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| PRESS RELEASE Albania, Montenegro jointly protect lake Lake Skadar receives transboundary
protection |
| (Szentendre / Podgorica /
Tirana, December 13, 2005 - Press R. No.04E-2005) The newly proclaimed protected area in Albania includes freshwater habitats, shores and adjacent areas around the Buna River and the Viluni lagoon. The category of protection used is “managed nature reserve and protected landscape.” The Albanian government proposed the new protected area to be declared a wetland of global conservation importance and included in the list of Ramsar sites. The proclamation of the lake as a cross-border protected area was one of the very first tasks undertaken by the Albanian Ministry of Environment once contacts and communication between the countries were established, said Mira Mileva, who manages Skadar Lake projects at the REC. “It is inspiring to see joint conservation efforts by two countries that were isolated for decades,” Mileva commented. REC projects at Lake Skadar made the first contacts between the two countries possible, Mileva added. In a special statement on December 3, REC Executive Director Marta Szigeti Bonifert congratulated the Albanian government, non-governmental organisations, civil society and all donors involved in the process that led to this major step of environmental conservation in South Eastern Europe: the new designation by the Albanian government of a protected area at Skadar Lake. The Regional Environmental Reconstruction Programme for South Eastern Europe (REReP) has managed close to 50 environmental projects, implemented entirely or partly in Albania with the ongoing support of the Albanian government and the local NGO community. As part of REReP and other international initiatives, the REC mobilised the efforts of local and international partners to create a cooperative, regional approach to environmental reconstruction, Bonifert said. She especially thanked the Swiss Agency for International Development for its financial contribution to the REC’s work at Skadar Lake. The Skadar Lake and Buna River system represents one of the most interesting and important natural values in the Balkans, said Mihallaq Qirjo, director of the REC’s country office in Albania. The high level of biodiversity, special landscapes and increased pressure from urbanisation and other human activities necessitated the proclamation, Qirjo explained. “The REC has worked intensively for more than five years to support not only the technicalities towards that decision, but especially on building up a participatory process of community involvement,” said Qirjo. To reach community consensus on the level of protection for Skadar Lake, the REC undertook a wide range of public participation activities with local authorities, fishermen, NGOs and research institutions. “The model of partnership that helped to protect Skadar Lake and the Buna River will serve as a good model for future similar actions in the country and for cross-border cooperation on the management of common natural resources,” said Qirjo. The REC was the first actor in the Shkodra region that involved local authorities and stakeholders in the negotiation process with Albania’s Ministry of Environment regarding status protection, said Djana Bejko, who has worked on the REC’s lake project in Shkodra, Albania. “Our major goal in Albania was to achieve the same status of protection as the Montenegrin side of the lake,” said Bejko. After months of intensive meetings and discussions between stakeholders, the Managed Natural Reserve of Shkodra Lake was established. The Albanian government’s decision will significantly improve the management of the lake, as there will be a professional counterpart for the existing Montenegrin National Park Skadar Lake, said Snezana Dragojevic. Dragojevic has been the coordinator in Montenegro of the REC project Promotion of Networks and Exchanges in SEE Countries - Skadar Lake Site since 2000. “Management authorities from the two countries can now solve bilateral problems together, which will bring more sustainable use of the lake’s resources,” she commented. The newly announced protected area is home to approximately 250 recorded bird species, including the Dalmatian pelican and golden eagle, and 45 fish species. Large mammals like dolphins and bears can be found in terrestrial and coastal protected areas on the Albanian side of the lake, WWF confirmed. The new status will protect freshwater, terrestrial, and delta systems of exceptional value and beauty, according to the IUCN. Lake Skadar is the largest freshwater body in the Mediterranean basin. Its surface area varies between 350 square km in dry summers to up to 542 square km after heavy rainfall. Its surface spreads between Albania (40 percent) and Serbia and Montenegro (60 percent). The lake includes some of the most important bird habitats and migratory areas in South Eastern Europe. The REC is a non-partisan, non-advocacy, not-for-profit
international organisation with a mission to assist in solving environmental
problems in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The REC fulfils this mission
by promoting cooperation among non-governmental organisations, governments,
businesses and other environmental stakeholders, and by supporting the
free exchange of information and public participation in environmental
decision making. The REC was established in 1990 by the United States,
the European Commission and Hungary. For more information, please
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