Project name:
Mapping and Strictly Protecting Primary and Old-growth Forests in the Western Balkans
Project duration:
1.3.2025. – 29.2.2028.
Total project budget:
64.350€
Association Biom budget:
64.350€
Lead beneficiary:
Biom Association
Contact:
Luka Škunca, luka.skunca[at]biom.hr
Project goals
Map presently unknown and unconfirmed PF/OGF using the EU “Commission guidelines” (main strategy)
Win the public by protecting one lighthouse case PF/OGF per country (PR strategy)
Ensure natural disturbances are being respected within strictly protected areas
Projektni sažetak
The Western Balkans still host tracks of primary and old-growth forest but in many cases, they
are unknown, insufficiently identified, unmapped, unprotected. The speed at which such valuable
forests are lost throughout Europe poses a great threat to these forests.
The purpose of this project is to map and strictly protect primary and old-growth forests (PF/OGF)
in the Western Balkans, according to the new EU’s “Commission guidelines for defining, mapping,
monitoring and strictly protecting EU primary and old-growth forests”, published in 2023. The
present EU legislation on primary and old-growth forests is expected to provide great leverage to strictly protect every hectare of primary and old-growth forest that can be mapped according tothe “Commission guidelines”.
A previous project Forest Beyond Borders, has created good starting conditions for this
endeavour: In this predecessor project,
a) seven regional partners in seven Western Balkan countries have been identified, assessed
in their abilities and provided with initial training;
b) a network of environmental NGOs, scientists and other stakeholders has been established;
c) the differing legal situations of forestry and forest protection have been analysed;
d) a remote sensing tool has been developed and a first map showing great PF/OGF potential
in each country has been created and evaluated.
The follow-up project proposed here is intended to build on this basis with the following strategies
(also called activity packages):
1.) Map presently unknown and unconfirmed PF/OGF using the EU “Commission
guidelines” (main strategy)
2.) Ensure natural disturbances are being respected within strictly protected areas
3.) Win the public by protecting one lighthouse case PF/OGF per country (PR strategy)
The project will lay the groundwork for further efforts to safeguard and ensure proper protection
of primary and old-growth forest in the Western Balkans and thus also feed into the EU´s ambition
in biodiversity protection. Furthermore, the outcomes may support non-EU member states intheir accession negotiations and will support the implementation of the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans.
