All along the watchtowers : field guide for the south eastern European Green Belt

The southwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula is a global hot spot of biodiversity. High mountain areas show an outstanding diversity of plant species, while the region is one of the last remaining retreats of large European carnivores, such as bear, wolf and lynx. The border areas in the project region, as in many countries adjoining the European Green Belt, represent some of the last intact nature sites. Cooperation of border police and nature conservation authorities can help to enhance law enforcement, prevent illegal activities that damage the natural resources of the border areas, and monitor populations of threatened species. Civil conflict prevention is also a high priority in these areas. Transboundary cooperation in the field of nature conservation and environment protection can be regarded as an important instrument for mitigating tensions and re-establishing friendly neighborly relations. This publication is an output of the project “Civil-military Cooperation for the Promotion of Transboundary Nature Conservation along the European Green Belt (South Eastern Europe)” and was prepared in English, Albanian and Macedonian, in order to facilitate transboundary cooperation, and communication between different partners from different ethnic and professional backgrounds working or living near the border regions.