02 February 2011
On the occasion of February 2nd - International Wetlands Day, the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency marked this important environmental event with a meeting attended by representatives of government institutions, experts in this field, as well as representatives from non-governmental organizations. In his speech, the CEO of KEPA, Dr. Sc Ilir Morina, emphasized that among its array of commitments and activities, KEPA has paid special attention to the protection of nature and biodiversity, with particular emphasis on the protection of birds, which is closely linked to the protection of wetlands. Prof. Dr. Behxhet Mustafa from the Biology Department of the Faculty of Sciences highlighted that after forest ecosystems, wetland ecosystems are the ecosystems with the richest biodiversity and added that these ecosystems are especially important because they are living spaces
Home to many types of birds. He highlighted that the Henc Wetland, located near Prishtina Airport, is one of the areas that meets the conditions to be declared a Wetland of International Importance. Meanwhile, speaking about the activity of non-governmental organizations in bird protection, Mr. Nexhmedin Ramadani from the NGO “Finch” mentioned some of the most important activities of this organization and called for more efforts to be made in bird conservation through the declaration of protected bird areas and monitoring the status of their endangered species. He also assessed that the Brezna Lake in the Municipality of Dragash is one of the wetlands with rare natural values and a habitat for many types of birds and suggested that this area should also be legally protected.
The observance of February 2nd - World Wetlands Day this year also coincides with the fortieth anniversary of the Ramsar Convention, which is an intergovernmental agreement that sets the framework for international cooperation in the protection and sustainable use of wetlands. The international theme for the World Wetlands Day this year was 'Wetlands and Forests - Forests for Water and Wetlands,' which aligns with the declaration of 2011 as the International Year of Forests by the United Nations.
With the aim of raising public awareness about the importance of preserving wetlands in particular and birds in general, the Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency has also prepared an informational brochure.
Download the brochure for February 2nd - World Wetlands Day.