National report - Albania - United Nations Sustainable Development

33 Pages·2012·0.5 MB·English

by  Gil Cakir

A new path for the sustainable development: a green economy
for Albania
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Tirana, 10 June 2012
Table of Contents
Strategies for an economically viable development
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Author notes
The report was elaborated to support the national preparation process of the
government of Albania to better engage in the outcomes of the United National
Conference on Sustainable Development, known colloquially as RIO+20. The
preparation of this report and and facilitation of multi-stakeholder processes and
consultations was supported by and UN Department of Economic and Social
Affairs – UNDESA and UNDP.
The steps toward this synthesis report were i) the elaboration of the Stock
Taking report based on the desk review and consultation/interviews with
various stakeholders of various groups ii) presentation of the findings and
broader consultations with various stakeholders at the National Workshop
“Albania towards United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, RIO
+20” iii) elaboration of the final report for Albania to Rio+20 Conference.
During the stocktaking report the legislative framework and strategic
documents approved by the Albanian Government and/or Parliament have been
analysed in the context of sustainable development. Twenty six (26)
stakeholders have been consulted (see Annex I), and have given a precious
contribution with their ideas, opinions, and prospects. The diversity of opinions
of the consulted stakeholders has been reflected in the Report.
The National Workshop “Albania towards United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development, RIO+20” has resulted fruitful, gathering together
seventy five (75) participants from various institutions government and non
government, civil society, academia, media etc. All the comments and
observations addressed in the workshop are reflected in this final report.
I would like to acknowledge the many stakeholders who participated in the
stocktaking and national consultation process. Their contributions are an
integral part of this stocktaking report and an important source of information.
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General considerations on Sustainable Development in Albania
Twenty years after the landmark Rio Earth Summit, Albania has experienced
notable economic growth and reduction in poverty. Access to education,
healthcare and water has also seen improvements and there has been a major
increase in the participation of civil society in policy-making, not least thanks
to improved internet communication. Despite positive developments however,
considerable implementation gaps and challenges remain.
Many environmental challenges remain unsolved and have become more acute.
Greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, especially in the urban areas,
fuelled by intensive construction and growing demand for private mobility.
Furthermore, climate variability and change can further compound and add to
existing environmental problems in Albania.
The contamination of water resources and the marine environment is serious,
especially close to cities and industrial sites, due to insufficient wastewater
collection and treatment, leaking sewers and waste dumps. Such contamination
poses increasingly serious problems.
Soil erosion and the contamination of land pose major concerns. The former
caused mainly by unsustainable forestry, agricultural and pastoral practices,
and the latter mainly by abandoned industrial installations, mining enterprises
and waste dumps. The waste management situation in Albania is at a very low
level and has become a major source of pollution. Many of these environmental
problems are not stand-alone issues, but are mutually related and inter-
dependent. Over the past decades, sustainable development has been
promoted by a number of adopted policy documents. The Environmental Cross-
cutting Strategy has, for example, identified main objectives required to reach
the final goal of having a healthy ecological environment through the
development of sustainable use of natural resources, the prevention of
environmental contamination and degradation and the promotion of
environmental protection in Albania. Since the Rio Conference, progress
towards achieving sustainability has been assessed in various ways, and
different rankings for the sustainability situation in Albania are available.
Data published by the Global Footprint Network in 2010 placed Albania 74th in
the descending list of 154 countries ranked by their ecological footprint.
Albania’s ecological footprint in 2010 was 1,91 global hectares per person
(gha/pers), while the world-average was 2.7 gha/pers (18.0 billion in total).
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From a global perspective, this makes Albania an “ecological debtor country” as
it is 0, 11 gha/pers above the world-average biocapacity of 1.8 gha/person (12
billion in total). At the national level, Albania’s ecological deficit is however
much larger since the country’s biocapacity is calculated to be of 0,87 gha/
person.
According to the 2011 Human Development Index Ranking, which takes into
account the 3 dimensions of long and healthy life, knowledge, and decent
standard of living, Albania has a medium high HDI of 0,739 and ranks 70th out
of 187 countries.
