The Institute of Spatial Planning (ISP) within the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning (MESP), together with the Municipal Spatial Planning Support Programme (MuSPP) implemented by UN-Habitat and financed by the Swedish Development Cooperation, have organized a workshop on the Spatial Plan for the National Park Bjeshkët e Nemuna (Accursed Mountains), which took place on November 6th, 2013, at the Ministries Building "Rilindja" in Pristina.

MESP/ISP is currently drafting the Spatial Plan for the National Park Bjeshkët e Nemuna. The National Park was declared in December 2012 and covers an area of more than 600 km2 over the territories of 5 municipalities (Peja/Pec, Decan, Junik, Istog/Istok and Gjakova/Djakovica). The process of drafting the plan will be driven in parallel to the Municipal Development Plan (MDP) revision process in Peja, which will consider an important area of the National Park, Rugova Valley, composing approximately half of the municipal territory of Peja. The area of Rugova Valley is a key for tourism development in Peja and also at the national level and considerable investment interests are at stake while at the same time the national and natural interest of the mountainous area should prevail. The difficult challenge is to strike a balance between these sometimes conflicting interests and find a constructive approach for both conservation and social and economic development, where important interests are optimally considered, both in the short and the long term.

The purpose of the event was to present international best practices on spatial planning of national parks' areas, samples of national parks' spatial plans and materials on the structure of a spatial plan document. The attendees included ISP, Kosovo Environmental Protection Agency, MESP representatives from different departments, representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, of the Ministry of Economic Development, representatives of the municipalities which compose the National Park area, as well as UN-Habitat representatives.

The workshop was also an opportunity to introduce consultant Mr. Darren Enns, Senior Planner for the Town of Banff, in Canada, and included a thorough presentation on the National Park of Banff. Mr. Enns is currently engaged in the study for the National Park conservation and development, aiming at offering advice, international best practice and experience from the field, to both central and local levels of planning (National Park Spatial Plan and Municipal Development Plan). The presentation included an introduction to a spatial plan at the National Park scale, interactions with other plans, examples of other National Park spatial plans, of public engagement, and addressing non-conformance. The workshop also enabled attendees to initiate discussions, asking specific questions, providing comments, and raising important issues.  

The National Park will require a spatial plan to establish protection regimes, as set by the legislation on the National Park, and is expected to be concluded by October 2014. As part of his first mission to Kosovo, Mr. Enns met with local and central level stakeholders and undertook several site visits to the Accursed Mountains National Park area. His second mission will take place in December, when a workshop in Peja is programmed to take place, to present preliminary findings and recommendations to be integrated both within the MDP process and the National Park Plan. The process will entail Strategic Environmental Assessment of the National Park Spatial Plan, which will soon be initiated with UN-Habitat support.