A journey to the roots of the Balkans

A Delegation of ILC visits members from Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro travels across the Balkans to meet rural communities living in communion with their land. We listen to the challenges they face to protect their lifestyle against climate change and resource depredation.

"Nature conservation must be done with people, not without them." One of the conclusions of the workshop held in Kolašin, Montenegro, on June 1-2, and one of the founding outcomes of ILC's new Balkan sub-regional network.

Albania

Tirana - Priskë: May 26 - 27.

Tirana welcomes us with its characteristic Mediterranean heat and bustle. Even so, we are surprised by the calm rhythm and the smiling look of its people, something more and more difficult to see in the busy capitals of Western Europe.

Albora, Xhuljan and Reshep welcome us in their small office tucked away in the corner of a shopping mall. Despite the small office, the NFCFPA is a renowned organisation in Albania, including 250 forest users associations (400.000 households) and leads the albanian National Land Coalition, including 15 members of civil society and governmental institutions.

After hearing about the current situation of the National Land Coalition in their country, we receive various Albanian policy and decision-makers who cordially welcome us. The interviews follow one after the other and leave some interesting reflections, especially on the application of the new law on forest use in Albania, which recognizes the right of small farmers to use the public forests in which their plots are located.

The night falls over Tirana but we still have some free time to visit its beautiful central market and taste its rich and varied culinary offer.

The next day, on our way to Priskë, a forested district of the country's capital, we stop to greet Elvin Toromani and Nehat Collaku, both professors of the Faculty of Forestry Sciences at the University of Tirana, and in Nehat’s case, also a UNDP consultant. They give us the technical background we need to understand the problem of forest management in Albania: since the new law was implemented, municipalities have let farmers use and manage the forests, however, they still cannot enjoy the economic benefits of managing their natural resources, despite taking care and using them sustainably.

We continued our journey to meet Xhemali, his farm, his forest land and his lovely family. Kisses and hugs to strangers immediately follow a formal handshake. Affection and joy in welcoming visitors is something as rooted in Albania as its incredible trees and, both, leave an indescribable feeling of reconnection with human nature itself.

Xhemali shows us his “jewel”: A forest that he planted and cared for, tree by tree, more than 30 years ago, when he acquired the house and contemplated the desolated, dry and flat landscape surrounding it. "I am from a wooded mountain area and, when I first saw it, I decided to give this place back the oxygen and lushness it must have had in the past". So, this charming farmer started his project and brought life back to the moor, where now there is a humid oak forest, in which shrubs, flowers and other herbaceous plants have grown and where insects, birds and all kinds of small mammals have reproduced In turn, the newly found biodiversity is benefitting the horticultural activity of his farm. Xhemali only asks for one thing: "that they let me take care of my forest".

The visit concludes with a spectacular home-cooked meal and an invitation to come back and bring "everyone who wants to come, you are always welcome", he tells us with a frank ear-to-ear smile, followed by a heartfelt hug.

Filled with emotions and reflections on how to protect those who are protecting our Earth, we hit the road again heading to Kosovo. Albora and Xhuljan drive while showing us the incredible mountainous landscapes of the North, making several stops at various forestry operations, including a communal forest.

"The republic of forests, we call it,” says Albora.“People here manage their forests in a communal way, including rules that have been well established and respected for hundreds of years. The State itself tacitly respects it," she explains.

It seems like a great model to follow if we want to preserve nature for future generations.

Kosovo

Pristina - Peja National Park, May 28 and 29

A peaceful border crossing brings us together with Kosovar colleagues. We all share coffee around a table with the beautiful White Drin river in the background. Soon after, Bakhsim and Sead pick us up in their pick-up vehicle and we are on our way to Pristina. The first thing that strikes us about Kosovo, compared to northern Albania, is the tremendous industrial development of the country, which, after the war, seems to have recovered at a frenetic pace. This rhythm is also imprinted in its capital, Pristina, which has plenty of stores, modern buildings and avenues full of luminous advertisements everywhere.

