“Integrated Forest Management (IFM)along the Drin River Basin” is a three year regional project and it is being implemented by ICEP (Association for Global Development) and CNVP (Connecting Natural Values and People Foundation) funded by ADA (Austrian Development Agency). The project is being implemented in the transboundary catchment area of the Drin River  which includes the countries of Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro. 

The regional project will strengthen IFM along the Drin River Basin by implementing pilots that complement the latest policy developments and integrate local communities. The project applies a multi-stakeholder approach, integrating national and international experts as well as local communities, central and local authorities, and on-going initiatives.

Project Impact and Outcome

The long-term impact is to contribute to climate change mitigation and sustainable development along the Drin River, through strengthened IFM. Through the set measures the living condition of rural communities in the target areas will be improved. The overall outcome of the project will be increased socio-economic and environmental benefits for local communities through ecosystem services, strengthened by the application of IFM methods, afforestation and the protection of biodiversity.

Expected Results

The project activities will be conducted along five defined outputs with regional adoptions, whereby output 2 will only be implemented in Albania and North Macedonia:

1. Degraded and/or damaged areas are afforested and regenerated through IFM practices
2. Improved conservation and eco-friendly income opportunities (Albania, North Macedonia)
3. Improved know-how and capacities for IFM along the Drin River Basin
4. Regional expertise in IFM and replicable good practices of related policies are available
5. Increased awareness for gender equality and mainstreaming in climate change and sustainable development

Target Group, Implementing Partner and Target Region

The target group of the project is composed of the local population in the target area in general, as well as 120 community members who will be supported in small-scale eco-friendly activities. More than 500 forestry workers in the target region will receive on-the-job training and capacity building workshops. Furthermore, more than 750 forest experts and multipliers (e.g. forest associations, municipalities) as well as up to 125 students from forestry high schools and universities will benefit from an improved quality training, to allow a holistic and multi-level approach.