On 30 May 2018, CNVP Albania organised a round table in Kukes with local forestry associations to provide an update on activities under the Forests for Local Economic Development (FLED) project implemented by CNVP Albania and funded by Sweden.

The round table covered:

• the current legal statute of the associations, and how this can be adapted to reflect a wider scope of operations;
• obstacles encountered with the tax office and other fiscal issues;
• boards of directors of the associations, gender equality and technical expertise;
• opportunities for the associations to be involved in production e.g. to act as collection units for non-timber forest products; and
• involvement of the associations in preparing local development plans with municipalities.

CNVP Albania has supported the forestry associations to apply for grants that are available under government’s Environmental Services Project.

CNVP pays particular attention to explaining the forestry models that have been established under the FLED project, in order to facilitate their replication on a wider scale.