Flutura Gjana
A little party campaign
Minister Koka has been one the most active minsters during the June electoral campaign. Maybe this explains the low activity published on the official webpage of the Ministry of Environment. So, the minister neglected the job he is payed for by the Albanian taxpayers to support his party candidate for local elections.
He has been part of meetings held with the candidate of “Alliance for European Albania” coalition for Tirana, Kolonje and Gjirokaster Municipalities, where he explicitly expressed his support to candidates.
The Albanian land in extinction
On the National Day against Earth Wilderness the ministry doesn’t report any activity. But environment experts speak on media about their concerns of the risk that threatens the Albanian soil. The land is shrinking because of the erosion activity or soil sliding? And why the Albanian territory is changing?
Many coast areas are disappearing due to marine erosion. Seman coast area has a high visibility of the phenomenon, where years ago the coastline of the beach was tens of meters inside the sea. Today the situation is pitiful since you can identify bunker traces underwater. Once the area was full of trees that you can’t find anymore, and their absence allows the erosion and powerful winds activity to bring the disappearance of the land year after year.
“20 ton per hectare a year, in other cases 100 ton per hectare go into the sea. If in 100 years 1mm of land is created or in 1000 years 1cm, it is a very big damage” – speaks for the media Luan Ahmetaj, environment expert.
These damages are caused by unfavorable climatic conditions, human activity, forest cutting, deforestation, deficiency of soil disposition, lack of drainage system and plant cover. It is easily understandable that part of responsibility lies with residents of these areas, and the other part with the institution that doesn’t fulfill the duties to monitor human activity in order to avoid any illegal interference. Experts declare that urgent projects are needed to lower the risk threatening the Albanian territory, and still the Ministry of Environment isn’t taking any precautions about this.
The Ministry of Environment has published on December 2014 an activity with the following topic: “Harmonization of the national plan of action against wilderness in Albania”, project expected to end in November 2015. This is a project that remains at the policy level rather than concrete actions. But still no actual initiative in order to keep the situation under control firstly, and than trying to improve and bring it at it’s previous state.
A good news: Digital monitoring of water quality in Albanian beaches
On June 9th the digital monitoring of water quality along the entire coastline within 2015 was presented. The National Environment Agency is responsible, and annually it does the monitoring of the coastline water quality. The aim of the study is the assessment and microbiological quality knowledge of the 12 main beaches in Albania. The monitoring was planned in two series. The first one is conducted during 11 – 25 May 2015. The second series began on June 1st and will end on September 30th. The monitoring results of the first series were positive, where a decreasing number of polluted beaches was noticed compared to one year ago. This improvement was shown at the Durres beaches, due to the regulation of the canalization system and it’s driving towards the Urban Water Treatment Implant of Durres.
The monitoring results are available for the public and easily accessible. Everyone has the opportunity to check online (http://134.0.34.146/bregdete.html) the sea quality that they want to frequent. This work of the ministry should be congratulated and we wish they will keep going with this pace in the future.
References:
1- Video: Alarmi për mbrojtjen e tokës https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvnl44CjvOI
2- Artikul: Harmonizimi i planit kombëtar të veprimit kundër shkretëtirëzimit në Shqipëri http://www.mjedisi.gov.al/al/newsroom/lajme/harmonizimi-i-planit-kombetar-te-veprimit-kunder-shkretetirezimit-ne-shqiperi
3- Artikull: Monitorim dixhital i cilësisë së ujërave larës përgjatë gjithë vijës bregdetare http://www.mjedisi.gov.al/al/newsroom/lajme/monitorim-dixhital-i-cilesise-se-ujerave-lares-pergjate-gjithe-vijes-bregdetare&page=1
