New Year Workshop For Albanian Local Stakeholders on CAMP Otranto Transboundary Project

CAMP Otranto and the collaboration between countries for the coastal and marine management was the theme of a local workshop hosted by partners in Albania on 26 January 2023.

It was an opportunity for stakeholders and local actors (including prefecture, municipalities, academic institutions, local agencies, civil society) to be updated on progress made so far, as well as tackling relevant topics like the recycling of fishing gear.

Daniel Pirushi, General Director of the National Agency of Protected Areas from the Ministry of Tourism and Environment (AMTE) welcomed partners. Progress updates for Vlora and Puglia regions were given by Rezart Kapedani, the CAMP Otranto National Coordinator for Albania. Tatjana Mëhillaj, the Project Local Coordinator UNDP Albania, recognised the need for the project to: “…follow up some of the activities and results achieved by previous projects related to working with local stakeholders and collecting local data.”

Afternoon technical sessions covered specific topics like ICZM Methodological Guidance with experts discussing the importance of raising awareness and building capacity, as well as sharing the next steps for the project in 2023. Workshop attendee Hajdar Kiçaj, Dean of the Faculty of Technical and Natural Sciences at Vlora University said: “The project activities are interesting since they tackle the issues related to ICZM and MSP that are not so well known at the local level. Also, the capacity building activities are good opportunities for the young students studying in our university.”

It was agreed drawing upon Italy’s experience of ICZM and MSP provided a useful framework for consolidating activity in Albania. Likewise, partners should carry on strengthening cooperation on joint activities, with emphasis on implementing ICZM and MSP at a local level, disseminating reports and collecting data. During the workshop project partners discussed how to best provide support for future events in the Vlora region.

Nexhip Hysolakoj, the Acting Director of the local implementing agency, RAPA Vlora, led technical discussions on the monitoring of environmental parameters for the Karaburun – Sazan MPA. He said: “The project will support us to manage marine waters properly. In this regard, more effort is needed by all stakeholders to help limit the effect of coastal urbanization in these waters.”

Participants agreed to continue collaborating on all future CAMP Otranto project activities and welcomed the opportunity to hear and discuss updates.