Forest Beyond Borders (2025-2028)

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.