Official Opening of the Prespa Park PDF B Project Implementation Unit in Resen Municipality .

 

 

On 6 April 2004, the UNDP office- Skopje and the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning (MoEPP) of the FYR of Macedonia organized the official opening ceremony of the Prespa Park PDF B Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in Resen Municipality. The Minister of Environment and Physical Planning of the FYR of Macedonia, Mr. Ljubomir Janev, the Director of KfW - Skopje Office, Dr. Christian Lutke Wostmann, the UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Mrs. Consuelo Vidal Bruce, Prof. Dr. Dieter Biallas- GTZ Cross Border Co-operation Programme, the Mayor of the Resen Municipality, Dr. Dimko Toskovski, and other officials, as well as representatives of local NGOs and journalists, participated in the event.

 

In his opening speech, the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning of the FYR of Macedonia, Mr. Janev, stressed that the PDF B is the most important project in the Prespa region, which shows the commitment of the three countries to co-operate with each other and to find out common ways towards sustainable development. Mr. Janev also took the opportunity to thank the UNDP, KfW and GEF for the support provided for the development of the PDF B project making possible the participation of the three Governments, the Municipalities and the local NGOs.

 

The UNDP Representative, Mrs. Consuelo Vidal Bruce, during her speech pointed out that this project is an achievement and, for this, credit should be given to the Governments of the three countries, as well as other participating actors of the Prespa area, which has been defined as an ecosystem with rare natural values that needs to be protected in order to ensure its preservation for future generations.

 

Dr. Wostmann, Director of KfW - Skopje Office, underlined that KfW is very happy to be part of the Prespa Park project from its beginning, and hopes to be more active in the future.

 

The Mayor of the Resen Municipality, Dr. Toskovski, welcomed the participants, thanked the donors for their support, and expressed the full commitment of the Resen Municipality to the project.

 

Subsequently, the “Strategic Action Plan for the sustainable development of the Prespa Park” study was presented to the participants by Mrs. Darinka Jantinska – Prespa Park Coordination Committee member, and an overview of the PDF B project was given by the International Project Manager, Mr. Keith Shawe. Mr. Shawe stressed that the purpose of the PDF B is to produce a proposal for a full-sized GEF project entitled “Integrated Ecosystem Management in the Transboundary Prespa Park Region”, and continued with a more detailed presentation of the project focus, namely socio-economic and alternative livelihoods; biodiversity and protected areas management; water management; policy and institutional strengthening; wise use and coordinated management of natural resources; participation and cooperation of all stakeholders in the three countries etc.

 

The event continued with the official opening of the PIU. After that, all participants were invited to a field tour in the beautiful village of Brajcino (Pelister National Park).