The Director-General has approved the project “Towards the Designation of Lake Shkodra/Skadar as Transboundary Biosphere Reserve” in the amount of 34.000 USD, in line with the request submitted by the NGO Green Home under the Participation Programme for 2012 – 2013.
The objective of this programme is to assist the underprivileged Member State in the improvement of the quality of life through the building of new cultural, educational, scientific, communication and information capacities with concrete and long-term effects on the development of these countries. The Participation Programme represents a complement to UNESCO’s regular activities by analysing, evaluating and facilitating the implementation of national, sub-regional, inter-regional and regional projects directly related to the activities of the Organization.
The Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information, Eric Falt, recommends that it is necessary to ensure that the approved programme benefits both girls/women and boys/men, and that gender equality considerations are taken into account in the implementation and evaluation of this project, which is in conformity with UNESCO’s global priorities. The execution of each approved project is subject to the Principles and Conditions governing the Participation Programme which are stipulated in 36C/Resolution 69.
The project “Towards the Designation of Lake Shkodra/Skadar as Transboundary Biosphere Reserve” is on the Suggested Priority List which is the result of the call for the submission of projects under UNESCO’s Participation Programme for 2012 – 2013. Out of the 30 projects submitted, the priority was given to the ten which were in compliance with the criteria set down by the National Commission.
The project partners in the implementation of the project “Towards the Designation of Lake Shkodra/Skadar as Transboundary Biosphere Reserve” are the NGO Green Home and the Albanian Institute for Nature Conservation. The principal objective of the project is to have the Lake Shkodra/Skadar designated as the first transboundary biosphere reserve in the region through a participatory approach. The specific goal is to implement the entire nomination process of Lake Skadar as UNESCO’s transboundary biosphere reserve under the established procedure.