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IUCN South-Eastern European e-Bulletin

Issue 6 · October 2005 (view as a PDF)

Dear all,

Summer break is behind us and although in terms of conservation activities it means we have all taken a well deserved rest, there are plenty of new information awaiting you in this issue of the IUCN South-Eastern European (SEE) e-Bulletin. The IUCN member we are introducing in this issue is the Ministry of Culture of Croatia, which is in charge of nature protection through its Directorate and joined IUCN only this year. Welcome to the IUCN family!

Another welcome goes to Ms Tamara Kutonova, former staff of IUCN Central European office in Warsaw, and as of mid-September, new force for IUCN office in Belgrade.

We hope that you will enjoy reading about your colleagues’ work throughout the SEE and that this overview of information will be valuable for your own activities. Thank you for all your contributions to this issue and we are looking forward to our cooperation in the future.

IUCN SEE e-bulletin is also available on the website of IUCN Regional Office for Europe at www.iucneurope.org.

Best wishes,

IUCN Programme Office for South-Eastern Europe

Contents

IUCN SEE – New staff

News

1 Ministry of Culture of Croatia – new IUCN member
2 ReQuest for protection of Konjuh in Bosnia and Herzegovina
3 CITES implementation in full force in Croatia
4 Citizens in support of waste recycling
5 Roller needs international assistance
6 New regional education centre in Sarajevo
7 Otter survey on Lika River 100 per cent positive
8 WWF canoes the Danube to save its ‘bottlenecks’
9 Green Home implements Mediterranean sustainable development strategy
10 LIFE project for Dalmatian Pelican
11 The Green Frame to halt the loss of biodiversity
12 UNDP protects Livanjsko polje biodiversity
13 FAO strengthens forest management in Serbia
14 PAN Parks network in the Central Balkan Park

Events

1 Macedonia discusses sustainable use of biodiversity in Moscow
2 New Belgrade bridge could endanger Pygmy Cormorant
3 World Heritage decisions from South Africa for South-Eastern Europe
4 VOLPE in Stara Planina
5 IUCN supports WSSD target on networks of marine protected areas
6 IBA monitoring and management planning training
7 Field research for transboundary Biosphere Reserve nomination
8 NGOs discuss cooperation with IUCN in Montenegro
9 Durmitor just for you
10 Stopica Cave under protection
11 International EUROPARC junior ranger camps
12 ’We create future by ourselves’
13 Across the Waters for effective wetland management
14 IUCN facilitates discussion on ecotourism at MEFEST
15 Training on developing partnerships in Natura 2000
16 Skadar Lake in the focus of Dinaric Arc initiative
17 Conference on mountains and rural development
18 IUCN WCPA co-organises conference on mountain corridors
19 “Building Bridges!“ for South-Eastern Europe
20 DRBC 5 in Belgrade

New Publications

1 3rd World Conservation Congress proceedings
2 IUCN’s progress assessment in 2004
3 Green Agenda for Croatia
4 Mediterranean protected areas directory
5 IUCN Red List of European Threatened Mammals

IUCN SEE – New Staff

We greet Tamara Kutonova in IUCN SEE team! Tamara was working in IUCN Programme Office for Central Europe based in Warsaw for the last two years. She was mostly dealing with biodiversity conservation and freshwater fisheries issues in 19 countries of CEE as well as the ecological networks of that region. Before that she was working with Wetlands International in Kiev, Ukraine. In her free time she enjoys sports, watching movies and listening to music. Tamara will stay with us for the next three months.

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News

1 Ministry of Culture of Croatia – new IUCN member

In February 2005, the Ministry of Culture of Croatia became an IUCN member, thus being the youngest member organisation of IUCN in South-Eastern European region. The Nature Protection Directorate within the Ministry of Culture performs as governmental institution dealing with policy, law, planning, strategies, assessment, monitoring, public relations, education, communications, and media. It consists of three units: Department for the Protection of Biological and Landscape Diversity, Department for the Protection of Natural Assets and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, and Department for Legal and Inspection Activities in the Protection of Nature. By carrying out diverse tasks related to nature conservation, the Nature Protection Directorate strives to conserve and improve the existing biological and landscape diversity on national, regional and local levels and take steps to bring back part of the lost taxa and habitats, to incorporate conservation measures of biodiversity into all economic activities using biological resources, and to harmonize efforts in the protection of the biological and landscape diversity with corresponding international activities.

The activities of the Nature Protection Directorate, among others, involve the establishment of new protected areas, eco-networks (as part of the Pan-European Ecological Network and Natura 2000) and Biodiversity Information System. The Directorate works actively on management plans for endangered and rare species in accordance with IUCN Red List, while being involved in many projects such as Conservation and Management of Wolves, Development of the National Bio-safety Framework for the Republic of Croatia, and Development of an Ecological Network along the Sava River.

For more information please visit www.min-kulture.hr or contact Andrea Stefan at andrea.stefan@min-kulture.hr.

2 ReQuest for protection of Konjuh in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Since August 2005, Bosnia and Herzegovina has one more fighter for nature conservation. An NGO reQuest unites young people of diverse backgrounds such as photography, economics, technology, tourism and law. Although it is a new organisation, reQuest is already very busy working on projects with the Regional Environmental Centre (REC) in Sarajevo and local authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as establishing transboundary collaboration with colleagues from neighbouring Montenegro and IUCN office for South-Eastern Europe.

