Bern Convention: Western Balkan countries need to propose new protected natural areas

The Western Balkan countries have currently designated Emerald sites to protect only a small percentage of the species and habitats covered by the Convention – 0.7 per cent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 13.5 per cent in Serbia, 16 per cent in North Macedonia, 16.3 per cent in Montenegro and 28.3 per cent in Albania. By 2030, they will have to increase this share to 35 percent.

The situation is particularly difficult in Albania, where a new law allows even highly destructive major infrastructure projects in supposedly protected areas and no new Emerald sites are expected to be proposed soon.

In its decision from 6 December, the Convention’s Standing Committee ‘endorsed the proposed targets for the Emerald Network for the period to 2030 consisting in (sic) the submission of updated and improved Emerald Network databases resulting in biogeographical evaluations, the improvement of the sufficiency index and the adoption and management of sites.’ Besides the 35 percent sufficiency target, by 2030 each country will have to report its progress at two evaluation meetings called ‘biogeographical seminars’ and 40 percent of the Emerald sites will need to have management plans.

Andrey Ralev, CEE Bankwatch Network: ‘This is a crucial decision and brings hope that the aims of the Emerald for Rivers campaign will be achieved. Rivers like the Vjosa, Black Drin, Neretva, Bosna, Morača, Vardar, Danube and their tributaries support numerous endangered and endemic species and are vital for the livelihoods of local communities. They should be the backbone of the European network of protected sites.’ 

In the Emerald for Rivers campaign, scientists and NGOs are asking the Western Balkan governments to commit to expanding the Emerald Network and protecting the most important rivers. A proposed list of priority rivers was drawn up at a seminar organised by CEE Bankwatch Network in December 2022, where participants provided scientific data on fish species and their habitats. 

At the Standing Committee meeting, the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia admitted that there is sufficient information to propose new Emerald sites, but for political and administrative reasons no new sites have been proposed since 2011. Nevertheless, they expressed their readiness to work on improving the situation in the next year. In earlier meetings with civil society groups, experts from the environmental ministry of North Macedonia also expressed their willingness to expand the Emerald Network.  

Andrey Ralev, andrey.ralev@bankwatch.org, +359 884 268552 

Notes for editors:

#EmeraldForRivers campaign and video: https://bankwatch.org/project/emerald 

List of decisions of the 44th Standing Committee meeting of the Bern Convention, Strasbourg, France (Emerald Network is Agenda Item 5.6.1): https://www.coe.int/en/web/bern-convention/-/44th-standing-committee 

List of rivers to be added to the Emerald Network and the fish species of European importance that inhabit them: https://bankwatch.org/publication/shadow-list-of-rivers