The four-year Forests for Local Economic Development project in Albania (http://fled-project.info/) is being implemented by CNVP with financial support from Swedish Development Cooperation through Sida.

The main objective of the project is: 'Improved decentralised and sustainable Communal Forestry providing increased production, service and income to rural communities'. There are five specific focus areas:

• Outcome 1: Land tenure and property rights for communal forestry
• Outcome 2: Structure and functioning of the communal forestry organisations; the FPUAs, and their regional and national Federations
• Outcome 3: Value chain development for forest products and the related associations and producer groups
• Outcome 4: Sustainable Forest Management and practices within communal forestry
• Outcome 5: Sharing and influencing policy and institutions for communal forestry based on the issues addressed

The main project partners are: Forest Pastures Users' Associations and Communes in selected target areas, Regional Federations of Communal Forests and Pastures, and the National Federation of Communal Forests and Pastures. The project has also cooperated with Albania’s Ministry of Environment and the State Forest Extension Service.