Currently, reQuest is working on a project with the aim to declare one part of the Konjuh Mountain (central Bosnia) as the Nature Monument. This designation would be very important because Konjuh, in addition to hosting a great number of caves, is rich with flora and fauna species, while some plants are even endemic. The other important characteristic of this mountain is the existence of numerous historical and cultural monuments, the most interesting being old tombstones called stecci, the origin of which has not yet been confirmed. These are all the reasons that reQuest's efforts are directed to strengthened conservation of Konjuh Mountain. More information is available from Davorka Tolic, reQuest, davorka@bih.net.ba.

3 CITES implementation in full force in Croatia

Zagreb, Croatia: On 28 November 2004 Nature Protection Inspection within the Ministry of Culture, Department for Nature Protection, repossessed 50 specimens of the species Emerald monitor, Varanus prasinus, seized by the Customs at Zagreb Airport. The importer stated his intention was to start breeding Emerald monitor in captivity. The Inspection seized the whole shipment and started the offence procedure against the violator. Seized animals were placed in the Rescue Centre AWAP near Zagreb where adequate conditions for keeping the animals in captivity are ensured. Animals were infected with Salmonella.

Croatian CITES MA informed Indonesian Authorities about this seizure and issued a CITES permit for re-export of 39 specimens of the Emerald Monitor, while the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Veterinary Inspection, issued the Certificate on Origin and Health for 33 specimens. 13 specimens died, while 4, due to bad health, stayed in Croatia for further treatment. Healthy animals were transported by car to Vienna and continued their journey by plane to Jakarta. After two months the confiscated Emerald monitor from Croatia have been safely released according to all procedures and standards. Further information is available from Andrea Stefan, Ministry of Culture, Nature Protection Directorate, Andrea.stefan@min-kulture.hr.

4 Citizens in support of waste recycling

Tirana, Albania: EDEN Centre NGO and the Municipality of Tirana organised a campaign “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” to urge people to take care of adequate waste deposition. A group of about 30 volunteers has delivered leaflets, discussed recycling issue and filled in questionnaires with people on Tirana’s streets. According to the data collected from 500 questionnaires, 97% of the interviewed people supported the idea of separating waste. The EDEN Centre plans to hold a set of lectures on the importance of recycling in eight pilot schools this autumn. Increasing information through advertising and campaigns, as well as collaboration between local community and government, is indispensable tool to fight against inappropriate waste handling. For more information please contact Laureta Aliaj, EDEN Centre, l_aliaj@yahoo.com.

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5 Roller needs international assistance

Vojvodina, Serbia and Montenegro: Eurasian Roller Corracias garrulus has experienced one of the fastest declines among the breeding birds in Serbia. Once common breeder of open landscape in plains and low hills in river valleys in Vojvodina and eastern Serbia, this species has become probably the most endangered bird in the country during the last decade due to habitat loss. However, active conservation measures have proven to be very fruitful in safeguarding existing populations. According to the Hungarian experience, members of the association Riparia from Subotica, have started with implementation of a project in Special Nature Reserve Selevenjske pustare along the border of Serbia and Hungary, in which they are installing wooden boxes for birds. Roller occupies properly designed nest-boxes settled on the trees within favourable habitats and so far, the results have been positive. 30-90% of boxes per year have been occupied by Roller.

This project, supported in 2005 by the Provincial Secretariat for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development and the Bird Study and Protection Society of Vojvodina is requiring international assistance, having in mind that Roller is high-priority species of European concern. Former breeding sites in Vojvodina will form the project area in 2006, where additional 50 boxes are planned to be installed. Further information is available from Boris Hardi hardiv@suonline.net or Szekeres Otto szekoka@tippnet.co.yu

.6 New regional education centre in Sarajevo

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina: The newly established Regional Education and Information Centre for Sustainable Development in South-East Europe (REIC), launched its website www.reic.org.ba. REIC was established in Sarajevo with the aim to improve capacities in environmental management at regional level. It has been established within the UNESCO ROSTE “Environmental education for sustainable development – a regional training project scheme for the Adriatic-Ionian Basin" project. The main implementing partners of this project are the University of Sarajevo and the University of Bologna. For more information about REIC visit www.reic.org.ba or contact info@reic.org.ba.

7 Otter survey on Lika River 100 per cent positive

Lika, Croatia: Otter survey camp on Lika River, organised by Green Action NGO and Biology Students Association (BIUS), and with the assistance of experts Ms Marcela Roche from Czech Otter Foundation and Ms Milena Sijan, was held from 4-10 July 2005. This initiative is part of the Green Belt Velebit (GBV) project, implemented by Green Action and WWF, with the aim to support long-term rural development and conservation of large karst landscape system of the Lika, Gacka and Krbava river basins, the Velebit Mountain range and the Adriatic sea channel. One of the GBV’s goals is to conserve priority animal and plant species, and otter is one of them.

Otters are in general scarcely researched in Croatia and are classified as Data Deficient. Except for Zrmanja River, no recent scientific data existed on otters in GBV area, which was a good reason to undertake a survey and scientifically prove the presence of otters in the Lika River basin. The survey showed presence of otters in all analysed sites, thus giving more weight for the conservation of this biologically important area.

