Project name |
Mapping and Strictly Protecting Primary and Old-growth Forests |
| Project coordinator | EuroNatur Foundation |
| Project partner | Czech University of Life Science, Prague – Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences |
| Investigator | Ing. Martin Mikoláš Ph.D. |
| Total budget | 530 078 EUR |
| Budget of FFWS | 82 069 EUR |
| Implementation period | 1/3/2025 – 31/12/2027 |
| Name of programme | Aage V. Jensen Charity Foundation |
The purpose of this project is to map and strictly protect primary and old-growth forests (PF/OGF) in the Western Balkans, according to the new EU’s “Commission guidelines for defining, mapping, monitoring and strictly protecting EU primary and old-growth forests”, published in 2023. The present EU legislation on primary and old-growth forests is expected to provide great leverage to strictly protect every hectare of primary and old-growth forest that can be mapped according to the “Commission guidelines”.
Activity package 1 - Mapping of primary forests and old-growth forests by EU standards
- Narrow down the present PF/OGF potential map by consulting national forestry data
- Establish scientific advisory boards for national PF/OGF recognition thresholds
- Train staff for field-inventorying PF/OGF
- Field-inventory and map PF/OGF hectare by hectare
- Publish findings in scientific journal
Activity package 2 - Ensure natural disturbances are being respected within strictly protected areas
- Inform the public, train forestry staff, enter dialogues with the Ministries of Environment, regarding the biodiversity value of natural forest disturbances
- End the practice of “salvage logging” after windbreaks and bark beetle events in strictly protected areas
Activity package 3 - Win the public by protecting one lighthouse case PF/OGF per country (PR strategy)
- Work for the strict protection of one selected PF/OGF per country (i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia) as a “lighthouse case”
- Use the selected case to inform the public about PF/OGF and about the project activities
The project will lay the groundwork for further efforts to safeguard and ensure proper protection of primary and old-growth forest in the Western Balkans and thus also feed into the EU´s ambition in biodiversity protection.
More information about the main project coordinator can be found at https://www.euronatur.org/.
