Creating the Peace Park in the Balkans
Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro 2001–2011
After years of violent conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, in 2001 a project was launched to create a Peace Park in the Balkans. The initiative came from a small group of citizens, later joined by associations and NGOs in the region, whose aim was to publicize beyond the borders of the countries involved the project and the plight of people still struggling to recover the area. In the succeeding years, the project was recognized by local institutions and in 2004 established its headquarters in the UK.
In 2011, organizations working in the region managed to establish hiking trails, marked paths and climbing routes, and foster environmental cooperation, thereby promoting sustainable development projects and ecotourism initiatives, etc. This project has created a genuine grassroots network that has brought people of all kinds – both from the Balkans and the world in general – together and has also involved, naturally, local people who live and work in the valleys and villages of northern Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. Leaving aside the political questions that have affected the area for so long, the activities carried out have focused on issues of common interest such as environmental protection and the coordinated recovery of sustainable economic prosperity in the region.
More information: Balkans Peace Park Project
