Mavrovo National Park remains in legal limbo

Mavrovo National Park has remained in an unacceptable state of legal uncertainty for more than a decade. Because it fails to meet these essential protection standards, Mavrovo technically no longer qualifies as a functional National Park. This situation leaves room for activities incompatible with nature protection, including the construction of hydropower plants and other activities.

Despite clear legal obligations, the process of re-proclaiming Mavrovo as a national park remains incomplete. As a result, the park continues to operate without key instruments required for effective, modern management, including a mandatory management plan and a new spatial plan.

While the authorities have failed to complete the re-proclamation process and establish an adequate protection framework, activities that may adversely affect the park’s natural values continue in Mavrovo. These include commercial logging, commercial hunting, and support for projects to build small hydropower plants. Equally concerning, Mavrovo National Park's management is rejecting the scientific findings and zoning proposed in a Valuation Study despite expert teams having already completed it.

“Since 2010, when the process of preparing the law and accompanying bylaws was expected to be completed, no law has been adopted to re-proclaim Mavrovo as a national park. In 2015, an initiative was launched, but the Government later withdrew it without explanation. A dedicated law for the national park is essential, as the park's management plan and programme should be based on it. These mechanisms need to be established within a clear institutional framework, with the Ministry of Environment serving as the country’s highest authority for nature protection,” said Marko Gučeski, lawyer at Eko-Svest.

The international community is also monitoring the situation. The protection of Mavrovo has been under consideration under the Bern Convention since 2013. In 2025, the Bern Convention issued a specific recommendation to the North Macedonian authorities to halt the development of hydropower plants in Mavrovo and to urgently re-proclaim the park. 

“We are calling on the Ministry to declare a moratorium on activities that do not contribute to the protection of nature. Mavrovo is our oldest national park and one of Europe's most valuable protected areas. It deserves a level of protection that is consistent with our national legislation and international obligations,” said Ana Čolović-Leshoska, Executive Director of Eko-Svest.

Demands to the competent institutions

To end the long-standing legal uncertainty and ensure adequate protection of Mavrovo’s natural values, Blue Heart partner, Ekosvest, calls on the competent institutions to:

• The Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning to urgently take over the administrative process for the re-proclamation of Mavrovo National Park;
• Submit the draft law on the re-proclamation of Mavrovo for public consultation and continue the procedure for its adoption by Parliament;
• Ensure that the management of the park is aligned with the scientific findings of the Valuation Study and the proposed zoning;
• Declare a moratorium on activities and projects that are not compatible with nature protection until a comprehensive and functional legal framework is established;
• Ensure the fulfilment of the country’s international obligations, including the recommendations issued within the framework of the Bern Convention.

The prolonged delay in the re-proclamation process must not continue. Clear institutional responsibility and urgent action are needed to ensure that Mavrovo receives adequate, functional, and legally grounded protection.