In addition to carrying out a scientific survey, the camp included an educative session on otters for local inhabitants, enabling the locals to monitor presence of otters in the area.

For more information please contact Irma Popovic, Assistant, Green Action, irma@zelena-akcija.hr

8 WWF canoes the Danube to save its ‘bottlenecks’

The EU’s “Trans-European Networks for Transport” (TENs-T) Programme envisages the River Danube as the major part of a ‘water highway’ linking the North Sea and the Black Sea, thus relieving the pressure on road and rail networks. It would be known as “Pan-European Transport Corridor VII”. From the nature-protection viewpoint, the problem is that TENs-T plans to deepen the shallower stretches of the Danube – ‘bottlenecks’ as they are referred to – to allow the passage of larger ships. Over 1000 km of the Danube could be affected. But these ‘bottlenecks’ are the very places along the river where nature is the richest, where the floodplains are kept alive by periodic high waters spilling over the river’s banks. WWF, led by the Danube-Carpathian Programme, is campaigning for amendments to TENS-T, so that its impact on nature would be less catastrophic, and is promoting ‘sustainable navigation’.

Canoeing is certainly sustainable, so in order to help promote its campaign, this year WWF became a partner in the annual Tour International Danubien (TID, started in 1956) in which a large group of people travelled in kayaks and canoes along the whole length of the Danube. The TID group was greeted in many towns: WWF took this opportunity to talk with mayors and citizens about sustainable navigation, and to broadcast its message through local media. Canoeing is a great way of understanding the multi-stakeholder approach which is needed to most effectively manage this great and valuable natural resource.

Read more on WWF campaign for sustainable Danube navigation and the TID tour at http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/where/danube_carpathian/index.cfm.

9 Green Home implements Mediterranean sustainable development strategy

Podgorica, Serbia and Montenegro: Montenegrin NGO Green Home has launched a project ”Introducing Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD) in National Sustainable Development Policies” in order to promote MSSD policy in Montenegro and to provide global support to realization of sustainable development concept locally and in the region. The project has been initiated in cooperation with the Republic Secretariat for Development (RSD), and supported by USAID/ORT Montenegro Advocacy Program.

MSSD, finalised and adopted by the Mediterranean Commission on Sustainable Development at its 10th Ordinary Meeting in Athens, Greece (20-22 June 2005), has been transmitted to 22 Contracting Parties of the Barcelona Convention for formal adoption at their 14th conference in Portoroz, Slovenia (8-11 November). The Strategy covers seven priority fields of action to achieve sustainable development in the region, with activities to be benchmarked against 51 indicators and reviewed every two years.

More information on MSSD in Montenegro is available from Lidija Zekovic, Programme Coordinator, Green Home, lidija.green@cg.yu.

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10 LIFE project for Dalmatian Pelican

Danube Delta, Romania: The Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) is at present globally threatened species and its population of around 400 pairs in the Romanian Danube Delta represents 10,6% of the total estimated global breeding population of the species. To protect the species, the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR, BirdLife in Romania) will start this October in partnership with the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (BirdLife UK), a LIFE project that will end in 2008.

All the six breeding sites in the Danube Delta will be designated as SPAs, an efficient guarding programme will be set up and additional breeding units created by installing artificial structures. Training courses will be given for wardens to improve protection measures at breeding sites, as well as for hunters and fishermen to reduce hunting and fishing within and outside the Danube Delta. A National Action Plan will make the Romanians aware of the need to protect the Dalmatian Pelican and will guarantee long-term conservation measures of this species. A comprehensive monitoring programme will provide information on breeding requirements, population size and movements of the species, on water quality, risk of contamination with heavy metals and pesticides, and effects of conservation measures.

For more information contact Dan Hulea, SOR, dan.hulea@sor.ro or Grogore Baboianu, Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority, gbaboianu@ddbra.ro.

11 The Green Frame to halt the loss of biodiversity

Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro: A group of Serbian environmental issues editors from Belgrade TV, daily news Politika and publishing house Ecolibri, have prepared educational movies project titled “The Green Frame”, encompassing six short movies concerning the most important and strategic environmental topics. The target group for these movies are primary school students aged 10 to 15. Generally, Serbian primary schools lack environmental education in their curriculum, which is why the authors were motivated in preparing such a project that received support from the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Serbia.

The first movie to be filmed is titled “The Weaving of Life” and it will be devoted to the biological and landscape diversity issue. The authors decided to promote IUCN’s initiative Countdown to 2010 with the main aim to explain to young people what halting the loss of biodiversity means for all of us and for life in general. If this movie achieves its aim and hits the target, it will be translated into English for distribution in other European countries. More information is available from Jovan Angelus, Executive Director, Ecolibri-Bionet, jangelus@eunet.yu.

12 UNDP protects Livanjsko polje biodiversity

Livanjsko polje, Bosnia and Herzegovina: UNDP-GEF project on “Biodiversity protection of Livanjsko polje” has the overall objective to conserve biodiversity in Livanjsko polje through securing a variety of productive activities compatible with preservation of habitat values of the area and to designate Livanjsko polje as Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Site. The project proposal, to be developed within six-months long preparatory phase and submitted to GEF for the approval and funding, will be prepared in close collaboration with the Government of Hercegbosanski Canton and local authorities in Livno and Grahovo municipalities.

