News

The Shar Planina/Korab-Koritnik region in the trilateral border area of North Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania is one of the pearls of the Balkan Green Belt. During 2019 two new projects were launched in order to identify and develop appropriate and innovative measures for nature protection and regional development facing the main threats to biodiversity, such as unsustainable use of natural resources and constructions.

The last remaining population of around 30-35 breeding pairs of Cinereous Vultures (Aegypius monachus) on the Balkan Peninsula can be found in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli Forest National Park in Greece, right in the Balkan Green Belt. In 2018 the project “Vulture Back to LIFE” initiated the reintroduction of the species in Bulgaria. On 16 August 2018 the project team released the first three juvenile Cinereous Vultures, tagged with GPS transmitters to monitor their movements. The data from all three birds show us that vulture conservation requires coordinated efforts across borders.

What lasts long will finally be good! The last missing puzzle stone for the future five-country UNESCO Biosphere Park Mur-Drava-Danube, the Styrian border segment of the Mur, was added by Austria on 19 June 2019. The area is part of the last intact dynamic river landscapes of Europe. The goal for the Danube-Drava-Mur region between Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia is the realization of a transboundary biosphere reserve.

From 2-4 April 2019 the 4th National Conference for the Management of the Green Belt Germany took place in the historical venue Water Castle Mitwitz – place of birth of the Green Belt-Idea in Germany. Under the slogan “30 years boundless love for nature” the 40 participants also celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Green Belt Germany and the breakdown of the Iron Curtain. The conference supported exchange and cooperation of the stakeholders including partners from nature conservation, environmental and historical education as well as from the nature tourism sector.

In the South of Montenegro, right at the European Green Belt, lies a magnificent bird´s paradise: Ulcinj Salina. With about 15 km2, Ulcinj Salina is one of the biggest nesting and resting sites for more than 250 bird species on the Adriatic flyway. This unique habitat evolved during the almost 90 years of salt production. Unfortunately, the salt production stopped in 2013 leading to unemployment of 400 salt workers and the start of the ecosystem´s degradation. Only with a proper water management, and in the best case also salt production, this specific habitat will stay alive.

“Stop draining Wetlands!” - on the occasion of the World Wetlands Day 2019 the 20th International Hike at Mura river at the border between Austria and Slovenia will take place on 3 February 2019.

The international conference was organized in Bratislava (Slovakia) as a public kick-off event of the “D2C - DaRe to Connect” project. 11 partners from 8 countries are working in the project focussing on the closure of gaps in the ecological corridors of the European Green Belt in the Danube Region. The D2C project is co-funded by the European Union's ERDF and IPA funds through the Danube Transnational Program. The two-day conference was organized by BUND Bavaria, Department Green Belt the project leader, with support of the Slovak partner Ekopolis Foundation.

To mark the 29th anniversary of the fall of the Wall in Germany, the Thuringian parliament passed a very forward-looking law on 9th November: the European Green Belt in Thuringia was designated as a National Nature Monument.

On the occasion of the European Green Belt Days 2018, more than 50 people went hiking in the mountains. Their destination was the Three Countries Peak of Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo, one of the austere beauties of the Balkan Green Belt.

Good news for Central Europe's largest river landscape: UNESCO has acknowledged 29,000 hectares of floodplain of the Slovenian Mur river as a biosphere reserve. This is a further important step towards the trans-border nature protection of the "Amazon of Europe".