Newsletter No. 3, January 2013
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Newsletter no. 3, January 2013 Balkan Green Belt capacity building ........................................................................................... 2 Italian Cooperation Director visits the Buna River ...................................................................... 3 Filming launched: international documentary on IUCN project ................................................... 4 Project achievements – year one ............................................................................................... 4 Data collection: INTERVIEW with Mrs Giuliani and Mr De Sanctis, project experts .................... 6 Shaping the pilot sites’ management plans .............................................................................. 7 Albania adopts sea turtle conservation action plan ................................................................... 8 Challenges for protected areas in Albania .................................................................................. 9 Velipojë Protected Landscape in Video.……………………………………………………………...10 Balkan Green Belt capacity building In October 2012, the IUCN team contributed to a number of capacity building workshops for nature conservation organizations of Montenegro and Kosovo, held in Librazhd and Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park, Albania. The workshops aimed at training young professionals in wildlife and vegetation survey methods, e.g. conduction of structured interviews, principles of camera-traps and foot snares use, but also at familiarizing them with the latest concepts and trends in nature conservation. Organized by EuroNatur (IUCN Member), MES (Macedonian Ecological Society) and PPNEA (Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania, IUCN Member), the workshops contributed to strengthening cooperation between local NGOs along this part of the European Green Belt. IUCN contributed to both theoretical and practical sessions of the workshops, providing young nature conservationists the opportunity to learn from first-hand experience on project activities and research on the ground. Andrea Ghiurghi, IUCN Project Manager, gave a presentation on “IUCN Background, Vision and Activities in Albania”, introducing the “Institutional Support for Protected Areas in Albania” project. The designation of a Management Plan for Shebenik- Jabllanicë National Park was presented as a capacity building opportunity for the Albanian Ministry of Environment. IUCN project’s Local Site Coordinator, Mirjan Topi shared with the trainees the experience of cooperating with the international nature conservation organization such as IUCN, and shared his views on the challenges in sustainable management of protected areas in the region. Finally, the Plant Ecology Unit of the IUCN project conducted a field demonstration on vegetation sampling methods and techniques applied to collect vegetation data in the frame of the project in the Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park. Three more workshops will be held in 2013, involving IUCN experts as trainers. This capacity building programme, “Capacity Building for Nature Conservation Organizations in Montenegro and Kosovo as a Contribution to the Safeguarding of the Green Belt Balkans”, is financially supported by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Prepared by Mirjan TOPI, PPNEA. 2 Cooperation Director visits the Buna River Andrea Senatori, Director of the Italian Cooperation in Albania, visited the Buna River Protected Landscape in October 2012. The elaboration of a management plan for this site is supported by the Italian Government, Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the IUCN project “Institutional Support to Protected Areas in Albania”. The visit of Mr. Senatori started at the Administration of Protected Areas (APA) premises with a meeting with the Velipojë Commune representatives and continues with a walk through the reserve and a meeting in the Dajç Commune. Mr. Senatori visited the APA, which is located next to the Velipojë Reserve, one of the core areas of the Protected Landscape. He met the APA staff during a training on wildlife monitoring given by Project Expert Francesca Pella. While presenting the protected area, Mayor of APA Tonin Macaj noted that “it is very important that Italian Cooperation-IUCN project includes a component on the preparation and initial implementation of the management plan for the Protected Landscape of the Buna River and surrounding wetlands. Such management plan should aim at increasing conservation effectiveness of the protected area sites, as well as boosting their pivotal role in the development of neighbouring communities”. Mr. Ghiurghi IUCN Project Manager added “The project aims at strengthening Albanian institutional capacity to systemically manage protected areas by applying ecosystem-based and participative planning protocols, and the management plan preparation, including the data collection for a proper quantitative analysis of the area, is carried out with the full participation of key institutional, economic and social stakeholders”, added Mr. Ghiurghi, IUCN project manager. Mr. Senatori met with representatives of the Velipojë Commune who thanked the Italian Government for the support provided by the project to clean sections of the Velipoje beach in June 2012. During the visit of the protected site Mr. Senatori expressed his astonishment for the beauty of the surrounding landscape, its rich alluvial forest, coastal wetlands, vast beach and the Buna river mouth. Mentioning the threats to natural ecosystems and biodiversity, Mr. Senatori stressed that often tourism development activities have happened in areas which are too close to the nature reserve and, the Velipojë beach. “Less buildings and more natural areas: this is a challenge for a sustainable future. I hope that our support will help you prevent some of the mistakes we have made on many beach areas in Italy”, said Mr. Senatori. Finally, the delegation met with the Mayor of the Dajç Commune, Arben Gjura, and the Mayor of Ana e Malit Commune, Xhevat Molla. Mr. Senatori recognized the Dajç Commune as a good example of well-functioning local authority working closely with the community and addressing its needs. Both mayors expressed their hope that the support of the Italian government and IUCN to Buna River will continue in the future. Prepared by Genti KROMIDHA, INCA. 3 Filming launched: International documentary on IUCN project IUCN will soon start shooting a video documentary aimed to the Albanian and international public and dercribing the project achievements and challenges. Through an international tendering process, the Italian film production company “Terra Incognita” has been selected to produce the documentary. Fabio Toncelli, film director and Terra Incognita co- founder, started that he is very excited to lead this film production and that he believes that the beauty of the Albanian landscapes will surprise the spectators. ”I would like to show the fascinating challenge of IUCN to support such precious natural areas, and thus contributing to building a brighter future for nature and people”, Mr. Tonceli added. The documentary’s main aim is to raise public awareness of the importance of preserving the natural environment and the need to properly plan and manage the protected areas network. Once completed, the documentary will be broadcast on European and Albanian televisions in nature-focused TV programmes. The documentary shooting will start in February 2013. Prepared by Andrea GHIURGHI, IUCN. Project achievements – year one In October 2012, the IUCN project “Institutional Support to the Albanian Protected Areas” celebrated its first year of activity. The project is successfully progressing and the achievements can be summarized as follows: Phase 1 covered the period between September and December 2011 and saw the recruitment of the project key staff, the setup of the project office in Tirana, and the signature of the agreements with local partners, Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) and Institute of Nature Conservation in Albania (INCA). In-depth stakeholder analysis was completed, enabling the team to identify and describe the roles of key stakeholders and actors involved in the management of the Buna River Protected Landscape and the Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park. 4 Phase 2 took place between January and May 2012 and focused on setting up the operational plan for the analysis of key social, economic and environmental dynamics involved in the management of the Buna River and Shebenik-Jabllanicë protected areas. This analysis focused on the ecosystem structure, function and services, as well as on its interaction with the socio- economic system. It was accomplished through participative workshops held in both protected area where, with the help of local institutions and stakeholders, the main components of the environmental, socio-economic and institutional dimensions were identified. A specific database to store both tabular and geographic data for each area, linked to a Decision Support System (DSS), was created and specific training was delivered to key institutional staff on the use of these informatics tools. Phase 3 started just before the 2012 summer focusing on the field data collection in the two protected areas. The collection and analysis of quantitative data provides experts and decision- makers with the information and knowledge needed to balance conservation needs and economic development objectives. The data collection was done jointly with