Concerning the land

Monitoring of Protected Areas

1. Ministry of Environment shall formulate objectives of monitoring of protected areas, direct their organization and realization and elaborate and publish monitoring results. 2. In the implementation of monitoring programs the Ministry shall engage public or private institutions in compliance with rules and procedures of competing and bidding. Subject been engaged in monitoring shall submit to the Ministry the monitoring results.

3. Subject that performs permitted activity in protected areas shall be obliged to monitor in accordance with requirements of area monitoring program and publish the results [data] of this monitoring.
Article 21

Filing and Marking of Protected Areas

1. Ministry of Environment shall determine the manner of marking protected areas in the field and on the maps.

2. For marking of protected areas shall be used the emblem of the Republic of Albania.

3. Ministry of Environment shall notify respective geodesic and mapping organs about any declaration, change or removal of status of any protected area.

4. Protected areas shall be filed in the central filing system of the Ministry of Environment, which will be created using the data of relevant state institutions and other specialized institutions.

5. Ministry of Environment shall formulate and endorse rules for establishment, functioning and use of central filing system.

6. The central filing system is open to the public and any one can access it upon permit and in presence of an authorized officer.
Article 22
Removal and Change of the Status of Protected Area and its buffer zone
1. The status of protection of a protected area shall be taken away or changed, according to this law when circumstances and objective of giving such status have changed.

2. The ending of status of a protected area shall be made on decision of Council of Ministers upon collection of opinions from specialized institutions, local government organs, non-for profit organizations and from owners when their estates are part of a protected area.

3. Ending of status of a protected area shall end the existence of its buffer area, too.

4. Proposal for ending the status of a protected area shall include the following:

1. 
   Justification for status ending;
   

c) The description of bumper measures;

ç) Results of processes of co-ordination and consultation with civil society stakeholders particularly with populations or communities within and around the protected area including comments and reflection on the proposal.

Article 23

Protected Area Administration

1. State authority charged with administration of protected area (administration of protected area) shall be established by decision of Council of Ministers.

2. Composition, duties, responsibilities and functioning of administration of any category of protected area shall be approved by the Council of Ministers.

3. With entry into force of this law the already established structures of administration of protected areas shall be gradually taken over by institutions determined in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.

4. Ministry of Environment upon approval by the Council of Ministers may take over in administration-protected areas and under its authority the area administration.

Article 24

The Right of Visit in Protected Areas

Any one shall have the right of visit in protected areas provided that he shall honor legal rights of the owner or user of the land, legal obligations deriving from this law, rules set by the area protection administration and any other laws, which set forth legal obligation for property protection.

Article 25

Activities in Protected Areas

1. Within protected areas may be performed economical, social, tourism, research and scientific, etc in accordance with requirements of this law.

2. Central government and local government organs shall promote and support initiatives, projects, programs and activities aiming at improvement of natural and ecological indicators of a protected area or positively impact on these indicators.

3. Within protected areas activities may be performed only upon prior provision of environmental permit or upon approval of area protection authority in cases when this is an explicit requirement of this law.

Article 26

Objectives of Representation Network of Protected Areas

General objectives of representative network shall be:

a) to preserve directions of present and future development of the country through conservation and when necessary through restoration of ecosystems, habitats and representative landscapes as well as integration of their management into government policies, plans, programs and activities at national, regional and local level;

b) To provide sustainable use of biodiversity elements through inclusion of local communities in decision-making and any other activities related to protected areas, inclusive of defining and marking of areas, formulation of integrated management plans and direction of protected areas.

Article 27

Development, Planning, Co-ordination and Direction of Representation Network

1. Ministry of Environment shall co-ordinate the establishment of representative network of protected areas.

2. Planning, co-ordination and direction of representative network shall be specified in a management plan of the network which shall periodically be elaborated and be in disposal of state organs and civil society.

3. Management Plan of representative network shall contain the following:

1. 
   Network objectives;
   

c) Lack of coverage of all valuable areas from representative network;

ç) Action plan to implement and further develop the representative network.

4. Budgets supporting the establishment of representative network as well as those supporting protected areas shall be provided from state financial resources and from donors.