Livanjsko polje, the largest wetland in the country and one of the biggest karst fields in the world, is situated in the Hercegbosanski Canton and is part of the Cetina River basin which extends to Croatia. It is an Important Bird Area and has important value for the Corncrake, bog, marsh and grassland habitats highly relevant for several breeding birds such as Montague’s Harrier, Lesser-spotted Eagle, Redshank, Snipe and Great Bittern. Peat excavation, use of water for energy production and reduced grassland management are among the main factors endangering the ecological and hydrological values of Livanjsko polje.

Inception meetings with the main stakeholders in Livno and Grahovo municipalities were conducted at the end of August, and the first expert mission to the project site is planned for mid October. For further information please contact Milena Kozomara, Environment Project Assistant, UNDP BIH at mkozomara@undp.ba

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13 FAO strengthens forest management in Serbia

Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro: FAO has started implementing the project “Forest Sector Development in Serbia”, with the beneficiary institution being the Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. The project aims to contribute to sustainable management and conservation of forests in Serbia through striving to achieve two goals: institutional capacity building and support to the development of sustainable forest management and forest-based enterprises. More details about the project are available at www.forestryprojectserbia.org.

14 PAN Parks network in the Central Balkan Park

Central Balkan NP, Bulgaria: Two years after the Central Balkan National Park (NP) became part of the PAN Parks network, the Local PAN Parks Group (LPPG) certified the first twelve entrepreneurs offering tourist services in the NP region. The LPPG united representatives of tourist businesses, local authorities, NGOs and Central Balkan NP Directorate. The Group developed criteria for certification of accommodation, catering, tourist routes and attractions. At an official ceremony in autumn, the PAN Parks Foundation will hand in certificates to the first business partners, thus enabling them to use marketing channels of the Network and the logo of PAN Parks. More information is available from Diana Terzieva, Central Balkan NP, did@centralbalkan.bg.

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Events

1 Macedonia discusses sustainable use of biodiversity in Moscow

Moscow, Russia, 29 May-2 June: Moscow hosted regional workshop on sustainable use of biodiversity, organised by the CBD Secretariat and in cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia and WWF Office in Russia.

The participants at the workshop were members of governmental and NGO sectors from the Russian Federation, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Macedonia, as well as representatives of the CBD Secretariat, IUCN, WWF Russia, CITES, UNEP and other international organisations.

The workshop included various issues regarding the implementation of CBD while special attention was given to Adis Abeba principles and guidelines on the sustainable use of biodiversity. Implementation of these principles and guidelines is crucial for the duly realization of the CBD and Countdown 2010 goals, as well as poverty reduction. More information is available from Sasko Jordanov, Adviser, Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning of Macedonia, S.Jordanov@moepp.gov.mk.

2 New Belgrade bridge could endanger Pygmy Cormorant

Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, 16 June: Directorate for Building, Land and Construction of Belgrade is planning to construct a new bridge over the Sava River in Belgrade which might endanger wintering of Pygmy Cormorant population. On a scoping meeting held in the Belgrade City Assembly on 16 June, Dragan Simic from the League for Ornithological Action of Serbia and Montenegro (LOA) presented his research results showing that Belgrade city centre, with up to 1200 Pygmy Cormorant (3% of the European population of this species) coming each winter, is an important bird area. With current plans for location of the bridge over Sava, the entire Ciganlija island, where birds roost, would be covered by one column and would also pose threat to migrating birds because of its planned height (200m). Simic proposed restrictions on light and noise pollution, as well as recommended recreation at new willow mud flat after the bridge construction is over, preserving at the same time the one remaining along the right bank downstream of the new bridge. More information is available from Dragan Simic, LOA, ddsimic@eunet.yu.

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3 World Heritage decisions from South Africa for South-Eastern Europe

Flooding of the Tara Canyon on halt

Durban, South Africa, 15 July: Decisions of the UNESCO World Heritage (WH) Committee regarding the Durmitor National Park World Heritage site and the destiny of the famous Tara Canyon, brought positive energy into the conservation community in Montenegro and wider. After the local community’s campaign and struggle to stop the construction of the hydro-electric dam Buk Bijela on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina which would severely threaten the values of the Durmitor WH site, and after joint UNESCO-IUCN Mission and State of conservation reports submitted to the WH Committee, it has been recommended that the plans for the Buk Bijela project are abandoned. In their report, IUCN and UNESCO noted Durmitor might find itself on Danger List should the plans for the project be pursued because the dam would constitute threat to the Tara River Basin Biosphere Reserve and National Natural Monument, which are buffering the WH area. More specifically, this area would be flooded by such HE dam project.

After the joint IUCN-UNESCO mission in January 2005, the authorities of Serbia and Montenegro informed the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in detailed report that the Government of Montenegro had halted the Buk Bijela project. The WH Committee in Durban congratulated the Government of Serbia and Montenegro for such prompt action and urged the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina not to take any action that would “threaten the values and integrity of a property located on the territory of another State Party” to the WH Convention. The Committee requested both States Parties to cooperate in seeking alternative energy solutions.

