26 August 2010
In the premises of Hotel Afa in Pristina, in the presence of guests mostly nature lovers, representatives of institutions dealing with nature protection, and officials of the MMPH, under the organization of AKMM, the Report on the State of Nature 2006-2007 was promoted, and the results of the research Environment in the Daily Print Media, conducted by AKMM during 2008, were also presented.
In his welcoming speech, Minister Yagcilar said that today we are publishing a report on the overall state of nature and biodiversity in the Republic of Kosovo, which presents an overview of the status of protected areas, important plant and animal species, as well as the problems, needs, and challenges that await us in the future.
Through the preparation and publication of this report, the Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning, and Infrastructure (MMPH) is fulfilling a legal obligation to inform the entire public about the state of nature, but at the same time, we aim for this report to produce positive effects and reflections, starting from us, the government institutions, to educational and scientific institutions, and up to the media and the general public. Institutions in Kosovo, since 1968 when the first areas were declared protected by law, have continued the research, identification, and legal protection of certain nature areas.
So far, 75 areas have been placed under legal protection. Among them are one National Park, 11 nature reserves, 59 natural monuments, and 2 protected landscapes (regional nature parks). Only after the war have 24 protected areas been declared, and the total currently protected area is less than 5% of the territory of Kosovo, but we will commit to increasing this area to 10%, since nearly 200 new areas of different categories across the territory of Kosovo have also been proposed for protection, said Minister Yagcilar, among other things.
Ylber Sherifi, head of the sector for nature protection, briefly presented the content of the 2006-2007 Nature Status Report, while Tone Gashi presented the results of the Environmental Research in daily print media during 2008. At the end, Minister Yagcilar gave acknowledgments to some of the print media and the documentary film about the natural beauties of Kosovo, prepared by Fatos Lajçi, director and environmentalist, was shown.