A group of civil society organizations working in the Western Balkans are today launching a campaign calling on the region’s governments to better protect the region’s rivers. The call comes in advance of a crucial meeting from 2 to 6 of December in Strasbourg, where the Bern Convention should decide on the future of the Emerald Network. Established by the Council of Europe in 1989, the Emerald Network consists of areas protected due to their important biodiversity.
At the meeting, the revisited targets for the Emerald Network for the period to 2030 will be discussed. Scientists and NGOs are asking the Western Balkan governments to commit to expanding the Emerald Network and protecting the list of most important rivers.
This list results from the Emerald Green seminar organized by the CEE Bankwatch Network in December 2022, where participants provided scientific data on fish species and habitats.
As members of the Council of Europe, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia established the Emerald Network in 2011 when they proposed a small number of sites. However, none of the countries have since expanded their original list. Most sites lack management, monitoring, resources and legal protection under national law, leaving rivers and fish populations unprotected.
Andrey Ralev, biodiversity campaigner for CEE Bankwatch Network, stated:
“Rivers like Vjosa, Black Drin, Neretva, Bosna, Morača, Vardar, Danube and their tributaries support numerous endangered and endemic species and are vital for the livelihoods of local communities. They should be the backbone of the European network of protected sites.”
To amplify this call, a social media campaign using the hashtag #EmeraldForRivers has been launched, directly tagging environment ministers in each country to increase public and governmental pressure. Today is the official launch of the video of the campaign.
The campaign highlights the critical need to safeguard the region’s rivers, which are among Europe’s last remaining pristine waterways.
Aleksandër Trajçe, the Director of Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania – PPNEA emphasized: “Our rivers are under constant threat from hydropower projects, gravel extraction, and from pollution. Governments must act now to ensure their survival for the well-being of nature and people.”
“Expanding the Emerald Network brings real benefits – clean water, food, flood protection, sports, tourism, new jobs. It is also a crucial process in the accession to the European Union”, the organizers of the campaign declared.
For further information or to schedule interviews, please contact:
Lorena Pyze Xhafaj, [email protected]
Andrey Ralev, [email protected]
Notes for editors:
Video of the #EmeraldForRivers campaign: https://ppnea.org/emerald-for-rivers/?lang=en
Agenda of the 44th Standing Committee meeting of the Bern Convention, Strasbourg, France https://www.coe.int/en/web/bern-convention/-/44th-standing-committee
List of rivers to be added to the Emerald Network and the fish species of European importance that inhabit them: https://bankwatch.org/publication/shadow-list-of-rivers
