Environmental issues in Albania

There are a number of known environmental issues in the post-communist country of Albania. Issues include air and water pollution, poor waste management infrastructure and deforestation. The Albanian environmental movement includes around 40 active non-government organisations.

Issues

Air pollution

Air pollution is a major environmental issue in the bigger cities of Albania, especially the capital, Tirana. The sharp increase in air pollution in bigger cities resulted from a sharp increase in cars' ownership, increasing secondary activity in the area and decrease of urban greenery. Annual average concentrations of PM10 and NO2 in Tirana are above the limit values of National Air Quality Standard and World Health Organization.[1][2]

Climate change

Albania is one of the European countries most at risk and vulnerable to natural disasters.[3] Natural disasters, such as floods and forest fires, are increasing in Albania due to climate change, causing significant damage. Albania experiences nearly one natural disaster annually on average, each disaster causing damage equivalent to 1.3% of the country’s GDP and impacting around 5% of the population.[4] Rising sea levels are anticipated to negatively impact coastal communities and the tourism industry.[4]

In 2023 Albania emitted 7.67 million tonnes of greenhouse gases,[5] equivalent to 2.73 tonnes per person,[6] making it a relatively low emitting country. Albania's Nationally Determined Contribution to the UNFCCC, submitted in 2016 and revised in 2021, outlines efforts to enhance climate resilience across key sectors, including energy, agriculture, public health, and biodiversity. The country is prioritizing adaptation through policies, research, and investments in areas such as coastal protection, urban planning, and climate awareness. Albania's climate action is guided by its National Adaptation Planning and its Third National Communication. The country is dedicated to creating a long-term strategy for low-carbon development and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.[7] Albania has pledged a 20.9% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030.[8]

Water pollution

Water pollution in Albania is caused by disposal of trash, and discharge of untreated wastewater and sewage. Two rivers which pass through the capital, Tirana, are two of the most polluted rivers in Albania. Lanë and Ishëm (river) are clean at their source, but once they enter Tirana, their water is several times more polluted than allowed standards.[9] Industrial pollution of rivers has been observed in the rivers Shkumbini, Fani, Gjanika and Semani, where toxic organic compounds and metals from mining and industrial activity are heavily affecting these rivers.[10]

Waste

The waste management system is composed by a weak collection systems in cities and very little collection systems in rural areas. The Albania’s collection coverage is around 77%.[11] Recycling is done by private companies, which employ poor people to collect plastic, metallic, glass and paper waste which is processed or packed and then sold to other countries.[12] The rest is mostly landfilled. Awareness on waste recycling is low. Littering and dumping trash remains a serious problem for Albania.[13]

Deforestation

Illegal logging is the main threat to Albanian forests.[14] The other threat comes from forest fires which in the last years have intensified. Albania had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.77/10, ranking it 64th globally out of 172 countries.[15]

Tree cover extent and loss

Global Forest Watch publishes annual estimates of tree cover loss and 2000 tree cover extent derived from time-series analysis of Landsat satellite imagery in the Global Forest Change dataset.[16][17][18][19] In this framework, tree cover refers to vegetation taller than 5 m (including natural forests and tree plantations), and tree cover loss is defined as the complete removal of tree cover canopy for a given year, regardless of cause.[20]

For Albania, country statistics report cumulative tree cover loss of 47,320 ha (473.2 km2) from 2001 to 2024 (about 7.3% of its 2000 tree cover area).[16] For tree cover density greater than 30%, country statistics report a 2000 tree cover extent of 648,459 ha (6,484.59 km2).[16] The charts and table below display this data. In simple terms, the annual loss number is the area where tree cover disappeared in that year, and the extent number shows what remains of the 2000 tree cover baseline after subtracting cumulative loss. Forest regrowth is not included in the dataset.[16][20]


010203040506020012004200720102013201620192022Annual tree cover loss (km²)
Annual tree cover loss in Albania, 2001–2024.[16] View chart definition.


600061006200630064006500200020052010201520202025Extent minus cumulative loss (km²)
Tree cover extent in 2000 minus cumulative tree cover loss in Albania, 2001–2024 (loss-only residual; does not account for gain).[16] View chart definition.


Environmental movement in Albania

The environmental movement in Albania is represented by around 100 environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It consists of local and national NGOs. Less than 40 NGOs are active due to lack of funding and barriers in influencing the decision makers. The main environmental organizations in Albania are Ekolëvizja, Institute for Environmental Policy in Albania, Regional Environmental Center in Albania, EDEN Center, and Millieukontakt Albania.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ This residual measure does not include forest regrowth.

References

  1. ^ "Tirana Air Quality Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  2. ^ "MAPPING AIR POLLUTION IN URBAN TIRANA AREA USING GIS" (PDF). Archived from the original on 11 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  3. ^ World Bank (October 2024). "Albania—Country Climate and Development Report". World Bank. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  4. ^ a b International monetary Fund (14 November 2022). "IMF Country Report No. 22/363: Albania". IMF. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  5. ^ Jones, Matthew W.; Peters, Glen P.; Gasser, Thomas; Andrew, Robbie M.; Schwingshackl, Clemens; Gütschow, Johannes; Houghton, Richard A.; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Pongratz, Julia; Le Quéré, Corinne (2023-03-29). "National contributions to climate change due to historical emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide since 1850". Scientific Data. 10 (1). doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02041-1. ISSN 2052-4463. PMC 10060593.
  6. ^ Ritchie, Hannah; Rosado, Pablo; Roser, Max (2024-01-05). "Greenhouse gas emissions". Our World in Data.
  7. ^ World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal. "Country: Albania". climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  8. ^ "Albania Climate Change Data | Emissions and Policies". www.climatewatchdata.org. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  9. ^ "Second Environmental Progress Report Related with the New Constructed Wetland in the Place Bregu Lumit (Tirana River)" (PDF). Institute for Environmental Policy-Albania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  10. ^ "Albania Environment and Climate Change Analysis" (PDF). UNIVERSITY OF GRETA THUNBERG. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  11. ^ Waste Atlas(2012) Country Data: ALBANIA
  12. ^ "Albania — European Environment Agency".
  13. ^ "Pollution". Institute for Environmental Policy in Albania. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  14. ^ "Illegal Logging Ravages Albania's Forests". Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  15. ^ Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 5978. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7723057. PMID 33293507.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "Albania Deforestation Rates & Statistics". Global Forest Watch.
  17. ^ Hansen, Matthew C.; Potapov, Peter V.; Moore, Rebecca; et al. (2013). "High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change". Science. 342 (6160): 850–853. doi:10.1126/science.1244693.
  18. ^ "Tree cover loss". Global Forest Watch Open Data Portal.
  19. ^ "Tree cover (2000)". Global Forest Watch Open Data Portal.
  20. ^ a b "How much forest was lost in 2023?". Global Forest Review.
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