The “Vital pastures of Sharr Mountain and Mavrovo” photo competition is organized within the “EUROPEAN GREEN BELT: VITAL PASTURES IN TRANSBOUNDARY SHARR/ KORAB-KORITNIK/ MAVROVO” project, funded by Aarge V. Jensen Charity Foundation and the Nando and Elsa Peretti foundation and is implemented by the Macedonian Ecological Society (MES), Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), Connecting Natural Values and People Foundation (CNVP in Kosovo) and EuroNatur.

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The year 2026 is the international year of rangelands and pastoralists! This is why to be accepted in the competition, the photos must depict only habitats or species photographed in (alpine) pastureland of the Sharr-Korab-Koritnik-Mavrovo region in North Macedonia, Kosovo or Albania.

They may include plants, animals, landscapes, traditional practices in nature as well locally specific endemic species, bringing closer the uniqueness and natural beauty of these regions, such as:

• wild plants and fungi
• wildlife species on pastures
• locally specific endemic species
• landscapes
• traditional pastoral practices and human interaction with nature

Photographers are encouraged to send photos from different seasons.

How to participate?

The competition is open to all photographers, amateur and professional, regardless of age, gender, or nationality. There is no entry fee. Photos can be sent to the project team between April 2026-September 2026.

By entering the competition, the contestant grants the competition organizers the right to use the photos entered free of charge for the purpose of:

• Producing the 2027 calendar
• Organizing a trilateral exhibition in 2027, showcasing all winning photos selected at the photo competition in all three countries
• Covering the competition in the organizers’ competition publications and on their websites
• Using the photos to advertise the calendar, the competition and the exhibitions in both the organizers’ publications and in press coverage
• Publishing the photos after the end of the competition in the publications produced by the non-profit foundation EuroNatur, MES, PPNEA and CNVP to advertise the conservation projects

The winning photos will be presented at exhibitions. The winning authors will receive small gifts and a calendar. The printed photo from the exhibition will be given as a gift to the authors at the end of the exhibitions.

How will we make the selection?

All submitted photographs will be reviewed anonymously by a jury consisting of the project partners (MES, PPNEA, CNVP and Euronatur). The jury will select 12 photographs per country that will be awarded.

Announcement of Winners

• Date: 1 November 2026
• Channels: Partner websites, social media
• Credit: Authors’ names will be credited for each use of the photo

Rules

The photographs must meet the following requirements:

• Must have a minimum resolution of 2600 × 2600 px
• Must be in landscape format
• Do not need to be taken in 2026
• Must be in colour
• Must be submitted in JPG format
• Location, date, and author name must be given, species names are welcome but not necessary
• Macro photography, landscapes and drone photos are acceptable
• Only minimal post-processing allowed
  • Photos taken by digital manipulation will not be accepted. Only standard photo processing (e.g. tonal value, contrast, brightness, colour, saturation, white balance), minimal cleaning (such as removing lens dust and marks), and cropping are allowed
• Compliance with the nature photographer code of conduct
  • No disturbance of wildlife or habitats
  • No manipulation of animals or plants
  • The photos must respect the code of conduct for wildlife photographers
• Pictures of pets or farm animals apart from those linked to shepherding (sheep farm, herding dogs etc.), pictures of cultivated varieties of wild plants and pictures that were not taken in the trilateral Sharr-Korab-Koritnik-Mavrovo region will not be accepted
• No logos, signatures, frames, or added elements
• No more than five pictures may be entered per entrant/photographer

Copyright

By entering the competition, the participant confirms that the entered photograph is his/her own original work and that the photographer is the sole owner of the copyright. Each participant warrants that any submitted photos were taken with the permission of the person(s) depicted, and, where applicable, with the consent of property owners or other rights holders. The participant confirms that they hold all necessary rights for submission and publication and indemnifies the organizer against any claims arising from third-party rights violations.

The photographer always retains the copyright to his/her pictures, and his/her name will appear alongside the photo whenever it is published.

Data Protection

The data sent in by competitors is only stored and used by us for the administration of the competition. It is passed onto third parties e.g to magazine editorial departments or our partners in the photo competition "Vital pastures", for the purposes of reporting on and publication of the winning pictures. The participant hereby expressly declares him or herself to be in agreement with this. The participant has the right at any time to revoke their agreement to storage of the data at datenschutz@euronatur.org member@mes.org.mk, e.gjyzeli@ppnea.org, hajrush.kurtaj@cnvp-eu.org

and thereby to withdraw their participation.