The BalkanDetox LIFE Project
The BalkanDetox LIFE Project
Strengthening national capacities to fight wildlife poisoning and raise awareness about the
problem across seven Balkan countries
Overview
The BalkanDetox Life project endeavours to address the most pressing conservation issue
affecting numerous threatened wildlife species in the Balkan Peninsula by shifting the
perceptions and behaviour of all relevant stakeholders, from the decision-makers to the general
public and the actual users of poison baits.
Objectives
To tackle the threat of wildlife poisoning across the Balkans, the BalkanDetox LIFE project has
four main objectives. Build capacities to improve management of poisoning incidents, raise
awareness about the severity of this practice while providing other preventative measures,
enhance collaborations to improve knowledge exchange among relevant stakeholders and
reduce poisoning incidents to help safeguard wildlife, nature and public health.
Actions
The BalkanDetox LIFE project endeavours to implement several targeted actions to tackle the
threat of wildlife poisoning across seven Balkan countries. Preparatory actions will better
understand the problem's scope, allowing the team to prioritize conservation and preventative
measures. Among others, concrete actions include the reinforcement of institutional capacities,
establishment of relevant databases and networks, adaption of GPS tracking for improved
detection and prevention of potential poisoning incidents while simultaneously monitoring the
performance of project actions.
Expected Results
The main expected results and impacts resulting from BalkanDetox LIFE involve increasing
general understanding of the problem among key target groups and transferring European
expertise to relevant Balkan stakeholders to manage poisoning incidents effectively and
increase the number of detected, investigated and prosecuted poisoning incidents. These
project actions will subsequently result in a significant decrease of this damaging and harmful
practice, helping protect wildlife, nature and public health.