Bosnia and Herzegovina enters the UNESCO World Heritage List

The first World Heritage site in Bosnia and Herzegovina inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee in Durban this July, is recognised for its outstanding cultural values. The Old Bridge Area of the Old City of Mostar is now among the 628 World Cultural Heritage sites worldwide. The historic town of Mostar developed in the 15th and 16th centuries as an Ottoman border town and during the Austro-Hungarian period in the 19th and 20th centuries. It has been named after the Old Bridge (Stari Most), which was destroyed during the conflict in the 1990s. Recently, the Old Bridge has been rebuilt, and many buildings in the Old Town have been restored, creating a basis for inscription of the area into the World Heritage List. The reconstructed area represents a symbol of reconciliation and coexistence of diverse cultural, ethnic and religious communities. For detailed description of the site, please visit http://whc.unesco.org.

Albanian Butrint out of danger

In 1992, Butrint was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural site due to its exceptional testimony of prehistoric civilisation, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Venetian period remains. It was listed on the World Heritage in Danger List in 1997 because of looting, lack of protection, inadequate management and conservation. After 8 years, the World Heritage Committee decided to remove Butrint from the Danger List, noting the reasons for such inscription are no longer valid.

4 IVOLPE in Stara Planina

Pirot, Serbia and Montenegro, 19 July: VOLPE (Training for staff members of protected areas in implementing Volunteer in Park Programmes (ViP) in Central and Eastern Europe Project) team visited REC Project Office in Pirot to present the VOLPE project to local stakeholders and to introduce environmental protection and management initiatives of the Stara Planina Nature Park. The team consisted of representatives of L’Umana Dimora Onlus, Abruzzo National Park and REC. The goal of VOLPE project is to improve the exchange of information, experiences and skills in conservation and management of protected areas between Italy and SEE countries, through capacity building of SEE protected areas staff. Dragan Taskov from the Stara planina Society for Environmental Protection presented the Stara Planina Nature Park and expressed the Society’s interest in cooperation with the Abruzzo National Park. The meeting resulted with the agreement to strengthen cooperation by selecting five Stara Planina Nature Park representatives to attend the training in Italy.

More information about VOLPE is available from Dragan Taskov, Stara planina Society for Environmental Protection, staramt@ptt.yu.

5 IUCN supports WSSD target on networks of marine protected areas

Livorno, Italy, 4 August: The Marine Mediterranean Group of IUCN World Commission Protected Areas (WCPA), in cooperation with the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation from Malaga, gathered in Italy in August to discuss a process of implementation of a regional system of protection of marine habitats. The initiative is part of an expert process to support the Mediterranean states in their commitment to reach the marine protected area (MPA) network goals by 2012, set at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, and it will contribute to building capacities of existing networks such as SPAMIs and Natura 2000. The main phase of the process would address the ecological aspects of assisting in designing a representative system of MPA networks, setting up a region-wide effort to describe which areas need protection. This will include the description of their current status, with an updated review of MPAs in the Mediterranean, the definition of criteria and methods that could be adopted for selection of priority areas where MPAs should be established to protect all the different habitats (including transboundary areas and areas beyond national jurisdiction).

With such initiative, the Mediterranean is about to lead the world towards effective conservation of large marine ecosystems, by being the first region to adopt a strategic plan for utilizing MPAs to safeguard the vital areas that keep the sea healthy and beneficial to coastal communities. The report of the meeting is available at http://iucn.org/places/medoffice/documentos/Report_Livorno.pdf. For more detailed information please contact Francois Simard, IUCN CMC, francois.simard@iucn.org.

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6 IBA monitoring and management planning training

Erzincan, Turkey, 4-6 August: Doga Dernegi (DD, the BirdLife International Affiliate in Turkey) in collaboration with the Erzincan Hunters’ Association, ran a training workshop on Important Bird Area (IBA) Monitoring and Site Management Planning for 12 representatives of local NGOs, universities and government departments from North-eastern and Eastern Turkey in Erzincan. The workshop, part of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline Company Environmental Investment Programme, included a practical exercise to design an outline monitoring programme for the nearby Eksisu wetland, a site that has been chosen by DD for developing a full site management plan in consultation with local stakeholders. It is hoped that the Eksisu plan will form a template for the development of similar plans elsewhere in the region. In addition to being an IBA for breeding Common Crane, Eksisu is also the only location in the world for Sonchus erzincanensis, a plant species formally considered extinct but recently rediscovered by botanists participating in another BTC project, Important Plant Areas along the BTC pipeline. In addition to providing training, the workshop helped strengthen contacts with organisations which, it is hoped, will form the basis of a network of local DD representatives in Eastern Turkey. More information is available from Geoff Welch, Project Manager, RSPB, Geoff.Welch@rspb.org.uk.

7 Field research for transboundary Biosphere Reserve nomination

Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 8-12 August: On the basis of the Cooperation Agreement with the Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural and Historic Heritage from Banja Luka (Republic of Srpska, BIH), the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia conducted field research on the territory of BIH Municipalities of Višegrad, Rogatica and Srebrenica. The aim of this research was collection of data to be included in the nomination document of the potential cross-border Biosphere Reserve Drina, to be submitted to the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme for consideration. If accepted, the Biosphere Reserve will besides the three Municipalities include part of the Municipalities of Bajina Basta and Uzice on the territory of the Republic of Serbia. For more information please contact Maja Radosavljevic, PR, Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia, at maja@natureprotection.org.yu.

