Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
7.4 Usage of the Areas of Mountain Villages
The biggest number of mountain villages expands in the west part of the Republic
of Macedonia, to be precise, in the region of Polog and the Southwest region,
which area is around 40% of the total land of mountain villages. A large number
of them are spread along the border area, which in the future collaborative inter-
neighboring endeavor for economic development of the mountain tracts should
be used as a positive developing predisposition and not as idiosyncratic handicap
(Table
7.3
).
In the land structure predominant are the forest areas with 46.6%, which repre-
sent 32.2% of the total forest areas in the country. According to percentile presence
of forest, a part of the areas are used for the needs of forestry. The work force
involved in the woodcutting and transportation is from the local region. A good part
of the population lives on illegal woodcutting, which is characteristic for the whole
mountain area in the Republic of Macedonia. This chosen existential alternative is
certainly not to be supported from a point of view of the suitable development of the
mountain area and forest, but that kind of existence is provoked by the constant bad
policy of economic development of the mountain areas.
Although a few, there are some examples of a location of small productive facil-
ities for primary wood processing (sawmills), as well as for production of wooden
packing.
Pastures are involved with nearly 1/3 of the total pasturelands. The largest areas
of mountainous pasturelands expand over Shar Mountain, Karadjica, Bistra, and
Osogovo Mountains (Milenkovski,
1981
). These mountains have almost 2/3 of
pasturelands below mountainous areas in the country. According to the size of
the pasturelands, next in line are the mountain areas of Pelister, Korab, Stogovo.
Pastureland nutrition of the livestock, considering the effort and measures put in
it (besides being a characteristic of extensive form of stock-breeding), represents
the cheapest way of feeding the livestock. Hence, the pasturelands are respectable
predisposition for development of the stock-breeding. However, parallel with the
Table 7.3
Land structure of mountain villages in the Republic of Macedonia according to
regions (in %)
Region
Area
Arable land
Pasturelands
Forest
Polog
20.6
14.2
23.8
14.6
Southwest
19.8
17.5
18.1
22.2
Pelagonia
15.4
18.3
22.2
12.1
Skopje
6.9
8.0
7.4
7.2
Vardar
8.4
5.1
5.4
11.1
Southeast
6.1
2.7
2.9
9.8
East
12.1
13.2
10.8
13.6
Northeast
10.7
20.9
9.5
9.3
total
100
100
100
100
Source: DGU (
1984
): Macedonia through cadastre evidence, Skopje
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