Welcome to the Adriatic Flyway Conference 14-17 April 2009 Hotel Mediteran Ulcinj - Montenegro
Event supported by MAVA
WHO IS THE ADRIATIC FLYWAY CONFERENCE FOR?
The Adriatic Flyway Conference is aimed to promote the coastal area from Slovenia to Albania along the East Coast of the Adriatic as a unique place for bird preservation and nature based holidays in Europe and world-wide. It will also promote the protection of bird migration over the Mediterranean as a unique natural phenomenon in Europe.
The study of bird migration from Central and Northeast Europe across the Adriatic to Africa and the overall importance of this part of the Central European Flyway had not gained sufficient attention in the past. New results prove the great importance of the preserved sites for many migrating and wintering bird species. Several rare and endangered species depend on resting, feeding and wintering sites along the coast of the Balkan Peninsula. This region offers great potential for bird watching through out the year.
Our aim is to create an information point, a place to bring together experts and amateurs in bird watching, interested managers in the field of and conservation and nature tourism, to look into the various opportunities to promote nature based tourism along the Eastern Adriatic Coast. The programme offers ornithologists and conservation experts the space and facilities for networking and collaborative work as well as the possibility for cultural or nature based tourism combined with first hand information on bird migration.
The transboundary Bojana-Buna Delta between Albania and Montenegro with Lake Skadar in the hinterland, is a key site in the system of Important Bird Areas from Slovenia to Albania and an ideal location for the conference. This region is included in the European Green Belt initiative, which promotes the preservation of biodiversity preserved along the Iron Curtain in Europe. 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of the opening the divide between East and West.
The pre-conference excursions and the visits during the event will offer a unique opportunity to experience a nearly unknown part of Europe. The southern Montenegrin and Albanian coastlines are among the least developed in Europe. Rapid economic growth and unprecedented foreign investment now place this area at a crossroad, with nature based tourism and environmental protection competing against big business to determine its future path.