8 NGOs discuss cooperation with IUCN in Montenegro

Zabljak, Serbia and Montenegro, 11-13 August: Upon invitation of the Montenegrin NGO Most, IUCN SEE office Director attended a meeting with about 10 NGO representatives from Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. NGOs expressed interest in learning about possibilities of co-operation with IUCN towards a more international scope of work and reputation, as well as about environmental projects and funding possibilities. IUCN presented its project portfolio and provided information about its membership and options for contributing to IUCN Commissions by local experts.

Besides IUCN, there were also UNDP Montenegro office (co-funding the event) and CHF/USAID representatives, who appreciated the possibility of personal contacts and potential project synergies. Next steps of co-operation regarding Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CHF/USAID) and the Dinaric Arc Initiative (UNDP) were discussed.

The participants visited Tara Canyon as well as a remote village near Zabljak, where Most representatives demonstrated the potential for ecological/nature tourism based on existing infrastructure. For further information about Most, please contact Sinisa Stevovic at hitss@cg.yu.

9 Durmitor just for you

Durmitor NP, Serbia and Montenegro, 19-21 August: As part of the Unleashing Entrepreneurship for development of sustainable tourism in NP Durmitor programme, UNDP SCG Liaison Office in Montenegro organised the first Sustainable Development Festival “Durmitor – just for you” in Montenegro, together with its partners, the Montenegrin Ministry of Tourism, National Parks of Montenegro, Durmitor NP and NGO Most. Promoting sustainable tourism, three-days Festival offered competition segments, photo and souvenirs exhibitions, local crafts products, exhibitions, cultural programme, and as the most attractive offer of the Festival - rafting services in the Tara River Canyon, walking tours and boat cruising on the Black Lake, all organised in the Durmitor National Park at promotional prices. Guests of the Festival were representatives from the Montenegrin Government, Mayors of Municipalities of Zabljak, Savnik and Pluzine, high representatives of the international donor organizations, all the Montenegrin media.

This Festival is planned to become tradition in the northern mountain region of Montenegro. It offered new opportunity for all to visit, to get to know better and enjoy the beauties of Durmitor NP - pristine nature parts under the dual UNESCO protection – as World Heritage site and as Biosphere Reserve. More information is available from Aleksandra Segec, UNDP LO Montenegro, aleksandra.segec@undp.org.

10 Stopica Cave under protection

Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, 26 August: Based on scientific studies and relevant documents provided by the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia, the Government of the Republic of Serbia passed Regulations on Protection of the Natural Monument Stopica Cave.

Stopica Cave is one of the biggest caves in the South-western Serbia, located in the Zlatibor massif, Municipality of Cajetina. The cave has high importance within Serbia’s natural properties, distinguished by numerous characteristics such as the biggest and the deepest wells, large cave portal and the main channel, attractive subterranean 10m high waterfall Source of Life, vigledi (openings on the cave ceilings), and interesting cave ornaments. The cave is a habitat of stenoendemic species, Duvalius (Neoduvalius) cvijici stopicensis.

As the newly proclaimed Natural Monument, Stopica Cave is specified as protected natural property of outstanding importance (protection Category I according to the country’s regulations; Category III according to IUCN protected area category system). Zlatibor tourism organisation has been appointed as the guardian of this Natural Monument. More information is available from Maja Radosavljevic, PR, Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia, at maja@natureprotection.org.yu.

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11 International EUROPARC junior ranger camps

Germany and Spain, August: The 3rd and 4th international EUROPARC junior ranger camps were organised this August with participants from the EUROPARC junior ranger network, including representatives from some South-Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro, and Romania. The 3rd international camp was held in the Bavarian Forest National Park, while the 4th camp took place in the Aiguestortes and Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. Junior rangers learnt about the parks’ fauna and flora, management approaches and the ranger service duties.

At the end of the junior camp that was held in Germany, EUROPARC Director Eva Pongratz awarded certificates to all junior rangers, in the presence of about 120 additional junior rangers from the Bavarian Forest and the Šumava National Parks.

Further information on the camp in the Bavarian Forest is available on the EUROPARC Junior Ranger website www.europarc.org/juniorranger/index.php.

12 I ’We create future by ourselves’

Zabljak, Serbia and Montenegro, 29 August: The representatives of four Montenegrin communities (Pljevlja, Zabljak, Pluzine and Savnik) gathered in Zabljak to discuss participatory approach in development of a National Strategy of Sustainable Development (NSOR). The process of the Strategy’s development is supported by the Government of the Republic of Montenegro, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Environmental Protection, UNEP and UNDP LO Podgorica.

MOST NGO invites all interested citizens to visit the website www.nsor.info and actively contribute to this document by providing their comments. In addition to relevant documentation related to the Strategy, the website provides a questionnaire to evaluate the participatory process in NSOR’s development as well as the link to the forum. The forum provides a basis for open discussion among interested citizens and experts, that will be an important tool for finalizing the NSOR with a desired outcome. The website is a valuable source of information regarding sustainable development and environmental management in general. One of the banners used at the website is “We create future by ourselves”, a powerful invitation to contribute to the Montenegrin sustainable development Strategy.

More information is available from Sinisa Stevovic, President, NGO Most, hitss@cg.yu or at www.nsor.info. For information about Most, please visit www.ngo-most.org.

