North Macedonia made historic decision to protect Shar Mountain: minister
Skopje, 7 July 2021 (MIA) – After Parliament last week adopted our legislation on declaring Shar Mountan national park, this week the President signed the bill into law and our country got its fourth national park and in fact, the first one since the declaration of independence, Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Naser Nuredini said Wednesday.
The adoption of the law, he said, enables a system to be established for protection and sustainable management of an area considered a treasury of biodiversity, home to two-thirds of all plant species in North Macedonia and an endemic wildlife.
“The parks’ total area is 62,705 hectares. Of those, 26.5% is top protection zone, 49.06% is active management zone with sustainable use zone constituting 22.02%. Also, it is envisaged a protection strip on Popova Shapka so as to allow sustainable development of the tourist destination,” Nuredini told a news conference, adding that the zones were mapped out with the national park it borders, Mavrovo and Kosovo’s Shari.
The government, he said, is tasked with setting up a public institution for the national park in the next three months, including a rangers’ service.
The Minister said that the challenges ahead and the benefits opening fresh opportunities for the region to prosper are numerous.
“Proclaiming Shar Mountain a national park will encourage cooperation among the municipalities and development of the Polog Region. In addition to local development of all seven municipalities in the Polog Region and Mavrovo Rostushe, finally works will start to preserve Shar Mountain’s natural values, which has been affected by man-made activities for decades,” Nuredini said.
After declaring Shar Mountain a protected area, he stated, North Macedonia is close to the European average of 13.2% of overall protected areas.
The national parks in North Macedonia with the ones in Kosovo and Albania constitute an area of 244,617 hectares of protected area, Nuredini said, which is beneficial for nature and the survival of wild species, including Balkan lynx, chamois and bear.
“By protecting our part of Shar Mountain, we’re creating one of the largest protected areas in Europe. Together, we can protect and use sustainably natural resources and attract tourists both from the country and abroad. It creates opportunities for investments and creation of green jobs,” Minister Nuredini concluded.
