Project Implementation Strategy

The implementation of the GEF Drin Project unfolded along the following lines of action:

• The development of a Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) that identified key management issues and their underlying causes.

• The preparation of a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) that included a set of agreed responses by the Riparians addressing the identified transboundary problems and their causes.

• The building of the capacity of the institutional structure established through the Drin MoU to coordinate the management of the Drin Basin.

• A set of activities were undertaken to facilitate the beneficiary Riparians and the Drin Core Group in implementing the agreed actions under the SAP towards the sustainable management of the Drin Basin. These activities included among others the development of tools, such as the Information Management System, the enhancement of capacities of institutions and stakeholders in several critical fields etc.

• The project facilitated the capitalization of management innovations through five demonstration activities, each one tested in different areas and at different scales:

1. Integrated Basin Management Planning in the Lake Ohrid sub-basin
2. Wastewater management including nature based solutions and a decision support tool leading to wastewater treatment options for the Shkodra city area
3. Nutrients management in the Montenegrin part of Lake Skadar
4. Flood insurance in the areas of Skadar/Shkoder Lake – Buna/Bojana River, and Struga in Ohrid Lake
5. Development of a transboundary groundwater monitoring system in the Shkoder/Skadar and Buna/Bojana areas in Albania and Montenegro