EIA Procedures - IMPLEMENTED PRACTICES

Kruja - From media co-operation throughout the project implementation, it is evidenced that the Media is interested in the process of EIA and SEA in Albania, especially for the impacts that different projects have on the environment both in nature and in socio-economic terms. Based on their expression of engagement in concrete cases presented through findings and observations of CSOs that have participated in various public consultations or in monitoring steps of the EIA process since the publication of the study until the decision-making at the National Environment Agency, INCA, EDEN and Milieukontakt organizations provided information to the media representatives on their studies for monitoring the EIA process and invited them to visit the Kruja region on 19.11.2018 to see the identifiedimpacts in the EIA studies and also follow the monitoring process in the mitigation measures proposed in these studies during the implementation of the project. A positive example was presented during this visit to the media, where the process was carried out in accordance with legal requirements and implementation of requirements for rehabilitation and mitigation of adverse environmental impacts and a negative example of non-implementation of the process of correct identification of associated environmental impacts and incorrectproposals mitigation measures to minimize the negative impacts of project implementation on the environment.

The selected area as a negative example for this field visit to the media is an area recently announced by DCM No.468 dated 26.07.2018 "On declaring the natural ecosystem Kraste -Verjon Protected Landscape" giving more value its nature, which had a constant problem with the quarry activity that has been allowed to use the stones by demolishing the part of the forest that this area has as wealth and changing the landscape it offers. Occasionally inspections have been made on the use of this area, but the investor has not respected the requirements given in the environmental permit and moreover no mitigation measures have been proposed for the use of inert materials given in the assessment study environmental impact on the environmental impacts that the project would have.

The selected area as a positive example is that of Priska, where the quarries project has correctly applied the mitigation measures proposed in the environmental impact assessment study based on the specific nature of the area and its adaptation closer to the previous natural conditions.

This activity will serve for even closer links of the media with civil society organizations to introduce as much transparency and information as to how the procedures that the legal framework has attached to the process of preparation and implementation of assessment studies of environmental impact and mitigation measures proposed in these studies to minimize the adverse impacts of the various projects on the environment in favor of sustainable economic development in harmony with the use of natural resources.

The project is funded by the European Union through the EU Civil Society and Media facilitation program 2014-2015 - Support to the thematic regional networks of Civil Society Organizations.