Official opening of educational centre for nature conservation in Negrevo – Pehcevo
On 25th September 2018 in the Pehcevo village of Negrevo the Educational Centre for Nature Conservation officially started with activities, supported by the Nature Conservation Programme in Macedonia, a project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), coordinated by Farmahem. The event was attended by many representatives of national and local institutions, international and national organizations, as well as NCP partners. The Swiss Ambassador to the Republic of Macedonia, HE Sybille Suter Tejada, deputy minister of environment and physical planning Jani Makraduli, deputy minister of education and science Petar Atanasov, the president of the East Planning Region Council Nikolco Ilijev, as well as the Mayor of Pehcevo, Dragan Trencovski, addressed the audience.
The educational centre’s main goal is to contribute toward the conservation of nature in the Bregalnica region through education and raising public awareness, as well as promotion of sustainable use of natural resources. With the reconstruction of the old school building in the village of Negrevo, the interior and exterior sections were adapted for the needs of a modern and interactive educational process, where the visitors will be able to acquaint themselves better with nature and the diversity of the Bregalnica basin in an unusual and original way.
The Educational Centre for nature conservation in Negrevo will be a useful resource for primary and secondary schools, for daily excursions as well as for conferences, lectures and scientific gatherings about nature, its conservation and better treatment. In addition to these activities the Educational Centre will organize many others in order to expand its offer and promote the natural beauties of the Bregalnica region.
The opening of the Educational Centre for nature conservation is of great importance not only for Pehcevo, but for the wider area as well, because it will contribute to sustainable development and integrated management with natural resources, also it will be economically beneficial for the local self-government and the population through the promotion of local specialties, souvenirs and other activities that would make the centre one of the tourist attractions in the integrated tourist offer of the region.
The Nature Conservation Programme in Macedonia was created with the purpose of assisting the Republic of Macedonia to preserve the great biodiversity and the natural ecosystems through the promotion of their sustainable use and management. The activities are carried out on three levels: national, regional and local. A holistic, participative and systemic approach is applied in the programme in order to create links between nature conservation and sustainable development.