Europes ecological backbone.pdf

Protected areas
Box 9.1 Sharr Mountains — towards a transboundary ecological corridor
The south-western Balkan Peninsula is a hotspot of biodiversity. The high mountains have an outstanding
richness of diversity of plant species, and are one of the last retreats of large European carnivores, such
as bear, wolf and lynx. The border areas were strictly guarded for decades; some sections were among the
most divisive barriers in history. They now represent some of Europe's last sites with intact natural flora
and fauna.
The Sharr Mountains extend from southern Kosovo* and the northwestern part of the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia to northeastern Albania. The mountain system is about 80 km long and 10 to 30 km
wide. It includes several high peaks (the highest, Titov Vrv, is 2 747 m) and extends to Korab Mountain
(2 764 m) in the southwest and continues along the border between Albania and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia as the Dešat/Deshat mountain range. The European Green Belt (Terry et al.,
2006) is important in this context, as an existing ecological backbone. This was partly achieved through
the restrictive border controls of the recent past, which were probably stricter than anywhere else along
the former Iron Curtain. In addition, the mountainous nature of the terrain contributed to biodiversity
protection. The key to future protection is to protect the existing ecological infrastructure and landscape,
particularly for large carnivores, and to ensure that mutually agreed management and development plans
are applied across the now open boundaries.
The first attempts to protect the natural values in the region started in the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (then in Yugoslavia) with the proclamation of Mavrovo National Park in 1949. With an area of
73 088 ha, it is the country's largest national park, bordering both Albania and Kosovo. The first National
Park in the Sharr Mountains was established in Kosovo (then in Yugoslavia) in 1986. The Park covers
approximately 39 000 ha; its boundaries are artificial, both on the border with the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia and along the boundary between two municipalities within Kosovo. Although Albania has
made significant progress in recent years in developing a system of protected areas, the establishment of a
protected area along the border with Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia remains at the
planning and development stage.
After years of uncoordinated actions related to nature conservation across the borders, prospects for
the future are promising. The government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has announced
that a national park protecting the Sharr Mountains and their outstanding biodiversity will be proclaimed
in 2010, adjacent to Mavrovo National Park. It will cover approximately 48 000 ha and extend the area
already legally protected in Kosovo. Another important initiative in the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia aimed at the improved coherence of protected area systems in the transboundary context is the
establishment of Jablanica National Park. Once proclaimed, in cooperation with Albanian counterparts, the
Park would constitute another transboundary mountain area in the region in the Jablanica-Mali e Shebenikut
Mountains. Although the Park in Kosovo is facing numerous problems related to management, financing
and external pressures on the environment, it is an important base for sustainable development in a region
affected by poverty, high unemployment and emigration. A process heading towards enlargement of the
existing Park in the municipality of Dragash/Dragaš has started and is broadly supported by multi‐ethnic
local communities. In Albania, the Government has prepared a proposal to designate a 'Korabi Protected
Landscape' covering over 30 000 ha bordering Kosovo and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The
legal proclamation of the area is foreseen for 2012.
If all the proposed initiatives related to the establishment of a transboundary 'Sharr/Šar Planina — Korab
— Deshat/Dešat' protected area in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia are implemented, the area could
cover over 250,000 ha and become one of the largest protected areas in Europe. Together with adjacent
Mavrovo and Jablanica National Parks in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and protected areas
to be established in the triangle between Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo, enhancing the protection of
the Dinaric Alps, this region will become the biggest functional, legally protected ecological corridor in the
European mountains.
* The name Kosovo has been used to refer to the territory under the United Nations Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo, established in 1999 by the UN Security Council resolution 1244.
Source:
Tomasz Pezold and Lee Dudley (IUCN Programme Office for South-Eastern Europe, Serbia).
162 Europe's ecological backbone: recognising the true value of our mountains