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13Across the Waters for effective wetland management

Valencia, Spain, 22-29 September: In the last century, Mediterranean wetlands have been destroyed or degraded for various reasons, such as preventing water-borne diseases, expanding agriculture, creating space for construction of houses, industrial and tourist facilities, etc. In doing so, however, we have forgotten how wetlands are vital for the good of human race and huge variety of animals and plants that these unique habitats support. In order to strengthen and build knowledge on wetlands, WWF Mediterranean Programme - Across the Waters, the Capacity Building Programme Office – has organised a one-week training course on "Multiple aspects of wetland management practices", in partnership with the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia (UPV) and SEHUMED (member of MedWet Team). The course gathered NGOs coming from Algeria, Albania, Croatia, Greece, Mauritania, Morocco, Montenegro, Spain and Turkey. More information about the course and WWF Mediterranean Programme is available from Raffaele Mancini, Freshwater Capacity Building Officer, WWF Med PO, rmancini@atw-wwf.org.

14 IIUCN facilitates discussion on ecotourism at MEFEST

Brus, Serbia and Montenegro, 25-28 September: IUCN SEE office co-funded the 13th International Festival of Tourist, Ecological, Sport and Gastronomy films (MEFEST), held in Kopaonik region this September. MEFEST was firstly held on Zlatibor Mountain back in 1993 and is known for gathering directors of environmental movies as well as wide audience.

Besides having an opportunity to present three short movies, Forest Landscape Restoration, Unite on Diversity and Halt the Loss of Biodiversity (out of the competition category), IUCN organised a round table on “Ecotourism development and nature protection”. The round table was organised in cooperation with the Institute of Nature Protection of Serbia and Ecolibri-Bionet NGO. The panel consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Tourism of Serbia, Ecolibri-Bionet, the Institute of Nature Protection of Serbia and Orion&Eos NGO from Brus. The round table was attended by local population. The discussions related to ecotourism and sustainable tourism development in Serbia and particularly in Brus area, while IUCN’s representative provided some global examples of benefits of ecotourism. More information on IUCN at MEFEST (www.mefest.org) is available from Aleksandra Nesic at aleksandra.nesic@iucn.org.

15 Training on developing partnerships in Natura 2000

Neusiedler See-Seewinkel NP, Austria, 17-19 October: The EUROPARC Federation is organising a one-day training seminar “Developing Stakeholder Partnerships” as part of the EC’s Natura Network Initiative. The workshop’s aims are to share expertise and experience of experts whose work is related to Natura 2000, to facilitate networking and produce a set of case studies on stakeholder partnerships for further distribution. If you are interested in participating at the training, please visit www.europarc.org or contact Claudia Klampfl at office@europarc.org. Participation is free of charge.

16 Skadar Lake in the focus of Dinaric Arc initiative

Skadar Lake (Montenegro) and Shkodra (Albania), 18-22 October: Transboundary Skadar Lake will this October host an international event to be organised within the framework of the Dinaric Arc Initiative (DAI), supported by WWF MedPO, UNESCO ROSTE, IUCN, UNDP (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro offices and Bratislava Regional Centre) and the Council of Europe. The event will consist of three main parts. Lake Skadar International Designations for Territorial Development, to be held on Montenegrin side of the lake, will focus on the importance of defining a clear territorial development plan for the entire lake area, touching upon the lake’s international designation status.

The event will continue on the Albanian side of Skadar Lake in Shkodra, where DAI working group will discuss their activities undertaken in the Dinaric Arc area. This will be an opportunity to further extend DAI partnership to other relevant and interested parties.

The third part of the event includes a three-day training for environmental NGOs that are active in Dinaric Arc region. The training “Effective networking and communication to achieve the objectives of sustainable mountain development” will take part within IUCN’s project “NGO Capacity Building for Cross-border Conservation on the Balkans”, financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Development Cooperation (DGCS). 20 NGO representatives from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republic of Montenegro, UNMIK Kosovo and Albania will strengthen their communication and networking skills, while also having an opportunity to learn more about the goals of DAI and IUCN’s Green Belt initiative.

The event is being organised by DAI partners, and in cooperation with REC office in Shkodra. Further information on the event are available from maja.zitkovic@iucn.org.

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17 Conference on mountains and rural development

Slovakia, 24-26 October: The conference on Integrated Rural Development in the Mountain Areas of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans will be held in Slovakia’s Liptovsky Mikula - Demanovska Dolina in October. For more information please contact conference@euromontana.org or visit www.euromontana.org.

18 IUCN WCPA co-organises conference on mountain corridors

Les Planes de Son, Spain, 24-31 October: Spain will host the International Mountain Corridor Conference in October. The conference will be co-hosted by the Fundaci Territori i Paisatge and IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Mountains Theme, in cooperation with Europarc Federation and Eurosite, and under auspices of the Council of Europe. The participants will exchange experiences on large scale conservation efforts in mountain areas by comparing case studies from the Cantabric Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Carpathians, the Apennines, the Caucasus and the Canadian and USA Rockies. More details about the conference are available at www.suportserveis.es or by email at mountaincorridors@suportserveis.com.