According to another important international environmental accounting index,
the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), which “ranks countries on
performance indicators tracked across policy categories that cover both
environmental public health and ecosystem vitality, and which provide a gauge
at the national government scale of how close countries are to established
environmental policy goals”1, Albania ranks 15th among 132 countries, with
points 65,85/100. The 2012 EPI ranking places Albania in the category of
“strong performers”. The most important evaluation is that of the Trend EPI,
which is the trend rank based on the performance over the last decade.
According to the Trend EPI, Albania has improved by 16 points over the last
decade, ranking 4th among the “strongest performers” of the world. The EPI2
has been launched as a complement to the   Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) and a counterpart to gross domestic product (GDP), which for too
long had been the sole measure of wellbeing.
These rankings show that while progress has been made, many challenges still
exist, in particular to make growth more sustainable. Today, 20 years after the
1992’s Rio Conference, there is “a growing recognition that achieving
sustainability rests almost entirely on getting the economy right”.
Albania considers the working towards a “green economy” as fundamental.
First, it is clear that the green economy does not replace sustainable
1 http://www.epi.yale.edu/
2 http://envirocenter.yale.edu/programs/environmental-performance-management/
environmental-performance-index
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development, but should be considered as a new path to progress toward it,
being instrumental for the reduction of environmental risks and ecological
scarcities, as well as to the improvement of human well being and social equity.
In its simplest expression, a green economy can be thought of as one which is
low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive. In a green economy,
growth in income and employment should be driven by public and private
investments which reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and
resource efficiency, and prevent the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Along the same line, it should also be clear that, in the medium to long run, an
effective green economy strategy will be a powerful drive for delivering growth,
increasing employment and eradicating poverty. Transitional difficulties must
be adequately addressed, but should not be seen as an obstacle to fundamental
changes. UNEP have provided a set of important concepts which may guide the
transition to a green economy.
Albania has experienced a high rate of economical growth over the last 20
years, and is generally considered to be a medium-high human development
country still expected to grow rapidly. It is the general opinion of the
stakeholders interviewed that this economic growth is unlikely to be achieved
through the preservation of the economic models of the last century. Moving
towards a fairer, equitable and responsible economy has the potential to
achieve sustainable development at a new scale and speed.
The full involvement of the private sector is of fundamental importance in this
process. The structural changes and scale of financing required for the
transition to a green economy cannot be achieved without the participation and
active contribution of the business community and individuals. This involves
the establishment of the right regulatory framework, creating strong incentives
for markets and innovation, leveraging financial resources, and promoting
entrepreneurship and greater public private partnership. It also involves the
adoption of efficient financing mechanisms to enable and support
environment-related investments in the country. There is global consensus on
the fact that the transition to this form of green economy requires significant
up-front investment in renewable energy production, energy efficiency, efficient
use of natural resources and innovative technologies. Here too, we do not need
to start from scratch, as there are already promising signs of increasing private
investments in green technologies.
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In order to ensure Albania aims at this path towards a green economy, it is the
task of Government to define regulatory frameworks that support private sector
commitments to green investments, and provide a good basis for development
that aims to be economically viable, socially acceptable and
environmentally rational. Progress since 1992 has been visible and significant,
but much more remains to be done. The analysis of Albania’s progress after the
Conference of Rio de Janeiro (1992) can be seen from two angles:
1. The institutional framework for sustainable development in Albania
2. The progress toward a “green economy” in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication
The institutional framework for sustainable development in
Albania
The concept of sustainable development is included in the Constitution of the
Republic of Albania, which has a specific article on the subject. The article
states that “the State …aims d) a healthy environment and ecologically
sustainable environment for the today and future generations, h) a rational use
of the forests, waters, pastures, and of the other natural resources on the base
of the sustainable development” (Albanian Constitution, Chapter V, Article 59).
Laws integrating principles of Sustainable Development
Albania has adopted a good Legislative Corpus on Environment and Sustainable
Development. As integration into the European Union is the main strategic and
political objective of the country, national legislation has been developed in line
with the acquis communautaire. This framework is very important to ensure
that new laws in Albania are compatible with the principles of sustainable
development.
