Albania
Preserving A Beauty Called
Biodiversity
Velipoja - It takes a short walk from the
famous Velipoja beach in Shkodra town on
the Adriatic coast to put behind the stresses of
modern life, and the beach attractions themselves.
The walk takes you to the Buna River Delta
Reservation, a marshy confluence of the 44 km
waterway that flows from Shkodra Lake into the
Adriatic. The silence of the cool forest is broken
only by twittering birds and the whispers of rare
visitors heading for bird watching towers or
exploring the banks of the Buna. The bird watchers
will see loggerhead turtles, pygmy cormorants,
Adriatic pelicans and rare Levant sparrow
hawks, among many others. Parts of this large
nature reserve are home also to boar, foxes and
jackals.
Forty-five years of isolation
This reservation is one of several in Albania.
Forty-five years of isolation under communist
rule did mean some protection to wildlife and
biodiversity. Post-communist development over
the last 17 years has brought new challenges, and
the reserves are now a vital preservation move.
"
We have seen the pollution costs of development,"
Xhemail Mato, head of the Association for
Environmental Protection told IPS. "This country
was dubbed the first in Europe for its biodiversity
not so long ago. However, things have changed
since 1990. Now, a lot has to be done to preserve
the good nature."
Studies by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations
Environmental Programme (UNEP) show that
Albania suffers from one of the highest rates of
biodiversity loss in Europe. Deforestation, soil
erosion, uncontrolled land use and pollution are
rapidly destroying precious resources. "Some 30
percent of Albania's forests have been destroyed
since 1990," Mato said. "Destruction is faster than
the process of raising awareness among people."
The battle for preserving the richness of biodiversity
and natural resources is now on. Environmentalists
are fighting to raise awareness among
people and the "wild developers" out to exploit
natural resources without concern for consequences.
Albania has ratified most international protocols
on environmental issues, but it lacks the
mechanism to implement them. "Non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) that work to raise
awareness are often viewed as enemies," Mato
said. "However, we did have some important success.
It was the action to prevent adoption of the
law that would allow genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) freely to enter the country. We are
very proud of that."
excellent quality. Neat fields of wheat, maize or
sunflower are spread out in the lowlands of central
and northern Albania. Homegrown quality
vegetables are the pride of the nation. Sheep and
cows can be seen in green fields along the roads
that connect capital Tirana with the central town
Berat and northern town Shkodra. Hens and
ducks can be seen in the backyards of modest farmers'
homes, well fed by home-grown corn.
Last development chance?
" Albania wants to develop tourism, and this is
its last development chance," Mato said. "In
order to achieve that, it counts on its good
nature. We have to develop eco-awareness here
in order to accomplish that goal." Among the
most interesting spots for tourism development
are the five lagoons along the Adriatic and Ionian
coast. They once spread over more than 70,000
hectares. But more than 15,000 hectares were
drained in the 1960s to reclaim fertile soil and to
eradicate malaria. One of them, the Karavasta
Lagoon in the south, is considered of particular
importance. It has been placed under a special
management and protection programme now to
save its unique biodiversity of plants, birds and
animals.
Another two, Narta and Orikumi, are also
under environmentalists' watch. Efforts to halt
illegal sand digging, illegal construction and waste dumping are under way. Tree planting has
started around Orikumi, but Narta is facing problems.
Oil-drilling has begun here, preventing
further environment protection projects.
Despite such setbacks, considerable progress
is afoot across Albania. "All the projects for environment
protection need to have measurable
impact on biodiversity," says Arian Gace, national
coordinator for the Global Environmental
Facility (GEF), an NGO that helps developing
nations fund programmes to protect nature.
" Programmes for biodiversity protection
should also be coupled in time with investment
for the improvement of life of people." Gace is
critical of the funding that came to Albania for
years, driven by romantic views on nature among both international organisations and local NGOs.
" The system needs to be changed," he said.
" Organisations boasted that 'money went for wolves'
or 'money went to pelicans', but no one said
there were no roads to reach the wolves or pelicans.
One has to keep in mind the human dimension
of projects in order to have success."
Albania is not making its efforts alone. It is
cooperating with neighbour Montenegro. The
two share the large Shkodra Lake and Buna delta.
The neighbours are involved in a joint project for
sustainable development through a broader engagement
of people from local fishing villages, and
employment of the young in the tourism industry.
This also means saving the unique biodiversity of
the shared delta.