Aarhus Centre lodges court complaints against environmental permits for HPPs Buk Bijela, Foča
The Aarhus Resource Centre Sarajevo has submitted two complaints to the District Court in Banja Luka against the environmental permits for the Buk Bijela and Foča hydropower plants (HPPs) on the river Drina in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) near the border with Montenegro, CEE Bankwatch Network, one of the largest networks of environmental civil society […]
Piloting Global Biodiversity Information Facility – GIZ collaboration on biodiversity data mobilization: Case of Open Regional Fund – Biodiversity in South-East Europe
Author: Tim Hirsch, Deputy Director, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) In September 2017, a chance connection made Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) aware of the “Regional Network for Biodiversity Information Management and Reporting” (BIMR) sub-project managed by GIZ under the Open Regional Fund for South-East Europe – Biodiversity (ORF-BD). Learning of the details of this […]
Returns on green investments are down, but so are costs
On the sidelines of the Green for Growth Fund’s (GGF) recently held Sustainable Future Forum and the grand finale of the clim@ pitching competition for startups, Christopher Knowles, who at the time served as chairman of the GGF, spoke to Balkan Green Energy News about the impact of innovative solutions, return on green investments, and […]
Environment and biodiversity working groups meet back to back in Skopje
Conservation of biological diversity is a specific, yet crucial, part of the wider all-encompassing umbrella of environmental protection. With the objective of stepping up cooperation and combining efforts, Biodiversity Task Force members of the six South East European economies met on 29 May to confirm a joint Work Plan and agree on future cooperation, which […]
Study on Bosut Forests’ ecosystem services: How to achieve better flood protection, income from wood production, traditional animal husbandry
If environmental flooding of the forest complex of the Bosut Forests and an increase of traditional animal husbandry are implemented along with the joint management and establishment of a protected area, the value of four ecosystem services selected as the most important for the area, which lays between Serbia, BiH, and Croatia – wood production, […]
EIB provides EUR 15 million to HBOR for biodiversity improvement
European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided EUR 15 million to Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) under the Natural Capital Financing Facility in order to improve conservation of existing biodiversity, improve green infrastructure and strengthen climate change resilience. The Natural Capital Financial Facility, founded 3 years ago by the EIB and the European Commission, has […]
Nature is treated as if it were an unlimited resource
Despite biodiversity’s essential value for economic sectors such as forestry, agriculture, tourism, and fisheries, and its relevance for social and cultural well-being, nature is treated as if it were an unlimited resource in the region of South-East Europe, while environmental protection is often seen as an expense. Why this is happening, but also what the […]
Paper: Valuing biodiversity assets through ecotourism in SEE – trans-boundary region of Sharr/ Korab-Koritnik/ Mavrovo mountain areas
The working paper “Valuing biodiversity assets through ecotourism in South-East Europe – A review of the situation in and recommendations for the trans-boundary region of Sharr/ Korab-Koritnik/ Mavrovo mountain areas” is the product of a three-month assignment in the frame of Engagement Global Program within the GIZ Open Regional Fund Biodiversity Project (ORF-BD) and attached […]