By Branislav Peric and Entela Pinguli Globalisation has come to the forests of South Eastern Europe (SEE) in the form of a craving for mushrooms, and worldwide demand has put a severe strain on local species. Mushroom varieties that are heavily protected in the West do not always enjoy the same protection in SEE countries, and prices for produce are generally lower in this region. What’s more, mushroom collectors in search of quick cash from foreign buyers often harvest with unsustainable methods. The result is a situation, typical of globalisation, in which the richer natural resources of less-developed countries are depleted to serve the market of more-developed countries. If harvesting is not restricted soon, the SEE mushroom population could be permanently damaged in exchange for a few years of short-sighted profits. The SEE region, with its diversity of climate and vegetation, provides excellent conditions for the growth of numerous mushroom (macromycete) species. They are an integral part of the local ecosystem, and their existence is essential to maintaining the balance of nature in the region. Because of the favourable natural conditions, and because there is no tradition of large-scale collection and use of edible species, many unique mushrooms, which do not grow elsewhere, still survive in SEE. This part of Europe has been investigated far less by mycologists — scientists who study mushrooms — than the rest of the continent, but that has been changing in the last 10 years. There has been increased study of SEE mushroom populations, new mycological societies are being established in different SEE countries, scientists are making systematic investigations of the region’s “mycodiversity” and more information has been published in the region about mushrooms and their use. Tons of mushrooms exported At the same time, the demand for mushrooms as food from countries outside the region has fueled commercial interest in the fungi. According to the data available, about 645 tons of mushrooms are exported from Yugoslavia to other European countries in one year. A significant amount of Yugoslavia’s exports come from Montenegro. The annual export of mushrooms from Croatia is approximately 360 tons, and from FYR Macedonia it is about 220 tons. In the last 20 years, commercial demand has led to a marked reduction of the populations of edible fungi in SEE, especially in the vicinity of big cities. The problem is exacerbated by unsustainable harvesting practices. The people who collect wild mushrooms as a source of extra income are often ignorant of which species are rare or threatened. Furthermore, unskilled harvesters often pick the fruit of the mushrooms, along with the edible mycelium, leaving the fungi incapable of reproducing or populating new areas. Raking and digging by harvesters searching for truffles also destroys the fungi and their habitats. Because there were few regulations for protection of mushrooms, and poor implementation of the regulations that did exist, harvesting mushrooms has been relatively easy. Meanwhile, the low price for mushrooms from the area, when compared with global prices, has encouraged a level of harvesting that has devastated local populations. In recent years, thanks in part to pressure from mycological societies in Croatia, Macedonia and Yugoslavia, some regulations that deal with this issue were adopted. The process of mushroom redemption has been introduced in Croatia, and recently in FYR Macedonia and Yugoslavia, but the situation is still serious, and more needs to be done. One project intended to encourage the sustainable use of mushrooms is the “Information Network for Diversity and Protection of Fungi in South Eastern Europe,” which was funded through the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe and undertaken during 2000-2001, via the cooperative efforts of mycological societies in Montenegro, FYR Macedonia and Croatia. As part of this project, a Regional Mycological Centre has been established in Montenegro, to coordinate the information network for diversity and protection of fungi in SEE. Legislation in the works The expert data collected through this work has helped lay the foundations for proposed statutes “on redemption of selfsown fungi and protection of endangered species” in both Montenegro and FYR Macedonia. These statutes are expected to be adopted soon in both countries, and Croatia already has such a statute. The "Information Network" project has sought to popularise mycology in the SEE region through lectures, photo exhibitions in Podgorica, Zagreb and Herceg Novi and the publication of a poster and a book devoted to the problem of endangered mushroom species and their protection. The project also involved an international symposium entitled "Endangeredness and Protection of Macromycetes in South Eastern Europe," which was the first meeting of its kind to involve NGOs from the region.

Photo: Branislav Peric GOBBLED UP BY WORLD DEMAND: Some of the unusual, and insufficiently protected, varieties of mushroom in the region are: gomphus clavatus, left, boletus rhodoxanthus, top, and lycoperdon mammiforme, immediately above.