Kosovo

C

Natural Resources

Kosovo is relatively rich in mineral resources with substantial reserves of lignite coal. There are also reserves of lead, zinc, magnesium, bauxite, and nickel. About 39 per cent of the country is forested and timber is an important product. The basins have fertile soils and about 52 per cent of the land is devoted to agriculture.

D

Plants and Animals

The region is one of the most ecologically varied in Europe with rich flora species (18 per cent of all European flora). Deciduous species of tree, especially beech forests, dominate. There are also several varieties of fir tree and pine with increases in altitude. The region is also home to the black mulberry, black oak, planes, poplars, and ash trees. Kosovo is the habitat of a variety of species, including rabbits, lynx, bear, chamois, wolf, roe deer, and wild boar. Native fish such as carp, eel, catfish, and salmon trout are also found.

E

Environmental Concerns

Kosovo has a national park, the 380 sq km (147 sq mi) Šar National Park in the mountainous south of the country. There are also two regional parks, and numerous nature reserves; despite this, less than 1 per cent of the country’s territory is protected. The former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) signed the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and other environmental treaties.

Much of the land has been degraded by open-cast lignite mining and there is contaminated water, and air and soil pollution because of heavy industry. In the mid-1990s, less than 10 per cent of the country’s wastewater was treated before being released into rivers and lakes, and deforestation was accelerating. Environmental issues were largely ignored during the warfare of the 1990s.

The NATO bombing campaign of 1999 impacted the environment with fears of damage caused by depleted uranium. Landmines and abandoned ordnance also affected the environment. The international embargo on Serbia put pressure on the region’s natural resources, and efforts to prevent pollution—worsened by outdated technologies—were largely abandoned.

III

Population

Kosovo had a population of 1,956,196 in 1991. However, the census was largely boycotted by ethnic Albanians and this married to subsequent events has made this figure highly inaccurate. During the fighting many thousands of people (an estimated 40 per cent of the population) fled the country while a significant proportion was internally displaced. It is believed that most refugees returned at the end of the fighting. Estimates from 2007 place the population figure at 2.1 million. Approximately 70 per cent of the population is rural; 30 per cent is urban.

A

Population Characteristics

The majority (around 90 per cent) of the population of Kosovo is ethnic Albanian. Most of the rest of the inhabitants are Serbs and Montenegrins (6 per cent combined), who generally live in the north of the republic. Bosniaks (Muslim Slavs), Turks, Gorani, Croats, and Roma form the remainder of the population.