This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the legal and institutional gaps affecting Protected Areas in Albania, highlighting the challenges that undermine the effective conservation of the country’s natural heritage. The analysis examines inconsistencies in legislation, overlapping institutional responsibilities, unclear procedures, and limited institutional capacities that weaken the management and protection of protected areas in practice.
Particular attention is given to recent legislative developments, including Law No. 21/2024 and Law No. 20/2025 (“On the Mountain Package”), which have significantly shifted the approach toward protected areas from conservation to economic development and exploitation. These changes have raised concerns regarding compliance with European Union standards, IUCN principles, and international environmental obligations, while also creating legal uncertainty and weakening long-established protection mechanisms.
The report identifies major gaps between laws, implementing acts, and sectoral policies related to forests, spatial planning, and environmental governance. It also highlights practical issues such as weak inter-institutional coordination, insufficient financial and human resources, and limited transparency in decision-making processes.
Beyond legal analysis, the report emphasizes the real-life implications of these weaknesses for local communities, landowners, public trust, biodiversity conservation, and Albania’s European integration process. It warns that maintaining the current status quo risks further environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, and erosion of the rule of law in environmental governance.
The assessment aims to support policymakers, institutions, civil society, and stakeholders in identifying critical weaknesses and advancing reforms that strengthen the protection and sustainable management of Albania’s protected areas.
