10 December 2024
The Kosovo Institute for Nature Protection, with support from the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument of the European Commission (TAIEX), organized a four-day workshop: “Protected Areas and Identification of Natura 2000 Sites.”
Participants in the workshop included representatives from various institutions such as the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency, the Kosovo Institute for Nature Protection, the Institute of Spatial Planning, the Department of Environmental and Water Protection, the Department for European Integration, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development, and local non-governmental organizations.
During the workshop activities, experiences were exchanged between local and international experts regarding nature conservation, biodiversity preservation, and spatial planning. International experts from three different European Union countries, through their presentations, showed best practices related to the procedures that should be followed for the identification of Natura 2000 sites. Kosovo, as a country before joining the European Union, will be obliged to determine Natura 2000 sites within its territory. Therefore, taking this into consideration, it should plan in advance the development of necessary policies and strategies for the identification of Natura 2000 sites.
These areas will contribute not only to the sustainable development of biodiversity and its promotion, but will also bring Kosovo closer to the environmental standards of the European Union according to Chapter 27, of the Acquis Communautaire, in particular Directive 92/43/EEC, May 21, 1992, on the conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora, and Directive 2009/147/EC, November 30, 2009, on the conservation of Wild Birds (codified version of Directive 79/409/EEC).