Shar Mountain has been declared a new national park, and Mount Osogovo will receive adequate protection. The Government adopted the initiatives of the MoEPP to protect two areas in our country - Sharr Mountain and Osogovo Mountains, to declare Shar Mountain a protected area in the category National Park and to declare Osogovo Mountains as protected area of category V.
"The protection status was determined by an expert team that conducted a study to valorize areas and found that they contain a high level of biological and cultural values for the preservation of which measures should be taken," said the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning. Nasser Nuredini.
EPI Center International was selected by the Ministry of Economy to prepare a Study on the Development of Tourism in Shar Mountain in 2008. The study aimed to identify opportunities, potentials, weaknesses for tourism development in the Sharplanin region, and to continue to use it as a basis for undertaking other activities to support the development of tourism in the region.
A key conclusion in the study preparation process was that greater coordination was needed at the regional level, as well as at national level. The role of the regional development center in this process is crucial and over time it should take its place as coordinator of planning, implementation and practical management of regional economic development, and thus tourism. The Center for Regional Development should develop a sense of ownership over this study, and understand the proposed projects as an activity on the realization of which significantly depends on the development of the region.
EPI CENTER also contributed by creating a feasibility study for the protection of Mount Osogovo with guidelines for sustainable development through the program "Man and the Biosphere" of UNESCO in 2015.
The assessment of the region in this feasibility study is based on a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and challenges that are relevant to fulfilling the functions of biosphere protection or more precisely conservation, development and logistical support.
For the purposes of this study, seven experts were hired, Macedonian and Bulgarian, who were responsible for eight different sectors that are compatible with a thorough assessment of natural, cultural and historical heritage, potential for sustainable economic development, and the social and demographic structure of the entire Osogovo region. The preparation of the study required great cooperation between all the experts involved.
The initiatives of the Ministry were adopted at government session, and in the next period public hearings will be held on proposals with the inclusion of the local population.