Enhancement of Biodiversity in Drini River Basin through Integrated Watershed Management – BIODRINI

Specific objective(s):
– SO1. Protection and conservation of nature and biodiversity of Drini/Drim River Basin through integrated management of watershed;
– SO2. Promotion of environmental benefits of Drin/Drim River Basin to ensure the sustainability of biodiversity conservation efforts;
– SO3. Improvement of Drini/Drim river basin water quality through the installation of litter traps along water streams in identified sources of pollution.

Target groups:
– Public Institutions namely: The Ministry of Tourism and Environment; Municipalities of Kukes, Tropojë and Has; National Water Resources Agency (AMBU); Water Basin Council, Office of Water Resources Administration for Drin/Drim River Basin, National Agency for Water and Waste, Civil Society Organizations working in the water protection and promotion field, population in Drini/Drim River Basin, the waste management companies; pupils and students in the municipalities part of the project.

Final Beneficiaries:
– Government agencies in charge of water resources management and development
– Residents and farmers

Summary of the planned activities:

WP0 – Project management and coordination
0.1 Kick off meeting
0.2 Project management committee meeting
0.3 Monitoring of project activities

WP1 – Assessment of the current biodiversity situation and threats in the Drini/Drim River Basin and preparation of Integrated Watershed Management Plan focused on conservation of biodiversity

A. 1.1.1.1 Collect current and past documents covering physical, biological and social status of the basin.
A. 1.1.2.1 Conduct a review of the documents collected focusing on strategies, plans, studies on biological and physical environment, socio-economic data etc.
A. 1.1.2.2 Meetings organized with local authorities to collect further and updated socio-economic data
A. 1.1.2.3 Prepare a first assessment of physical, biological, environmental and social characteristics of the area.
A. 1.1.2.4 Define long-term and short-term objectives of the Integrated Watershed Management Plan
A. 1.1.3.1 Undertake legal and institutional gap analysis and draft an assessment report of institutional and legal framework responsible for the management of Drin/Drim River Basin.
A. 1.1.4.1 Organize public consultation meetings in the project areas focusing on the objectives and measures of the Integrated Watershed Management Plan.
A. 1.1.5.1 Define key environmental indicators for the environmental situation of the project area.
A. 1.1.6.1 Consultative workshop on the main findings of the Integrated Watershed Management Plan.
A. 1.1.6.2 Finalize IWMP including the environmental monitoring plan.

WP2 – Application of best practices for sustainable management and development of rehabilitation initiatives through participatory approach
A. 2.1.1.1 Prepare and organize training modules for the local and regional staff;
A. 2.1.1.2 Identify the best position for the construction of litter traps;
A. 2.1.1.3 Installation of litter traps and monitoring camera;
A. 2.1.2.1 Organize informative meetings for raising awareness and participation in the clean-up action event;
A. 2.1.2.2 Undertake the clean-up event in the Drin River banks in partnership with local civil society organizations;
A. 2.1.2.3 Influence the local authorities and recyclers association in building up a public-private partnership for continuous clean-up of the litter traps.

WP3 – Raise public awareness in Drin/Drim River Basin for the need of biodiversity conservation and environmental protection and sharing and replicating lessons learned with other river basin management experiences
A. 3.1.1.1 Choose the students participating for the Summer and Winter School “Natural values of Drin/Drim River Basin” through an open process
A. 3.1.1.2 Prepare training modules for the summer and winter school
A. 3.1.2.1 Organize the national closing conference; Organize Drini/Drim River Day 5 May (official Drin/Drim Day)
A. 3.1.3.1 Undertake the summer and winter school at facilities provided through local communities and local authorities

WP4- Communication and Media
A. 4.1.1.1 Publish the Integrated Watershed Management Plan together with the environmental monitoring plan
A. 4.1.1.2 Design and production of the visual identity and promotional materials
A. 4.1.1.3 Development of the communication strategy
A. 4.1.2.1 Set up a web page for the project activities, use blogs and share online the project newsletter
A. 4.1.2.2 A promotional video for the project activities
A. 4.1.3.1 Local TV, official websites and social media promotion: Facebook, instagram, of the project
A. 4.1.3.2 Project best practice booklet