The Agency for Financial Support in Agriculture and Rural Development and the public institution Pelister National Park have signed a contract on providing and using state funds for the protection, management and sustainable development of the park. It was signed by the Agency's director, Daniela Irotova Lazareva, and the park's director, Ivancho Toshevski.

The list of purposes is long. The money will go towards protecting natural assets and biodiversity, monitoring species and habitats, preventing and fighting wildfires, maintaining green infrastructure, building trails and access facilities, environmental education, developing eco-tourism, buying equipment and repairing facilities foreseen in the park's plans. The funds, the release stresses, will be used "exclusively" for these purposes.

What the press release doesn't say is - how much. No amount, no timeline, no priority among the ten purposes. For Macedonia's oldest national park, declared back in 1948, that is no small question: is this money that will mean new firefighting crews and proper trails, or a sum that will barely cover the equipment?

Pelister is a treasure that Pelagonia has in front of its eyes every single day. That is exactly why the public has a right to know how much the state is really spending to protect it.