Outlook on Climate Change Adaptation in the Western Balkan Mountains

Risk of impaired ecosystem functioning and loss of biodiversity due to wildfires. Conservation of forest biodiversity and sustainable forest management are considered in most national legislation related to forestry and agriculture. These do not, however, integrate climate change and adaptation issues yet. Some countries pay particular attention to forest fires as one of the biggest threats to biodiversity and explicitly address this risk in their national policies (BiH, Serbia and Croatia). • Limited regional/national policy coverage for adaptation and biodiversity conservation related to damage from wildfires • Limited budget for specific adaptation measures related to wildfires • Lack of/limited institutional coordination across sectors Risk of loss of habitats and ecosystem services due to flooding. Risk of loss of riparian habitats and agricultural land due to flooding in industrial hotspots. The Framework Agreement on the Sava River Basin (FASRB) between BiH, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia governs the coordination of activities on conservation, protection, and improvement of aquatic ecosystems of the Basin, as well as the management of emergency situations. The Neretva and Trebišnjica Management Project (NTMP) (2008–2015) implemented in BiH and Croatia aimed to improve transboundary water resource management. Among its activities were enhancing Key Policy gaps:

GOOD PRACTICES

Integrated management of biological and landscape diversity for sustainable regional development and ecological connectivity in the Carpathians Transboundary cooperation in the Carpathian mountain region

BioREGIO Carpathians was a transnational project (2011–2013), which aimed to show how the integrated management of the Carpathians’ natural assets could boost both sustainable development and ecological connectivity in the region. The project involved 16 partners from 9 different South European, Central and Eastern European countries. The seven Carpathian Ministries of Environment were observers to the project. One of the main goals of the BioREGIO project was to develop management approaches that could facilitate coordination and cooperation between the institutions, regional and local authorities, and other stakeholders of protected areas and natural assets. A special focus was placed on the development of a methodology for integrated forest management and integrated wetland management. Key activities of the project included the identification of regional development opportunities; the development of financial mechanisms and innovative economic tools for protected areas, and common integrated management measures. The project included three pilot sites which together covered all five

Carpathian countries. Each pilot site consisted of two bordering protected areas: • Duna-Ipoly National Park (Hungary) and Poiple (Slovakia) • Iron Gates Nature Park (Romania) and Djerdap National Park (Serbia), and • Maramures Mountains Nature Park (Romania) and Carpathian Biosphere Reserve (Ukraine). The project resulted in the enhanced management of theCarpathianprotectedareas andnatural assetswhile maintaining the biological and landscape diversity as well as the ecological connectivity of its mountains. The joint pilot actions involving a multitude of local and regional stakeholders resulted in transboundary agreements for long-term cooperation. Throughout the project, the development of a joint biodiversity geo-referenced web-based information system provided a solid information basis for the decision- makers at the national and transnational levels. The Carpathian Integrated Biodiversity Information System (CCIBIS) can be accessed at http://www. ccibis.org/ and the BioREGIO Carpathians WebGIS at http://webgis.eurac.edu/bioregio/ For further general information, please visit: www. bioregio-carpathians.eu

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