Natura 2000 Network (N2000)

N2000 is the European network of protected sites for nature conservation. It gives a legal framework for nature protection and, as such, provides the basis and opportunity to develop win-win solutions with stakeholders such as local communities, local authorities, businesses and developers. There is an increasing need for site managing organizations to combine activities that demonstrates social as well as economic benefits of protected areas. This is necessary both to protect the sites and to secure adequate funding for management. The training will provide the opportunity to share experience and to learn from each other through a number of case studies and breakout sessions. The participants will have an overview on of Habitats and Birds Directives and will learn about N2000 general principles, habitats/species data collection issues, identification and selection of sites, and N2000 legal obligations. Case studies will illustrate that N2000 and sustainable development can be complimentary, the role that NGOs can play in the planning system, and how economic activities can successfully take place on N2000 sites. Moreover, it will be discussed how EU funding can help enhance the livelihood of local communities through environmental projects on N2000 sites.
.Main topics of the training will be:

• Introduction to Birds and Habitats Directives.
• N2000N facts and perspectives
• Identifying and engaging various N2000 stakeholders (especially NGOs)
• European funding opportunities related to N2000
• Practical communication techniques for N2000

Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment (EIA and SEA)
These assessments should ensure that the environmental implications of decisions are taken into account before the decisions about a project or a programme are made. The process involves an analysis of the likely effects on the environment, recording those effects in a report, undertaking a public consultation exercise on the report, taking into account the comments and the report when making the final decision and informing the public about that decision afterwards. Participants will gain knowledge about EIA and SEA processes as well as how to monitor, evaluate and influence them so to halt environmentally and socially harmful projects, programme or policies.
.Main topics of the training will be:

• Legal regulations on EIA and SEA in EU and Albania
• EIA and SEA composing elements and baseline criteria
• how EIA and SEA are linked with decision-making processes on natural resources management
• how to assess the quality of EIA (included EIA reports) and SEA processes
• to influence EIA and SEA processes and the final decisions of relevant bodies (local, regional, national authorities and financial bodies)

Advocacy
This is a new and very delicate part of the training program for the Albanian civil society. The training program will be concentrated in the main concept and knowledge, training to make an overview of the situation in Albanian and the experiences abroad.
The main topics of the training will be:

• The basic of advocacy and its application to nature protection;
• Albanian problems and the experiences from outside the country;
• The role of the NGOs in advocating for N2000 

The issues above will be covered within two training courses to be held in the North and South of Albania. During the training program will be prepared examples from the areas and the participants will be invited to work in groups for presenting their level of knowledge.