Prishtina, 19 June- SNV Balkans officially launched its programme in Kosovo last week in an event organized jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Rural Development of Kosovo (MAFRD) and Swedish development agency SIDA. Around 60 persons from various government institutions and NGOs, representatives of international organizations and others attended the meeting.
Mr Peter Kampen, SNV Director for Macedonia and Kosovo, introduced SNV to the audience and spoke about its history. “Working for a prosperous rural future in the Balkans it is not just our slogan. It is our firm belief which we put into practice every day together with our valuable partners to overcome poverty and give people a chance to live their lives with dignity”.
On behalf of the MAFRD, Minister Idriz Vehapi promised “a close cooperation with SNV and SIDA to ensure the success of this programme”. “Forests are an important economic factor in Kosovo, but their full economic potential is not developed in a sustainable way, especially in the private forests,” Mr Vehapi stressed.
Mr Anders Ohrstrom, Director for Kosovo of SIDA, spoke with regard to the component of education in the forestry field.
Then SNV advisors presented the findings of a research done in private forests in 3 regions and the situation of females in forestry sector in Kosovo.
The project’s main aim is to support the private and decentralized forestry development in Kosovo and addressing concrete issues at regional level contributing to economic development of forestry. SNV will contribute to this in providing advisory services and working closely with the actors involved in private and decentralized forestry. The impact of this 4 year programme is leading to sustainable managed private and decentralized forest providing proper products and services to citizens and society.