Balkans Environmental Peacebuilding and Sustainability

Collaboratively, International Peace Parks Expeditions (IPPE) and Ohio University offer a unique opportunity to study Environmental Peacebuilding, Ecotourism, and Sustainability in a hands-on three week study abroad to Washington DC, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Albania. This 7 credit field course will provide students with an experiential learning opportunity in one of the last bio-diversity hot spots in Europe; a place where the legacy of the conflict of the 1990s is addressed with entrepreneurship, ecotourism and environmental peacebuilding.

The program kicks off in Washington DC, where students meet with some of our nation’s foremost scholars and policy analysts on environmental peacebuilding, sustainability and transboundary protected areas management including officials at the National Park Service Office of International Affairs, US Agency for International Development, Conservation International , the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and others. The weeks that follow include meeting with an array of organizations and individuals actively pursuing conservation and environmental peacebuilding in the region, hiking the peaks of the Balkans trail, experiencing cultural traditions, and enjoying the splendor of Balkans hospitality. Check out this video from the 2015 Balkan Expedition!

Program Focus

Community driven sustainable development
Cross border environmental conservation
Eco-tourism
Natural resource management

Activities

Enjoy day hikes on parts of the award-winning “Peaks of the Balkans Trail,” which showcases the border region’s stunning natural beauty.
Enjoy the phenomenal hospitality of the local people in all three countries through home stays and learn from the people who work in environmental peacebuilding every day.
Climb cross border trails that were previously used by Roman soldiers and Kosovar refugees.
Experience the unique “higher mountain culture” and its traditional organic farming and cuisine, music and dance, traditional clothing, centuries old architecture and rugged way of life.