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Albania
The Constructed Wetlands project realized in the village of Narta (Vlore Region), will be replicated in the area surrounding the lake of Prespa, in collaboration with the CRIC NGO ...more

The ARPAT mission (12/18 December 2007) was carried out in the framework of the IDEASS activities for the promotion of “Constructed Wetlands” in Albania, in collaboration with GEF/UNDP (Global Environmental Fund), AULEDA (Local Economic Development Agency), the Albanian Ministry of Environment as well as Local Authorities of Narta village.

The ARPAT expert realized the mission in order to support the project final phase management. Therefore, he met with regional and local authorities, induced training activities with students of Environmental Engineering from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Tirana University. He also gave a direct technical assistance to the engineer and other personnel from the specialized enterprise which is carrying out the works, giving continuity to the innovation know-how transfer in its critical and final phase, counting on UNDP ART GOLD/IDEASS coordination, through which the activities carried on were supervised and local personnel involved in the Project was coordinated.

The primary school of the Albanian village of Narta, where the Constructed Wetland system will be implemented in the framework of IDEASS and the ART GOLD Programme, will constitute the first Eco-logical School in the Country. The UNDP GEF Small Grants Program officialised its economical participation to the project, for an amount of 47,564 US Dollars. Contacts are ongoing with the Italian Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, which is interested in joining the project’s donors in the framework of the ART GOLD Programme.
A new mission of the ARPAT experts, Beatrice Pucci and Marco Gardenti, took place from 18 to 25 February 2007, in order to define the executive project. In this contest, according with the school director, the Narta’s authorities and the donors, it was decided that the system implementation will be accompanied by other ecological initiatives, in order to create a sustainable development model for other institutions and a didactical centre for environmental education... more

The Albanian Office of UNDP – GEF/SGP (Global Environment Facility – Small Grants Programme) will provide financial support for implementing a natural depuration system at a school in the Narta Village. The Constructed Wetlands pilot-project was designed in collaboration with the UNDP MedWetCoast Programme (Conservation of Wetland and Coastal Ecosystem in Mediterranean Region) that operates to improve the environmental conditions of the Narta Lagoon area, and with the Albanian Ministry of Environment which will provide assistance for the educational and environmental awareness activities. Technical assistance for the project implementation will be provided by the ARPAT (Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Tuscany).
The project will be carried out in collaboration with national authorities, the administrations of the municipalities that surround the Narta Lagoon and the Vlorë Local Economic Development Agency. The project will be accompanied by initiatives aiming at the improvement of the environmental condition of the area. The construction of the wetlands system will start next autumn after the conclusion of the fundraising activity, at the moment in process.
For more information about “Constructed Wetlands” please visit:
www.ideassonline.org/pic/doc/report arpat in albania.pdf

The mission to Albania of the ARPAT experts was carried out from 12th to 19th February 2006, in collaboration with the GEF/UNDP MedWetCoast Project (Conservation of Wetland and Coastal Ecosystem in Mediterranean Region). During the mission, the experts provided technical assistance to the Albanian actors to identify the characteristics of a water natural purification pilot system in the Vlore region. The project will be implemented in collaboration with national authorities, the administrations of the municipalities that surround the Narta Lagoon and with the Vlore Local Economy Development Agency; besides, it will be accompanied by initiative aimed at the improvement of environmental condition of the area.

The mission to Albania of two experts from ARPAT (Regional Agency for the Environmental Protection of Tuscany) will be carried out from 12th to 19th February 2006, in order to provide the competent Albanian actors with technical assistance and to identify, design and realize a pilot system for the natural depuration of waters in the Narta Lagoon (Vlore Region). The mission will be realized in collaboration with the UNDP/GEF “MedWetCoast” project (Conservation of Wetland and Coastal Ecosystem in the Mediterranean Region), that has long been carrying out studies and activities to improve the environment of the Narta Lagoon. During the mission, the ARPAT experts will meet, among others, high representatives of the Albanian Ministries of the Environment and the Agriculture, the Vlora Region President, the representatives of the Municipalities surrounding the Lagoon and the representatives of the civil society. The Regional Economical Development Agency AULEDA will participate in the design and management of the Constructed Wetland pilot-project and has manifested a strong interest in implementing projects for local development, like fishery and sustainable tourism. During the mission a scientific committee for the project supervision will be established, with the collaboration of scientific institutions and technical local counterparts. A National meeting in Tirana and a press-conference for the presentation of the Constructed Wetland innovation and its implementation in Albania will end the mission works.

On 12th December 2005, a letter of interest was sent to the IDEASS International Secretariat by the Albanian Municipalities surrounding the Narta Lagoon – north-west of the city of Vlore (Vlore Region) – to express their interest in the implementation of the Constructed Wetlands method aimed at improving the environmental condition of the Lagoon.