A workshop held from March 28-30, 2023, in Ulcinj, brought together seventeen participants from different backgrounds to assess the viability of sustainable development and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) activities. The first two days of the workshop included a field visit to the LBBUEC area to examine various habitats, beach, wetland areas, lake, forests, and villages, among other things.

The third day of the workshop was dedicated to the NbS led by Dr. Pierre L. Ibisch, a professor of nature conservation at the University Eberswalde. During the workshop, stakeholders explored biodiversity and ecosystems, their values and threats, and discussed local and national perspectives, activities, and plans. The third day findings were proofed by scientific background, trends of change, climate change evidence, paired with low regret and NbS concepts. Some of the topics discussed included the trade-offs between investing energy in systems associated with maintaining ecosystems.

The workshop concluded by identifying problems and their solutions. The problems included the destruction of dunes and vegetation by tourist infrastructure, pollution from marine litter, chemical pollution, building infrastructure, tree cutting and introduction of invasive species. The NbS solutions proposed to address these problems including succession-based restoration, reducing stress and creating space. However, for some threats human-based solutions were only viable. The workshop highlighted the importance of NbS in addressing environmental challenges of nowadays, and the need for interdisciplinary cooperation and knowledge sharing to achieve long-term sustainable development goals.

The “Building LBBUEC resilience” project by EnvPro. CEPF funded