As part of the RESCOM project [1], a team from the Tour du Valat was in Albania in November 2023 to meet the national, local and international players involved in the management and monitoring of the Divjaka-Karavasta National Park. The aim of the mission was to identify the priority ecological restoration actions to be carried out, as a continuation of the activities already undertaken by the various partners.
In particular, the team members held discussions with the regional administration of RAPA Fier (Regional agency for protected areas), the municipality of Divjaka, local civil society organisations (AOS, PPNEA, INCA, Birds of Albania) and the main donors operating in the area.
The Divjaka-Karavasta National Park in Albania is a RAMSAR site and an important wintering and breeding area for more than 200 species of birds, including the emblematic Dalmatian pelican. It is one of six pilot sites to benefit from the RESCOM project, supported by the FFEM [2] and the MAVA Foundation [3] over a 4-year period and run by the Mediterranean Biodiversity Consortium, which aims to implement nature-based solutions in the Mediterranean.
The Park, which includes the country’s largest coastal lagoon and a diversity of remarkable habitats, is subject to numerous natural and man-made pressures.