Global Ideas

"Too many cooks spoil the broth" goes the saying. And that’s especially true when it comes to finding a solution to a tricky cross-border environmental problem. But the Prespa National Park shows that things don’t have to be that way. The three countries that share the park - Albania, Macedonia and Greece – are working together to preserve the unique UNESCO World Heritage site. Reporter Danijel Visévic shows us what the countries are doing to save land that has been partly destroyed due to illegal logging, over-fishing and over-grazing. In a background article, Wiebke Feuersenger takes a look at how Albania’s rich biodiversity is at risk. Decades of political isolation once protected the country’s rich flora and fauna. But with modernism sweeping through the country, Albania’s environment is suffering.

Georgia is losing large tracts of fertile land due to climate change. Frequent rain and wind are eroding precious soil that’s already been destabilized by decades of deforestation and overgrazing in the Soviet era. As a result, the country is facing major crop shortages, leaving many families with too little to eat. Now, an initiative to plant new trees and wind shields aims to protect crop fields and stabilize the soil with deep-growing roots. Georgian farmers are learning just how to do that from a team of German farmers who are sharing their expertise. They hope to generate healthy harvests and ensure there is enough to go around once again.