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The BalkanDetox LIFE Project Team Finally Met in Person

The BalkanDetox LIFE Project Team Finally Met in Person: 1st NEEMO Monitor Visit and 2nd Partnership Meeting The Project Team of the BalkanDetox LIFE project welcomed the opportunity to meet in person for the first time since the project officially started back in October 2020. During the meeting, the partners discussed and evaluated the overall implementation progress, analyzed the achievements and milestones reached so far and set a course of action for the next six months of the project.…

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The Municipality of Kochani is a European Green Belt Model Municipality

On 17 th July at the Info-center on Ponikva we organized an event which was part of the European Green Belt initiative in order to award the Municipality of Kochani. This Municipality was awarded with the prestigious status of Green Belt Model Municipality among all municipalities in the Balkan Green Belt. The award was well deserved as this Municipality was exceptionally dedicated to nature and biodiversity conservation by supporting the establishment of a new protected area on the Osogovo…

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Sunchica returns after spending the winter in the Middle East

We are excited to inform you all that the far-travelling Sunchica is back in the Balkans after flying around the Middle East for the past 5 months! Sunchica's journey Back in 2019 the Fund for Wild Fauna and Flora (FWFF) tagged Sunchica as well as several other Griffon Vultures, with GPS tags in Greece and North Macedonia. The Macedonian Ecological Society was part of this effort in tagging with hopes to track poisoning incidents in the Balkans which continues to bring vulture population counts…

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Intermediate Grants 2022

1. Microbial biofungicides as an alternative for biological protection of plants (MICROBIOFUN) Coordinator : Sofija Kostandinovska Context Macedonia, as a developing country, relies on agricultural crops production and to increase yield promotes use of, pesticides and organic fertilizers that cause irreversible damage to agricultural lands and surrounding ecosystems. In addition, Macedonia has a large portion of contaminated soils from the heavy, chemical and mining industries (Dimovska et al…

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Small Grants 2022

1. Assessment of the state of blueberry populations (Vaccinium myrtillus and Vaccinium uliginosum) and their resource and economic potential on Kozhuf Mountain COORDINATOR: Filip Todorov Summary : Blueberries in Macedonia represent significant natural resource that provides additional income for number of people. However, the systems for collection, licensing, control and monitoring are still not well developed in most of the Republic of North Macedonia which puts pressure on natural habitats…

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Establishing Methods for Determining and Monitoring Volatile Organic Compounds in the Air of Skopje - Ivona Sofronievska

According to the European Environmental Agency (EEA) report, the effect of air pollution is the biggest environmental health risk in our country i.e. there are 120 deaths per 100.000 citizens as a result of pollution, or 2.500 a year https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/healthy-environment-healthy-lives ) Thus, our team faces a great challenge in finding a solution on how to handle this serious environmental issue. The emphasis in the second stage of this research project is on development of…

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VALORIZATION OF FRESHWATER HABITATS IN DEMIR HISAR REGION USING DIATOMS SAMPLES - Hristina Naumovska

Collecting material from Strugovsko Lake The abundance of freshwater habitats in the region of DemirHisar results with the desire to make inquiries about nature and looking for answers to questions obtained through scientific research in this region.From the microscopic analyzes until now, over 150 species of diatoms have been identified in the various freshwater habitats in DemirHisar. Of course, in the upcoming period, this number will increase, considering that the microscopic analysis…

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The distribution and conservation status of the relic fern Ophioglossum vulgatum on Kozhuf mountain - Ana Varelova

Locality Ginger Cheshma During this phase, phytocoenological relevés were made at the Asan Cheshma site, in order to determine the type of Ophioglossum vulgatum’s habitat. The identification of previously collected plants and the field research took place simultaneously. The identified plants belong to the Cyperaceae, Juncaceae, Orchidaceae, Poaceae, Saxifragaceae, Crassulaceae and Boraginaceae families. So far, we faced some challenges, which required a lot of studying and field work, but with…

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A successful Kick-off Meeting of the newly launched LIFE project BalkanDetox LIFE

Even though partners and stakeholders could not meet in person for the BalkanDetox LIFE Kick-off Meeting due to the COVID-19 restrictions, we are glad to report that the meeting was a success nonetheless, and received a lot of interest and engagement by multiple relevant stakeholders! Overview of Kick-off Meeting On Monday, 30 November 2020, the BalkanDetox LIFE Kick-off Meeting brought together the nine project partners with many important stakeholders spread across the Balkans and other…

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Balkan Lynx - News from the Field

It is always thrilling to receive a call from Mavrovo’s inhabitants about lynx sighting, and even more so when they send pictures of a radio-collared individual. “These days we received wonderful pictures from Lisa, the female lynx, the ninth individual captured within the research activities of the Balkan Lynx Recovery Programme that the Macedonian Ecological Society conducts ever since 2010. The lynx is a healthy individual, around 7 years of age,” states Dime Melovski from the Macedonian…

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Osogovo Mountains are now a Protected Landscape

Part of Osogovo Mountain is proclaimed for protected area (category V protected area) with the decision by the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia from 17.11.2020. Osogovo Mountain as very first Protected Landscape (category V protected area) presents a crown jewel in MES’s 14-year work, owing to the support of many partners and donors, domestic and foreign experts, and the cooperation with the Nature Conservatopn Programme in North Macedonia and the Ministry of Environment and…

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Еcosystem Research of Forest Mires in the Heart of Shar Mountain - Marija Trencheva

What kind of plant species live in high mountain mires? How do they breathe or feed when in wetlands there is a lot of water and very few oxygen? Are some plant species alive thanks to the specific soil characteristics in these habitats? Maybe answers are hidden where you cannot see – microorganisms? The basis of the answers for all of above questions and more, are the interactions in one ecosystem. Moreover, exactly interactions are in the center of ecosystem research, and of course, our…

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