The fourth cross-border camp “Birds Without Borders” for biology students and researchers was organized from 1st until 5th October 2018 in Divjake-Karavasta National park in Albania and hosted by Preservation of natural environment in Albania (PPNEA) in cooperation with Center for Protection and Research of birds from Montenegro, Ornitologhical society “Nase ptice” from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES) from Macedonia.
This edition of the camp was focused on monitoring of migrating soaring birds and waterbirds in Divjake-Karavasta, a national park in western Albania, sprawling across the Myzeqe Plain in the direct proximity to the Adriatic Sea. Because of the park’s important and great availability of bird and plant species, it has been identified as an important Bird and Plant Area of international importance.
Among the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, the lagoon of Karavasta has been recognized as a wetland of international importance by designation under the Ramsar Convention. The wealth of fauna is reflected in the list of many species and subspecies recorded to date, with 228 species of birds, 25 species of mammals, 29 species of reptiles and 29 species of amphibians. The park is mostly notable for featuring 5% of the world population of the globally endangered and extremely rare Dalmatian pelican.
The park provides important spawning and nursery habitat for economically valuable fish species that are exploited by a local fisheries cooperative. It is also known for the beauty of its natural landscape, its role in the local economy and its touristic appeal.
The camp is being organized as a part of the “Birds without Borders” project which is supported by Western Balkans Fund (WBF), established with the aim of improving the cooperation of the Western Balkans countries and accelerating integration into European Union.
Birds Without Borders-BWB expresses not-tied-country borders nature of the bird species migration and need for joint interventions in order to contribute to the preservation of birdlife diversity in the Adriatic Flyway migration route. This project aims to empower and strengthen cross-border cooperation of environmental civil society organization in the Western Balkans.
