Overview of Nature Protection Progress in Kosovo

This paper presents an overview of progress in the area of nature conservation in the last decade in Kosovo. Two very important laws were promulgated in 2012 about two national parks: Bjeshket e Nemuna and Sharri National park. With this expansion, the protected area network that in 2003 was about 4.36 % of the territory was increased to 10.9%, reaching a satisfactory degree of protected areas and increasing the number of protected areas in a total of 116. While in terms of conservation of protected areas a significant progress has been achieved, stagnation is seen in the conservation of rare and threatened species of flora and fauna. Although envisaged by legislation, the Red List of Kosovo of rare and threatened species has not been adopted yet. Also, there is a small progress in the implementation of practical conservation and management measures contained in the legislation

The acceptability of teachersʼ value related statements about sustainable development and climate change among non-science and science major students from Kosovo

In this paper we identify teachers’ value-laden statements about sustainable development and climate change that are (not) acceptable for pre-service students of preschool education (non-science majors) and student teachers of biology and chemistry (science majors) in their final year of university studies at the Faculty of Education University of Prishtina, Kosovo. Fifteen statements were provided and students had to choose among options “acceptable statement”, “unacceptable statement” and “cannot decide”. The questionnaire was completed by 63 students. The results show that the students expect their teachers to promote the principles of sustainable development. The majority of students considered as unacceptable any teacher’s statement that would throw doubt about the cause or necessity to act against climate change. Most of the students reported that they already heard unacceptable value-laden statements made by their teacher. Their most common reaction was to become alerted and discuss the statement with a colleague(s) in the classroom. Findings of the study do not provide clear conclusions on how science education of science and non-science major students influence on their acceptance of value-laden statements made by their teachers

Management status of protected areas in Kosovo

AbstractThis paper presents the situation of protected areas network in Kosovo, main problems with their management and protection. Kosovo covers an area of 10,887 square kilometers in the central part of Balkan Peninsula. Territory of Kosovo is under different elevations and impacted by mixed Continental and Mediterranean climate states. 47, 842, 34ha or 4.39% of territory of Kosovo is protected. Protected areas network in Kosovo consist of: one national park, 11 nature reserves, two protected landscapes and 82 natural monuments with different natural characteristics: botanical, geographical, geomorphologic, hydrological etc. The history of protected areas starts in 1953, when the first nature reserves were designated for legal protection, with permanent increase of number and size of other protected areas. The biggest step until now in the protection of natural sites is made in 1986 with declaration of Sharri national park (39,000ha), because of very rich biodiversity.The network of legally protected areas is quite heavily damaged during and after the last war in Kosovo (1998-99). Degradation of ecosystems, overexploitation, fires and other negative activities have being part of protected areas during last decade. The new law on nature conservation is partly regulating this situation, although the protection and management measures face many implementation challenges

Essential Oil Composition of Pinus peuce

The principal aim of this study was to analyze the chemical composition and qualitative and quantitative variability of essential oils obtained from seven naturally grown populations of the Pinus peuce Grisebach, Pinaceae in Kosovo. Plant materials were collected from three populations in the Sharri National Park and from four other populations in the Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park, in Kosovo. Essential oils were obtained by steam distillation and analyzed by GC-FID (Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection) and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry). The results showed that the yield of essential oils (v/w dry weight) varied depending on the origin of population and the plant organs and ranged from 0.7 to 3.3%. In total, 51 compounds were identified. The main compounds were α-pinene (needles: 21.6–34.9%; twigs: 11.0–24%), β-phellandrene (needles: 4.1–27.7; twigs: 29.0–49.8%), and β-pinene (needles: 10.0–16.1; twigs: 6.9–20.7%). HCA (Hierarchical Cluster Analysis) and PCA (Principal Component Analyses) were used to assess geographical variations in essential oil composition. Statistical analysis showed that the analyzed populations are grouped in three main clusters which seem to reflect microclimatic conditions on the chemical composition of the essential oils