Speech by H.E. Fatmir Mediu, Minister of Environment of Albania

Transcription

1 Speech by H.E. Fatmir Mediu, Minister of Environment of Albania Honourable EU Ambasador E. Sequi. Honourable Ambasador of Italy, Mr. Gaiani, Honourable Mr. Gros, Honourable Mr. Hošek; Allow me on behalf of the albanian government to warmly greet you and wish you success on the proceedings of this Regional IUCN Conference. The role and experience of IUCN in Albania and in the region is extensive and its contribution is evident in the field of biodiversity and nature conservation. Albania has made significant progress in recent years in terms of environmental legislation in general especially in biodiversity and nature protection. Albania is one of the few countries in the region that has a dedicated Law on biodiversity protection and this for the sole reason that Albania is a country very rich on biodiversity and its protection constitutes a national priority.

2 Protecting nature is an obligation not only of the Government, but of the entire society as it is related to future generations to ensure a nature and biodiversity heritage for them. The increase of inland and marine Protected Areas has been another priority of Albanian Government policies in recent years. The target of this objective identified in 2005, was to double the Protected Areas coverage. Actually Albania has 17 % of its territory designated as Protected Areas compared to 6 % in This places Albania amongst the first countries in the region in terms of Protected Areas territories being designated. Even though we have a significant progress in terms of increasing the coverage I am fully convinced that we have a lot to do for the management of protected areas. Albania has continously had an excellent cooperation with a number of EU countries, who have supported us with funding of various projects in the field of nature conservation. Among them I want to mention and to appreciate in particular the Government of the Republic of Germany, which is currently present in Albania with four projects focused in the field of natural resources and biodiversity, as follows: 1. The project on biodiversity protection of three crossborder lakes ( Prespa, Ohri and Shkodra), 2. The project on protection of mountainous biodiversity and sustainable development in the Alpas region of Albania;

3 3. The project on the designation of Prespa areas as Biosphere Reserve. Italian Government has also given e valuable assistance. Actually the project on strengthening of Protected Areas in Albania, being implemented by IUCN with 2 million Euros. The italian Government has provided support in the same time for Albania in other areas related to the implementation of the Kyoto protocol and promotion of renewable energy as well as energy efficiency. Swedish Government is another appreciated donor that has given numerous contributions espscially in the area of forestry and their sustainable management. EU is obviously a crucial partner in the area of nature and biodiversity protection. Actually moefwa is being assisted for the preparation of management Plans for 10 protected areas. This will have a positive impact on the proper management and sustainable developmet of these protected areas. Last but not least, GEF is a strategic partner for Albania. GEF is present by financing or co-financing several projects that are implemented currently in the country by UNDP or World Bank. I believe the support our countries are receiving is important, however I have to underline the cross-border and regional

4 cooperation as of utmost importance in undertaking initiatives of mutual inetrest. The Balkans Region is one of the regions classified as a biodiversity hot-spot in the world. This wealth that nature has given us we must sustainably manage by cooperating, and being oriented on national, regional and bilateral priorities. Albania is part of many cross-border cooperations in the framework of many programmes, but I would like to emphasize IPA cross-border ones. An excellent example of this is the trilateral collaboration on Prespa park between Albania, Greec and FYROM. In the same time cooperation with Montegero on several topics, especially on the implementation of the Shkodra lake project, was a very good experince that should continue further. Albania and Kosovo have a range of options for cooperation, as part of EU funded programmes, but also by other potential donors. Programmes in the field of nature conservation and biodiversity protection are and will be undoubtedly priorities of this collaboration. Appreciating the IUCN initiative on the organization of this regional meeting, I believe we should use this opportunity to jointly decide to have a clear long term cooperation between

5 the countries and IUCN and other donors for the preparation and implementation of projects in the future. The designation of trans-boundary protected areas is of great interest for Albania, as this way we can address and harmonize our common priorities. The promotion of sustainable use of natural resources, combined with tradition and culture of our countries, is another potential field of cooperation. I believe the support for sustainable management of protected areas, is a requirement for other countries in the regions as well. Therefore the orientation of projects and cooperation in this area would help our countries to increase their managing capacities. Sustainable use of natural resources and integration of concepts related to ecosystem services and the equitable share of benefits by supporting communities that live in these areas, should be a priority of our future cooperation. I hope this conference will come up with proposals for a clear identification of priorities and our cooperation in the future. Thank you very much and I wish you have a successful conference,