All the new laws approved in Albania, especially the last years, are the result of
the direct transposition of the respective EU Directives. The main Albanian laws
in the field of environment are as follows:
• The first national Environmental Law “Law on Environmental Protection” was
approved right after 1992 Rio Conference. For almost 10 years, this was the
only law on environment until a new “Law on Environmental Protection” was
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approved in 2002. The main EU Environmental Directives were fully
transposed by the new “Law on Environmental Protection” in 2011.
• An important law on the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was approved
in 2003. The law filled serious gaps in the field of the environmental permits,
which had previously experienced significant problems. The “Law on EIA” has
been very important for regulating the role of all the stakeholders on this
field. A new “Law on EIA” was approved in 2011, partially transposing the EU
Directives in this field. A very important law – the “Law on SEA” – is currently
undergoing public consultations and is expected to be approved during
2012.
• The Albanian “Law on Protected Areas” was approved in 2003. It regulates the
process of the protection of the already existing Protected Areas, and of
defining new ones. The objective of Albania, in line with that of the EU, is to
have 20% of its territory as Protected Areas. Several NGOs in Albania are
however pessimistic about the capacities of the Albanian Institutions to
implement the Law on Protected Areas, given the problematic situation in
some areas of several National Natural Parks.
• A new “Law on Biodiversity Conservation” was approved in 2006. The Law on
Biodiversity Protection established the legal basis for the conservation and
sustainable use of biodiversity and for achieving targets, of the Convention
on Biological Diversity. The law is based on the objectives of the Convention
on Biological Diversity and other biodiversity-related conventions to which
Albania is a Party, as well on related EU directives (e.g. Habitat and Wild Bird
Directive). The law identifies the instruments for biodiversity planning
(Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, biodiversity inventorying and
monitoring network, emergency plans and transboundary impact
assessments), as well as three protection categories: protected, specially
protected and degraded ecosystems, habitats and landscapes.
• The new “Law on Environmental Permitting” was approved in 2011. This Law
aims at “the prevention and control of pollution arising from certain
categories of activities in order to achieve a high level of protection for the
environment as a whole and for human health and for improving the quality
of life”. This Law establishes “measures for permitting the operation of
certain groups of polluting activities, measures designed to prevent or, where
that is not practicable, to reduce emissions to the air, water and land from
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such activities, including measures concerning waste, in the Republic of
Albania.”.
• The new “Law on Integrated Waste Management” of 2011 transposes the
Framework Directive of EU for the Wastes. The purpose of this law is “to
protect human health and the environment by preventing or reducing the
negative impacts from waste generation and from the management of waste
and by reducing the overall impacts of the use of resources and by improving
the efficiency of such use, and to ensure the environmentally sound
management of waste”. Some NGOs contest the article of the Law that allows
the importation of the “waste originated materials” according to the so-called
“Green List Waste”. The “Green List Waste” is considered to be every non-
hazardous waste which can be imported under a lower level of control to EU/
OECD countries and some non-OECD countries for recycling.
• In 2006 a new “Law on Concessions” was approved, focused mostly on
Renewable Energy concessions (small hydro power wind energy, etc). It aims
also at facilitating the development of the Renewable Energies especially by
involving private initiative.
• In 2009 a new “Law on Land Use Planning” was approved. It aims at ensuring
the rational and sustainable use of land and natural resources.
Development of the environmental Institutions
• The first environmental institution was created in Albania in 1993 under the
name of the Committee for Environment Protection. The institution had an
advisory status for the Government. In 2001, the new Ministry of Environment
was created. Four years later in 2005, the Ministry of the Environment also
integrated the Forestry and the Water Administration. The mission of the
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Water Administration (MoEFWA) is to
draft and propose policies, strategies and action plans for the protection and
administration of the environment, forests, waters and fisheries in order to
achieve sustainable development, and to improve the quality of life and
enable the country to join the European Union.  The accomplishment of this
mission is carried out through participation, initiation and coordination of the
activities that lead to long-term developments and well being by protecting
nature and raising public awareness. The MoEFWA’s main tasks include the
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