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Balkan mountain towns working together

03.02.2015

 The Association for Development of Mountain Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria (ADMMRB) established the Balkan Network of Local Authorities from Mountain Regions on the Balkans (BALMONTE) on 13 September 2014 to gather together all Balkan upland communities into a strong structure that will work towards the improvement of the quality of life of local populations. It aims to keep young people in uplands by creating a system of incentives for personal and professional development, building the capacity of local governments, promoting sustainable mountain agriculture, preserving and promoting cultural and historic heritage and advancing sustainable tourism in mountains through close cooperation with European institutions, joint applications for EU funding under various programmes and drafting legal amendments in favour of recognizing mountain regions as areas with specific needs and valorization of their resources and human capital.

Mountain areas in the Balkans are an intersection of multiple problems. These problems in practice result in the exclusion of mountain municipalities from the socioeconomic development processes. This is due to underestimation of their depth and complexity. Our priorities continue to stay in the periphery of the EU integration process of the state. The lack of sighted policy unfairly condemns people of these areas on deprivation and lack of alternatives for equality for the creation of decent work and life. A vision is needed or an overall strategy for the untapped potential of mountain areas in the region in the new Euro-market. Today our difficulties are related mainly with natural, climatic, communication, household and socio-economic conditions that are different from other areas. People who live in the mountain settlements and regions often do not have access to adequate education, healthcare, transport and other communications. These difficulties and problems result as a whole in poverty, migration and permanent depopulation, lack of alternatives for professional development, complicated agriculture and environment status. Moreover, there are limited opportunities for attraction of investments for the development and utilization of available local resources. According to the single European classification of rural areas, our communities are categorized as ‘disadvantaged’, mainly due to the lack of arable land for agricultural purposes in proportion to the number of residents.

Taking part are representatives of upland communities from the Balkans, members of the European Association of Elected Representatives from Mountain Areas (AEM), members of national parliaments and European Parliament, ministers, experts and other stakeholders working in the sector.

The main objective of the new established Network BALMONTE is joint work on European projects in various fields for achievement of sustainable development in multiple sectors.

Membership in the network is absolutely free of any charges and legal obligations, but will contribute towards the prosperity of the upland communities in the region, which are more than 50 percent of the total territory.

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Photo: Flickr/Radoslav Rusinov