The second session of the Mediterranean Biodiversity Consortium (MBC) training programme took place during the first week of December in the Albanian pilot site. This three-day session, held from 2...
Read moreSurface area:
22,230 ha
Key features
The Karavasta wetland is the largest in Albania, located on the Adriatic coast. It acts as a buffer zone between the sea and the coastal plain, where most economic activities (notably agriculture) take place;
The park includes a mosaic of natural habitats that host several animal species, including aquatic molluscs, insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Divjaka-Karavasta National Park is best known for its birdlife. It is a major site for migratory birds along the southern Balkan corridor. The site hosts around 260 bird species, including more than 85 species listed in Annex I of the EU Birds Directive. Most notably, it is home to Albania’s only breeding colony of the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), with around 85 breeding pairs.
Main threats and pressures
- Urban, agricultural and tourism development.
- Coastal erosion (unregulated tourism) and effects of climate change (drought, forest fires, salinization of lagoon waters).
- Water and soil pollution (contaminants and agricultural and urban effluents).
- Exploitation of resources (deforestation, intensive fishing activities, pumping of groundwater for agricultural irrigation).
- Land conversion for solar farms and greenhouse crops.
- Invasive alien species (i.e. blue crab).
About the project
Objectives
Priority areas
Multi-ecosystem approach
Expected impacts
Objectives
The RESCOM project aims to improve the ecological status of the Park’s emblematic ecosystems (lagoon, forest, and dune) through strengthened knowledge and the participatory planning of restoration and protection measures, while also helping to reduce the impact of certain pressures, particularly tourism.
Priority areas
- Update knowledge of the conservation status and hydrological functioning of the Karavasta lagoon, in order to identify appropriate measures to restore its ecological balance;
- Strengthen protection of the coastal zone through improved knowledge of dune habitats and planning of uses to limit pressure from tourism;
- Restore degraded forests on certain public land plots in the hills surrounding the Park, which are exposed to erosion risk.
- Restore nesting habitats for emblematic waterbird species of the Park (Dalmatian pelicans and terns).
- Support activities to mobilize and engage local stakeholders within the National Park Management Committee, led by the management team.
Multi-ecosystem approach
Activities at the site target several of the protected area’s key ecosystems, mobilizing the combined expertise of Tour du Valat and the Conservatoire du Littoral, who work closely with the management team and other local experts to identify appropriate management measures and solutions to restore the site’s natural habitats through a more integrated approach.
Expected impacts
- Preservation of functional ecosystems in good ecological condition and restoration of degraded ecosystems.
- Limitation of coastal erosion along the shoreline, enabling the reconciliation of income-generating recreational tourism activities for the area with the preservation of the dune ecosystem.
- Reducing the harmful effects of water pollution on human and animal health.
News
Identification of RESCOM project activities in Albania
As part of the RESCOM project, a team from the Tour du Valat was in Albania in November 2023 to meet the national, local and international players involved in the...
Read moreAntonela Çobanaj, from NAPA Albania, the site’s management authority, highlights:
- the main human-induced pressures threatening the park’s ecosystems, which provide essential services and resources to local populations.
- the priority actions of the RESCOM project, identified with NAPA and local partners, to address these pressures. These include an ecological assessment of the lagoon complex to better understand its functioning and propose appropriate solutions to the problems of increasing salinization and water quality degradation, as well as the restoration of various natural habitats to support both biodiversity and long-term human activities (fishing, tourism).
Antonela Çobanaj
National Agency of Protected Areas of Albania (NAPA)