Residents of the Prespa village of Ljubojno have declared a "small victory": the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management has informed them that the forest cutting plan in the village area will be revised. This decision follows a months-long road blockade - residents stopped the trucks of concessionaire "Diba Trade" that were scheduled to export over 4,000 cubic meters of oak annually.

The story began with floods. Last August, water in Ljubojno's village center reached knee height - following previous logging in the same forest. Residents connected the dots: fewer trees, less rain absorption, more flooding. The argument is not only ecological - it is practical and lived. The Faculty of Forestry Sciences in Skopje confirmed their position and recommended revision of the existing forest management plan.

The Ministry listened. Not quickly - the blockade lasted 250 days. Nor enthusiastically - there is not a single environmental statement from the ministry. Just a formal directive to PE "National Forests" to initiate the revision process. A final decision to stop logging has not yet been issued.

The victory is "small" precisely for this reason: 250 days of fighting for a revision, not a ban. But for Ljubojno it is a beginning. And for everyone watching - proof that local communities can stop a concession if they organize.