III. THE STATUS OF BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION IN ALBANIA
III.1 LEGISLATION
Although the basic law on environment has existed since 1967, the development of a modern legal system for environmental protection based on democratic principles began only in 1991. This legal system needs to be further developed and refined in the future. There are also a number of laws, which have been approved since 1991, and represent an important advancement in the legislative area.
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Laws on the Land and its Distribution (no. 7491 and no. 7501, 1991) |
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Law on the Forests and the Forest Service Police (no. 7623, 1992) |
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Law on Environmental Protection (no. 7664, 1993) |
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Law on City Planning (no. 7693, 1993) |
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Law on Plant Protection Service (no.7662, 1993) |
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Law on Protection of Medicinal and Taniferous Plants (no. 7722, 1993) |
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Law on Development of Areas with Tourism Priority (no. 7665, 1993) |
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Law on Hunting and Wildlife Protection (no. 7875, 1994) |
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Law on Fishing and Aquaculture (no.7908, 1995) |
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Law on Pastures and Meadows (no.7917, 1995) |
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Law on Protection of Fruit Trees (no. 7929, 1995) |
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Law on Water Resources (no. 8093, 1996) |
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Law on Construction, Administration, Maintenance, and Operation of Water and Drainage Systems. (no. 7846, 1994) |
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Law on Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Regulation(no. 8102, 1996) |
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Law on Waste's Public Removal (no. 8094, 1996) |
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Mining Law of Albania (no.7796, 1994) |
With all the efforts made towards the improvement of the environmental legal system, there are still gaps, especially in the aspects of nature protection, and biological and landscape diversity. In addition, the existing legal system is also unclear in some cases due to overlapping responsibilities and sometimes-contradictory language. Some of the reasons for this are: the short time available for preparing the laws, inefficient approval procedures, and the relative lack of attention afforded to environmental problems in Albania. This situation has created confusion with respect to establishing the proper competencies and responsibilities, and, as a consequence, implementation of the law has been weak.
The Constitution of the Republic of Albania approved in 1998 provides for further improvement and completion of the legal and institutional framework in the sphere of nature and biodiversity protection. Although progress has been made, the reality is that the impacts on environment have been exacerbated by poor implementation and ignorance of the law, moreso than because of gaps in the laws.
The National Environmental Agency (NEA) is defined as the responsible authority for implementation of the law in Albania. In 1998, a governmental decision transformed the CEP (Commitee of Environmental Protection) into the NEA by positioning it directly under the authority of the Council of Ministers instead of the Ministry of Health and Environmental Protection. This act was an important and progressive step for strengthening and enhancing the position of the NEA, and preparing it for possibly becoming a future Ministry of Environment. This step will enhance the legislative and policy-making initiative of the NEA.