As it is Sunday, the first day of our visit in Kosovo, we are taken to the beautiful Peja National Park, crossed by the canyon of a great river, full of spectacular rock walls and centuries-old forests. The NPFO colleagues explain that the Kosovar government does not allow the inhabitants of the park to clear the forests and trade their residues (pellets) within the park boundaries. The advocacy work they do on this issue is intense. So far, they have managed to get a couple of schools in less protected areas to use their wood residues for heating.. This seems to be the most viable option ahead.

Later on, we visit another project supported by the organisation. Here, a family works in a small farm collecting herbs and other products linked to the forest. "We employ women with economic difficulties", explains the daughter of the owner, a very determined girl with a confident attitude, "the idea is that the area is not abandoned and that they feel useful and eager to participate collectively in the project".

The day ends with a friendly dinner shared with colleagues from CNVP, one of the members of the Kosovar NLC.

The next day, we meet at the CNVP office to and move to the office of the Director of the National Forestry Agency, Tahir Ahmeti. The conversations with him as well as with the Government delegates responsible for the Natural Parks, end with their commitment to support forest owners in extending their forest use rights.

In the afternoon, we rush out of Pristina to avoid its tremendous traffic and are driven to the Montenegrin border. Everything goes good until we realise that this is not a "normal" border.

Montenegro

Podgorica - Danilovgrad, May 30 and 31.

Due to the different wars and territorial conflicts in the area, the border between Kosovo and Montenegro is not clearly delimited, which for practical purposes involves two different checkpoints: one Kosovar and one Montenegrin. The odd thing here is that they are separated by a sort of "no man's land" of about 15 km. We had no idea!

After saying goodbye and hugging our Kosovar colleagues, we cross the border by foot and begin to walk down a narrow road, luggage in hand, surrounded by the incredible Dinaric peaks. Luckily, our Montenegrin friends find us within a kilometer.

Montenegro is an incredible country. The many hours separating us from Podgorica and the accumulated fatigue do not prevent us from enjoying its green landscapes, more similar to the Central European Alps than to other Mediterranean mountains. We go to bed exhausted but wake up the next morning eager to get moving again. Danilovgrad awaits us.

In Danilovgrad, a diverse group of patriarchs from different family lineages of the area gathers. All of them are shepherds. Here, one can already feel the spirit of ancient katuns traditions coming to life: : We are served delicious lamb meat, tasty local vegetables and handmade cheese while a concert of traditional music is played before us. The local leaders (including the mayor of Danilovgrad) all agree that the defense of the katuns is for them a matter of life and death. These mountain villages are both a refuge for shepherds and for a culture that is deeply rooted in a life in communion with nature. To attack katuns is to attack them. And that is exactly what is happening in Sinjajevina.

The next day, we visit this incredible mountain area that we’ve heard so much about through the international campaign Save Sinjajevina (of which ILC and LRN are driving forces). The campaign was also the first step to create the Save Sinjajevina Civic Initiative, a new ILC member and incipient promoter of the new National Land Coalition of Montenegro.

Once in the pastures, we are received by political representatives of Kolašin and Mojkovac, two of the four municipalities in Sinjajevina. Together with farmers and shepherds, they declare their intention to protect the environment at all costs and to promote "limited and responsible" tourism.: The current Montenegrin government, on the other hand, seems to want the opposite, allowing military maneuvers in the area with the idea of installing here a fixed military camp for international brigades.,

We walk around the pastures, see the animals graze, and eat in a katun, where we receive, one again, the typical Balkan affection and hospitality we have now learnt to know so well. . The day ends with a statement on behalf of the ILC in defense of Sinjajevina from the military occupation.

Kolašin, June 1 and 2.

The last stop of our trip brings us all together in Kolašin, at the foot of Sinjajevina, with our friends from Albania and Kosovo. The idea behind this trip was to share the challenges faced by forest and land users in different countries across the Balkans in order to work together at the regional level. It was moving to see how the defense of land and resources unites the peoples of these states that have been at odds with each other for many years.

The atmosphere was distended but focused, the participation among colleagues from the three countries was fluid and effective. The presence of stakeholders from FIDA and national organisations from Montenegro enlivened and encouraged the debate.

The founding declaration of the new Balkan Land Coalition is the first milestone of the next journey: strengthening the regional network and jointly applying political pressure to defend, protect and prolong the sustainable use of land, pastures, forests and mountains across the Balkans.