Western Balkans Regional Environmental Development Cooperation

Geographical location:

Europe/Middle-East > Eastern Europe > Bosnia and Herzogowina

Summary

The Dinaric Arc is a region of South-Eastern Europe encompassing a large portion of the Western Balkans between the Adriatic Sea and the Danube Plain. The Dinaric Alps form the backbone of the region, which is endowed with a natural and cultural heritage whose richness and variety are almost unparalleled in Europe.

Over the past 20 years, the countries of the Dinaric Arc have experienced periods of high political and social instability, conflicts, economic crisis and transition towards a market economy and European integration. These difficult times have had a serious negative impact on the livelihoods of many rural communities in the most remote portions of the Dinaric Arc, as well as on the integrity of ecosystems and traditional landscapes. However, a recent agreement by the countries of the region to protect their rich natural heritage offers a unique opportunity to boost biodiversity and landscape conservation and sustainable rural development in the Western Balkans. This project is a transboundary cooperation programme designed to take full advantage of the momentum to improve environmental conservation and governance in the Dinaric Arc.

Background

Over the past year, several favourable events and decisions created an opportunity to boost biodiversity and landscape conservation and sustainable rural development in the Western Balkans, leading eventually to the development of the programme described in this project. These events include the strengthening of the Dinaric Arc Initiative (DAI) and the Big Win for the Dinaric Arc event.

DAI is a broad framework of collaboration created by international conservation institutions active in the Western Balkans. DAI members include: the Council of Europe, EuroNatur, FAO, IUCN, REC, SNV, UNEP, UNESCO BRESCE, UNDP, and WWF. This coalition aims to add value to ongoing programmes of all its partners, and to put in place new, joint specific actions to achieve the preservation of the wealth and integrity of the Dinaric Arc. Having consolidated their collaboration over the past two years, DAI member organisations are now ready to go one step further in their partnership and put in place new joint programmes in the Western Balkans.

The Big Win for Dinaric Arc was a high-level event which took place during the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 9) in Bonn, Germany, in May 2008. Six countries of the Dinaric Arc – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia - joined forces to protect their rich natural heritage by jointly committing to build an effective network of protected areas. This major commitment is based on in the recognition that the natural and cultural wealth of the Dinaric Arc region is a critical asset on which sustainable social and economic development can be based, and also on the awareness that protecting this natural and cultural wealth can only be achieved through close cooperation among the Dinaric Arc countries.

During the Bonn event, the 6 signatory countries recognised the importance of transboundary management for ensuring the maintenance of ecosystem services and sustainable development, and acknowledged the importance of mutual cooperation and transboundary cooperation for generating benefits in the region. The 6 governments called upon the Dinaric Arc Initiative partners to facilitate necessary support in the delivery of national and regional priorities. These priorities include the establishment of 13 new protected areas, the evaluation of the contribution that protected areas can bring to local and national economies, and the strengthening of regional collaboration through the creation of a series of trans-boundary natural resource management areas.

This project therefore aims to secure the sustainable development of rural communities and the conservation of biological diversity and traditional landscapes in Transboundary Protected Areas (TBPA) of the Dinaric Arc Region, based on increased regional cooperation and strengthened environmental governance.

Objectives

The programme will undertake a broad range of actions at different levels, integrating the various layers of work so as to facilitate and support the realization of the commitment expressed by the Governments of the Dinaric Arc through the Big Win Joint Statement.

1. At field level, the programme will initiate a pilot model project in one of the most outstanding transboundary landscapes of the Dinaric Arc - the Prokletije/Bjeshkët e Namuna. This field project will aim to achieve tangible, sustainable improvement in the livelihoods of local rural communities in the 3 concerned countries (Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo), by securing the conservation of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and traditional landscapes. The lessons learned on integrating local communities and the private sector into landscape management and environmental governance in the pilot area will be eventually transferred to other Trans boundary protected areas (TBPA) of the Dinaric Arc.

2. Transboundary dialogue will be increased by stakeholder participation and integration of their activities into broader European frameworks for nature conservation. The programme will facilitate the creation of a platform for the fulfilment of the Big Win and other government commitments, where key decision makers from the different countries will interact and coordinate their respective actions.

3. Communication and know-how exchange mechanisms on trans-boundary natural resource management and development will be established. The programme will identify capacity gaps as well as “empowerment gaps”, and will develop sound programmes to target identified key issues and key actors, with a strong focus on gender and civil society and local communities. Appropriate nature-relevant business sectors for engagement will be identified, and sustainable management schemes based on the Landscape Stewardship principle will be put in place.

Solution

This programme is in line with the development and nature conservation strategic priorities of the countries of the Dinaric Arc, and is highly relevant to the mission and objectives of the implementing partners – IUCN, together with Countdown 2010, SNV, and WWF. The establishment of new, effective TBPAs will further contribute to the realisation of the European Green Belt programme, whose vision is “to create the backbone of an ecological network, running from the Barents to the Black Sea that is a global symbol for transboundary cooperation in nature conservation and sustainable development”.

Most of the community development and conservation work planned in Prokletije/Bjeshkët e Namuna will be channelled through Local Action Groups (LAGs), which will be set up in each of the 3 concerned countries on the model of those already running in many countries of the European Union. LAGs are regional management and development organisations made up of public and private partners from the rural territory, and include representatives from different socio-economic sectors. They receive financial assistance to implement local development strategies through the awarding of grants for local projects.

Achievement

- Furthered implementation of trans-boundary natural resource management and development objectives expressed in the inter-governmental Big Win statement for the Dinaric Arc commitment.

- Action plans for advancing conservation, security and sustainable development through trans-boundary protected areas in the Dinaric Arc are developed.

- Transboundary dialogue and collaboration is increased through stakeholder participation and integration of activities into broader European frameworks for nature conservation.

- Programme lessons are replicated in other locations in the Dinaric Arc countries and beyond.

- Two informal EU-compatible Local Action Groups (LAGs) in the targeted area are established – one in Albania and one in Montenegro – with the aim of ensuring local ownership of environmental governance, of preparing for formal LAGs (as future conduit for EU funding) and of coordinating activities under this programme objective.

- Strengthened capacity of public, private and civic actors (joined in informal LAGs) in the pilot area for assessment of biodiversity and landscape resources, for assessment of threats (to these resources) and opportunities for sustainable economic use, and for taking intra-LAG joint action for protection and use of these resources

- Strengthened capacity of public, private and civic actors (joined in informal LAGs) in the pilot area for assessment of cultural heritage, for assessment of threats and opportunities for sustainable economic use of these resources, and for taking intra-LAG joint action for protection and use

- Established understanding on needs for action between Albanian and Montenegrin LAGs (inter-LAGs), as well as bilateral agreements between relevant Local and National authorities on natural and cultural heritage protection and sustainable use.

- Demonstrate sustainable development options for rural communities in the trans-boundary areas highlighted in the Big Win for Dinaric Arc commitments by implementing action plans.

- Increased ecological, social and economic security of rural communities in the region and programme lessons replicated in other locations in the region.

- Habitats and landscapes for project implementation are delineated and stakeholders are committed.

- Appropriate nature-relevant business sectors for interaction are identified and engaged.

- Key regional and site-based capacity building activities on landscape stewardship are implemented.