19 “Building Bridges!“ for South-Eastern Europe

Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro, 7-10 November: IUCN’s initiative to create a pan-European network of protected areas along the former Iron Curtain – and to integrate nature conservation with sustainable development in rural areas – is based on the cooperation of experts in all respective countries. To keep the National Focal Points in the Green Belt (GB) countries informed on the activities and projects, meetings will take place in each of the three sections: Fennoscandian, Central European, and South-Eastern European (SEE) GB. Within the next two years, these meetings will be funded by the German BfN (Bundesamt für Naturschutz).

“Building Bridges!“ is the motto of the first Green Belt Meeting in SEE. The conferen¬ce will take place in Novi Sad, where the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia will not only offer its premises, but also contribute substantially to the organisation of the event. As the regional GB coordinator for SEE, Euronatur is involved in designing the agenda: presentations on trans¬boundary protected areas as well as on the foreseen projects, will form the topics of the meeting. The participants will be briefed on their input for regional GB projects, and discussions will refer on how to intensify cross-border cooperation, especially between protected and non-protected areas.
The second day of the event is dedicated to a field trip to the Special Nature Reserve Gornje Podunavlje, which is part of a trilateral wetland area with Croatia (Kopacki rit) and Hungary (Danube-Drava).

For further information please contact Alois Lang, GB Coordinator, IUCN SEE, at Alois.Lang@iucn.org.

20 DRBC 5 in Belgrade

Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, 10-11 November: The Danube Region Business Conference 5 - Regional Cooperation and Harmonisation Bring Local Growth will be held in Belgrade from 10 to 11 November 2005. The conference is organised by the Serbian Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Services, Serbian Chamber of Commerce, and in cooperation with GTZ and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). For more information please visit www.drbc5.org.

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Publications

1 3rd World Conservation Congress proceedings

The proceedings of the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC) held in Bangkok in November 2004, have been printed and will be sent to all IUCN member organisations, partners and Regional and Country Offices. The proceedings contain the results of the Members Business Assembly as well as the final text of the 118 Resolutions and Recommendations that were adopted at the Congress. WCC is the largest democratic environmental forum that gathers governments and non-governmental organisations to jointly establish conservation priorities and to set IUCN’s future policy. The proceedings are also available on IUCN’s website: www.iucn.org/congress.

2 IUCN’s progress assessment in 2004

Recently published report “Forging Linkages - an Assessment of Progress in 2004” presents the work of IUCN-The World Conservation Union and progress made during the past year. It is an informative document which provides insights about the Union, which draws its strength from its membership, commissions, partners, donors, programmes and staff. In 2004, IUCN grew stronger by expanding the scientific conservation of biodiversity into more biomes (marine, mountains, arctic tundra and desert dryland), by broadening the base of financial resources, increasing membership, establishing new offices worldwide, establishing new strategic alliances, and convening the World Conservation Congress. The report can be downloaded at: www.iucn.org/en/about/annual_report.

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3 Green Agenda for Croatia

Zagreb, Croatia: The new manual “Green Agenda in Croatia - Theory and Practice" was published by ZOE - Centre for Sustainable Development in Rural Communities, and in cooperation with Dutch foundation Milieukontakt Oost-Europa. The authors of the manual are Suzanne Bakker, Ivana Laginja and Ana Zeljezic. This publication strongly relies on the results of the Green Agenda project that Milieukontakt Oost-Europa implemented jointly with two local partners, Green Istria in Istria peninsula and ZEO Nobilis in Cakovec, from December 2002 until the end of May 2005. Local communities from Istria and Cakovec area were also involved. This project was financially supported by the Matra programme of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The English and the Croatian versions of the manual can be downloaded at www.zoe-centar.hr.

4 Mediterranean protected areas directory

The first edition of the “Global Directory of Marine Protected Areas in the Mediterranean” was released by WWF France in May 2005. The Directory contains data about Mediterranean protected areas, such as international recognition of sites, management category according to IUCN classification, contacts of the managing institution etc. This Directory was developed within the MedPAN project in which one of the partners is Sunce NGO from Croatia. It represents the first tool proposed by the MedPAN network of marine protected areas managers in the Mediterranean. Generally, MedPAN’s objective is to organise exchanges between managers/project leaders of Mediterranean marine protected areas.

The Directory is not seen as complete database, thus the authors, Sébastien Mabile and Catherine Piante, invite you to update the Directory by sending information to cpiante@wwf.fr. Please contact Catherine Piante to receive an electronic copy of this publication.

5 IUCN Red List of European Threatened Mammals

Gland, Switzerland, 15 September: IUCN-The World Conservation Union is planning to undertake the European Mammals Assessment over the coming 15 months, to be undertaken by IUCN Regional Office for Europe (ROfE), IUCN Species Programme staff and IUCN Species Survival Commission experts. The first assessment of Europe’s mammal species will be made within the framework of the pan-European Countdown 2010 initiative and it will result with two major products – the first European Red List of Threatened Species and the Red List indices. The latter will show how the status of threatened species has changed over time.

This project will be a central part of the European and global efforts to monitor biological diversity. IUCN plans to carry out the assessment of other groups of species, including freshwater fish and reptiles, between 2005 and 2007. For more information please visit www.iucnredlist.org and www.countdown2010.net.

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ROfE in Belgrade Programme Office for South-Eastern Europe Dr. Ivana Ribara 9111070 Belgrade Serbia and MontenegroTel: +381 11 2272-411Fax: +381 11 2272-531Email: maja.zitkovic@iucn.org