Natural Resources Development Project

closed

The Natural Resources Development Project objective is to establish and maintain sustainable, community-based natural resource management in about 218 communes in upland, and mountainous erosion-prone lands. This will lead to enhanced productivity and incomes, derived from sustainable resource management, reduced soil degradation, improved water management, conservation of biodiversity, and strengthened public sector management of these resources. To achieve this, three project components will address the following. The first component will strengthen participatory communal forest and pasture management in communes that were supported under the Albania Forestry Project (AFP), introduce participatory communal forest, and pasture management in additional communes that were not supported under the AFP, and, implement capacity-building measures, and priority actions to improve the governance of forest and pasture resources. Based on successful Bank experiences in other countries, the second component will pilot in 30 communes, an integrated and multi-sectoral approach to planning, and management of natural resources at the level of micro-catchments (MCs) in three of Albania's seven watersheds. This will include the integration of forest, and pasture management with crop and livestock production, as well as soil and water conservation, in a mutually reinforcing manner. This component will also build the capacity of Government, Drainage Boards and commune staff, at district, regional and national levels in the context of MC management. Finally, it will inform ongoing legal developments regarding land administration and tenure. The third component will support project management and monitoring.