On 9 and 10 June 2026, the Tour du Valat and the Conservatoire du littoral, both members of the Mediterranean Biodiversity Consortium (CMB), carried out a monitoring mission in the Divjaka-Karavasta National Park (DKNP) in Albania as part of the RESCOM project.
Focusing on dune ecosystems – which remain little studied and are often underestimated in Albania despite their significant ecological value – this mission brought together teams from RAPA-Fier (the site’s managers) and the NGO PPNEA, in charge of the ecological assessment, as well as several local stakeholders.
The site visits provided an opportunity to share early assessment results, which confirm the site’s ecological importance, notably with the identification of a breeding area for the Little Tern requiring special attention. Discussions also highlighted the main pressures on the dunes, in particular uncontrolled vehicle and visitor traffic.
A consultation workshop then brought together technical partners, the municipality of Divjakë, representatives of fishermen and of tourism operators to identify solutions fitting the local context. Among the options under consideration are the regulation of access routes, the development of parking areas, the protection of the most sensitive areas and the shifting of tourism activities towards more environmentally friendly practices.
This initiative reflects a shared commitment to reconciling the conservation of natural habitats, landscape quality and local development. The partners will continue their work over the coming months to finalise the ecological assessment and define a pilot project that could be implemented from 2027.
The mission also provided an opportunity to visit the reforestation works supported by RESCOM across two hectares in the surrounding hills, carried out by the NGO Iliria, as well as the restoration activities on the Crested Pelican’s nesting island in the Karavasta lagoon – the species’ only breeding site in Albania – led by the NGO AOS.
Alongside this, on 17 June, AOS organised and facilitated an online technical workshop bringing together several international experts to discuss the findings of the ongoing feasibility study into the long-term conservation and restoration of the islet, in light of climate change, and its increased risks of erosion and flooding. The discussions helped to inform the study and guide future conservation efforts.