June 02, 2018 - The capital town of Albania, Tirana, hosted the first official meeting “Application of ecosystem approach in the Adriatic Sea through planning the space of the sea area.” This meeting was held from May 28th to 29th under the organization of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism of Albania and the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism of Montenegro. The main words were had by the Center for Regional Action Program for Priority Action (PAP/RAC) of the Mediterranean Action Plan of the United Nations’ Environment Program.
Esef Husic, Executive Director of Organization for Climate Change and Mediterranean Affairs, in his opening remarks, emphasized the importance of cooperation with the Mediterranean Action Plan within the United Nations’ Environment Program, its Regional Priority Center and the Regional Activities for Special Protected Areas. His main point was that mutual work and cooperation of these organizations together led to the creation and implementation of the development, protection and management policy of the coastal and maritime regions of Montenegro. He also noted that the promotion of cross-border cooperation is of high importance because it already contributed a lot. Director of Organization for Climate Change and Mediterranean Affairs, Esef Husic also took the opportunity to recall the significance of the GEF Adriatic project within the introduction of the ecosystem approach to the national monitoring system and harmonizing this approach with the Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Program (IMAP) of Barcelona Convention and its application.
“The GEF Adriatic Project is the most important form of support for efforts in Montenegro on this basis, especially considering that aligning the national policy and legal framework with IMAP, which is compatible with the requirements of the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework, is of great importance for the implementation of the national strategy,” noted Husic.
In the conclusion of his speech, Husic said that Montenegro will continue to contribute to the cross-border framework and that the country will maintain the cooperation through the implementation of sustainable development strategies and integrated coastal management. All this, as he noted, is in favor of fulfilling obligations within the process of accession to the European Union.
Alongside Husic, the participants had an opportunity to hear the words of Jegor Volovik, United Nations Environment Representative in Nairobi, as well as the Zamir Dedaj, Director of the National Agency for Protected Areas of Albania and Lorenzo Galbijati, Manager of GEF Projects at the United Nations Office in Athens, Greece.
GEF Adriatic is a sub-regional project which is going to be implemented in Montenegro and Albania and which is already implemented in the United Nations Environment Program with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in coordination with line ministries in Montenegro and Albania. The primary goal of the project is to restore the ecological balance of the Adriatic Sea through the application of ecosystem approach and marine spatial planning.
