Mavrovo waits years for new protection law
NGOs say the re-declaration process has been stalled since 2010 and appealed on 9 September; the ministry says a new law and a management plan are needed.
Mavrovo has been waiting for more than a decade to be re-declared as a national park, but the formal procedure has stalled and has not been completed. Local environmental groups warn that the delay leaves the area vulnerable to illegal construction, logging, poaching and the operation of small hydropower facilities.
NGOs press the ministry
Marko Guchevski of the Centre for Research and Environmental Information Eko-svest says the legal vacuum stretches back years: "Since 2010 there has been no law for the re-declaration of Mavrovo as a national park. In 2015 there was an initiative that was withdrawn by the Government without any explanation" - Marko Guchevski, Eko-svest.
According to Eko-svest, a joint letter was delivered to the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning addressed personally to the minister. "We sent a letter to the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning addressed personally to the minister; that was on 9 September and was signed by 21 organizations. With that we demand that the administrative procedure for proclaiming Mavrovo National Park be started immediately" - Ana Cholovic Leshoska, Eko-svest.
The Ministry says a new law must be drafted before re-declaration can be finalised, invites non-governmental organisations to a public debate, and assures that a park management plan will be prepared soon. The ministry's statement reads: "The Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning believes that the procedure for re-declaring Mavrovo National Park should be completed so that the obligations under the Law on Nature Protection are fulfilled and a Management Plan, as the fundamental document for the park's work, will be adopted."
In the meantime, footage posted on video platforms shows foreigners hunting inside the park boundaries, while several small hydropower plants are already functioning within the present limits of the park. If the area is legally re-declared and the new law establishes protected zones, those energy installations will have to be relocated.
Reporter: Tamara Markovska
Editor: B.S.
Photo: press material from the event
