Bio-diversity

Big Carpathian program was planned by GEF (WB, WWF representing NGOs).Carpathian Convention was signed.Project deals with big challanges of Carpathian region in a small scale, but touching one of the biggets threats of dimishing valuable ecosystems of mountain pastures and meadows, declining of sheep breeding (natural "mowers").In Poland a very mosaic of small plots exposed to very difficult conditions (slopes, poor soil) representing extensive agriculture, subsistence paradoxically was the warden of rich biodiversity (just one indicator - in Beskid Sudecki, in mountain valleys can be found 50 species of big day butterflies (in Western europe, with industrial agriculture - just 8);after changes in 1989 sheep breeding became uneconomical (in whole Poland 3 million sheep before 1989, 250 thousand nowdays), antropo-presssure was growing (farms sold to people from towns as summer houses,expansion of very commercial ideas (big hotels, unfriendly tourism). Project is aimed in gradual reconstruction of sheep breeding as a pre-condition for stopping secondary vegetation pressure to meadows and pastures, afforerstration schemes (sic!) in the situation where local business is securing long-term contracts for milk, sophisticated equipment will monitor the quality of milk, production of high quality cheese (ffrom upper shelve) will be the factor of restitution and preservation of mountain pastureland and meadows ecosystems.Local product will be introduced. Initally 6-8 farms will be included in the pilot program, in Labowa gmina.training will be provided especially on sanitary aspects of breeding, preparations of farms (small equipment,fences) will be and organised managed by Greenworks; extention of the project later will be secured by the Heifer Poland Program, also EU funds will be approached. Greenworks is consuming 3 years of negative until now effects of regional programs called SHEEP.. Concentration of efforts in one valley, further development into the others, with a final target of 12-15000 sheep (in the project max. 450). flora monitoring will be done by researchers from the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, also experts (association WILK-WOLF) on wolf-sheep behaviour and training of special dogs for herds will be organised.

Poland