Tirana efforts on coastal areas

TIRANA, March 15 – Winter has been hard not only for northwestern Albania with flooding thousands of hectares of agricultural land and houses, but also for the whole coast suffering erosion.
That pushed Prime Minister Sali Berisha to convene a meeting of a working group on protection of the coastal area and taking the proper measures.
They were urged to conduct a study to cover the coastal area from Velipoja to Narta to become familiar with the situation of the coastal area, especially the beaches.
That will serve as the basis for recommendations for decision-making.
There is a great concern of the growing threat of soil erosion which has a direct negative impact on the economic and tourist activities, the infrastructure, environment and cultural and natural values.
Berisha convened several members of his cabinet, including scientists from the Polytechnic University and the Academy of Sciences to discuss the task of undertaking an immediate study.
The study will focus on bringing to evidence the actual situation of the coastal line and the changes it has experienced during the recent decades. The expected dynamics of coast line movement focusing especially on the sensitive areas, i.e. the beaches will also be the focus.
It will provide recommendations for the measures and the eventual interventions that can be taken while determining where and when to curb the action of soil erosion.
It will also set the financial cost of interventions in time and space in certain segments of the beaches as well as the total cost for an extensive and complete intervention.
Government departments, scientific institutions and all the other state institutions will make available for the study group the most qualified experts in the field as well as the data and the necessary studies which can serve to complete the study in time and with high quality.