Sustainable Economic Activities in Marine Protected Areas (SEA - Med) – Albania
The kick-of meeting of the project "Sustainable Economic Activities in Marine Protected Areas (SEA - Med) - Albania" was organised on October 8, 2013, at the New York Hotel in Vlora. The aim of the meeting was to present the objectives, activities and partners of the project.
The project is implemented by the Institute for Nature Conservation in Albania (INCA), a non for profit organization that operates throughout the country, in collaboration with the WWF office for the Mediterranean World Wild Life (WWF MedPO) and funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. It is part of a regional initiative which is running in eight marine protected areas of Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, Croatia, Algeria and Albania.
The project aims to support the development of tourism in the Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park Area, the only Marine Protected Area in the country, by propmoting environmentally friendly activities their further development and their certification standards. The project will be implemented in close cooperation with the local partners, such as the Park Area Administration, Municipality of Oricum, University of Vlora, other non-governmental organizations, etc.
The preparation of the management plan for tourism in the Marine Park Area will be the main activity of the project and it will also provide training and support studies for national experts, organise visits to similar places and participation in the Mediterranean regional activities among other countries, promoting and strengthening the role of Karaburun-Sazan Marine Park. This project represents a modest effort by INCA\'s in the environmental protection of the country’s marine areas aiming not only to increase the surface of the protected areas in the country but also giving examples of good management and benefits to their local communities. Today marine tourism is a major part of tourism development in the Mediterranean area.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Environment, Municipality of Oricum, local government officials, national experts, professors and students of the University of Vlora, representatives of civil society organizations, etc.
