ENV.NET Platform in Western Balkans
Co-PLAN continued with the implementation of the second phase of the “development of the ENV.net platform in the Western Balkans and Turkey: giving citizens a voice to influence the environmental process reforms for closer EU integration”. This phase, among other things, was focused in raising awareness on the sensitive issues regarding environment and identification of possible gaps in the approximation of the environmental legislation. The overall objective of the project is to foster integration of partner countries (including Albania) into the EU and their approximation towards the EU acquis through anchoring democratic values and structures, human rights and social inclusion in a more active and dynamic civil society. Co-PLAN’s role in the second phase was focused in giving to citizens a voice to influence in public reform process in the environmental field, through presenting knowledge-based analysis, monitoring reports and advocating. Some of the main activities and result, in both national and regional scale, for 2016 include:
- Twelve bulletins/ leaflets were produced at country level and twelve newsletters at regional level, covering key information regarding environmental legislation and the latest developments in this area;
- 4 sub grants were approved for 4 local environmental organization in Albania (IEP, Milieu Contact, CRCD, EcoLëvizja). Their projects focused on sustainable use of natural resources, awareness-raising activities, protection of natural resources in Vlora region, and the implementation of photo voltaic panels in one kindergarten in Tirana;
- A national training was held at POLIS University, regarding industrial pollution including several local NGOs, students and other groups of interest;
- The closing conference “Environment challenges, EU enlargement, public participation and media” was held in Struga, where challenges of the process, lessons learnt, good practices, were disseminated with all the participants;
- Participation in the Framework Partnership Agreements (FPAs) Closing Event in Skopje, discussing issue concerning general development of the civil society in the Western Balkans and Turkey;
- Two major publications were issued during this year, respectively the “Evn.net advocacy toolkit- Climate change and challenges of enlargement, presenting how to influence environmental policy through effective advocacy; and “Guideline of EU Accession;
- Monitoring Tools for CSOs in candidate and potential candidate countries”.