Meeting stakeholders in Albania and Montenegro for the development of the Buna/Bojana Transboundary Integrated Management Plan

GWP-Med just completed a series of consultations in Montenegro and Albania where the perceptions of local stakeholders on the main pressures of natural resources management in the river basin and coastal area were successfully identified.  The consultations were held in the municipalities of Bar and Ulcinj in Montenegro and the communes of Ana e Malit, Berdicë, Bushat, Dajç and Velipojë in September and October 2012.

In particular, the consultations served to enhance the understanding of how and what local people perceive as issues/pressures related to the natural resources management in the river basin and coastal area, and what solutions they propose to address these. Valuable input was attained regarding the characteristics of the stakeholders, which will be used for the Stakeholders Analysis and Public Participation Plan. The final products of the work should be completed by the beginning of 2013.

The activities in Buna/Bojana also sought to understand how stakeholders perceive public participation in the framework of an integrated management plan. The consultation employed a variety of different methods of Participatory Appraisal, such as open and semi-structured interviews, focus groups, mapping and visualisation.