterbirds in Europe; this has again been demonstrated in this year's International Waterbird Census (IWC), registering over 163.000 waterbirds.[more]
In middle of the second oldest and largest national park of Macedonia, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) plans to finance the construction of a large hydroelectric dam for power generation. The so called "Boskov Most" project means a serious threat to the Mavrovo National Park. [more]
The Balkan Green Belt is to expand further. In the three-country border area of Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia there are plans to create a “Shar Park” covering 2,000 square kilometres across borders. [more]
From 16th to 19th November 2011, more than 50 representatives from governmental and non-governmental organizations met in order to discuss about the future of the European Green Belt in South-Eastern Europe. [more]
Here is one for nature lovers and hikers: a new network of hiking trails in the Jablanica-Shebenik mountains of the Albanian-Macedonian border area invites holidaymakers to discover the stunning nature at the Balkan Green Belt and traces of the recent history. [more]
On March 25, the responsible ministers for the environment of Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia did their job properly. They signed a joint declaration of intent for a Trans-Boundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the first of its kind in the world extending over five country borders.[more]
Good news from Croatia: on February 10th Croatia’s government designated the regional park Drau-Mur. The nature reserve, which is approximately 88.000 hectares wide, is Croatia’s first regional park and units the existing nature reserves and the Natura 2000 areas along the rivers Drau and Mur to one large nature reserve.[more]
Two further areas - both located on the Balkan Green Belt in Macedonia - are likely to be designated national parks. These two areas, the Shar Planina Mountains in the north of the country on the Kosovo border, and the Jablanica Mountains along the border between Macedonia and Albania, have one thing in common: they host an unequalled diversity of plant and animal species in Europe.[more]
Good news from Balkan Green Belt: The ecological importance of the Dragoman swamps and its adjacent wetlands in Bulgaria has now been internationally acknowledged.[more]
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Since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, there remains a strip of habitat running the entire length of Europe, which remains comparably undisturbed in many places. The latter is true for many larger adjacent areas of high conservational value, which are connected by this habitat strip. It is the aim of the „Green Belt“ project to have this entire strip with the key habitats within it become part of an ecological network. The Belt would act as a symbol of union between East and West and as a key element of Europe's global commitment to halting biodiversity loss by 2010.
European Green Belt "Fact Sheet" (pdf-file, 129 kb)
The Pan-European Green Belt exists in three main sections:
1) The Fennoscandian Belt - between Norway, Finland and the Russian Federation;
2) The Central European Belt - running through Germany, between the Czech Republic, Austria and Hungary and extended to the Adriatic Sea;
3) The Balkan Belt - running along the barrier that separated Balkan countries, ending at the Black Sea.
EuroNatur-Projects mainly concentrate on the southern part, the Balkans
IUCN-Strategy for Southeastern Europe (pdf-file, 1130 kb), by EuroNatur
For further information see: www.europeangreenbelt.org - the site contains also a newsletter with current information on Green Belt projects and events.