Minister of Tourism and Environment, Mirela Kumbaro, held a meeting with Boris Erg, Director of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the global institution of protected areas.
In a post on social media, Kumbaro said that with the IUCN we have had an excellent cooperation in the work for designating Vjosa a National Park, which now continues with the drafting of the management plan.
“We advance the procedures for Albania’s membership in IUCN as part of the commitment to increase the surface of ​​protected areas and the good model of environmental protection and sustainable tourism that Albania offers internationally,” Kumbaro said.
The process of studying the designation of the Vjosa River as a “National Park” was certified by the IUCN – International Union for the Conservation of Nature in December of last year.
The new national park in Vjosa covers an area of ​​over 12,700 hectares. The park is listed by the World Conservation Organization (IUCN) as a category II protected area, which requires that the Vjosa and some of its main tributaries be placed under comprehensive transboundary protection according to the highest international standards.