Second Environmental Performance Review of Albania

144 Part III: Integration of environmental concerns into economic sectors and promotion of sustainable developmentClinical Toxicology Service at the UniversityHospital Centre “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, suffersheavily from a lack of appropriate infrastructure forpatients’ decontamination, stock of antidotes,medicines, ventilating machines and other essentialsupplies.The legal framework for control of accidents relatedto dangerous substances is being drafted but furthereffort is needed to strengthen the preparedness andresponse aspects. The regulations on industrialaccidents notification are at an early stage.Occupational healthThere is no information on occupational exposure tothe main factors in the working environment, or onwork-related injuries and traumatism. Theresponsibilities and tasks for monitoring and controlof risk factors in the working environment, and ofoccupational health and safety, are shared betweenthe labour and health sectors and are specified in bylaws.Cooperation between the two sectors has beenintensified, including through a series of jointinspections.10.3 Environmental health managementPolicy frameworkThe NSDI for the period 2007-2013 sets theGovernment’s agenda for economic and socialdevelopment and integration into the EU. Thisoverarching policy platform is based on 38 sector andcross-cutting strategies and brings together the maindirections of action in a single, unified, strategicframework.The National Environment and Health Action Plan(NEHAP) approved by the Government in 1999 wasprepared when the Ministry of Environment did notyet exist, and hence neither it nor its successor,MoEFWA, have been closely associated with it.NEHAP has not been updated to specify tasks andresponsibilities for the environment sector under thenew institutional setting, and the programme has notbeen put in place. At the same time, the NES, thoughtaking social and economic imperatives intoconsideration to some extent, is primarily aimed atimproving the environment.The 2007 ECS presents the “core” components of anational integrated programme, with the overarchingobjectives to improve the quality of life and tointegrate the environment into other sectors’strategies. Specific objectives of high relevance forthe population’s health focus on air quality, watersupply and treatment, waste management (Chapter 6)and remediation of industrial pollution hotspots.Concerning air quality, ambitious goals have been setfor its improvement and eradication of extremepollution by acting at the source, putting in place anational air quality monitoring system complyingwith EU requirements, and institutionalizing a systemof national and local air quality managementplanning. The accountability mechanisms, however,are limited only to compliance with emissionstandards. The measures to attain the goals areclearly interlinked with MoPWTT’s 2008 SectorStrategy of Transport for the period 2008-2013. Thefundamental priority is the approximation of roadtransport legislation, with the main focus on roadsafety and environmental pollution from vehicles,establishment of standards for gas emissions fromheavy vehicles and levels of noise, as well as thesetting up of an information system to support roadsafety policy. Multisectoral measures on transport,health and environment, integrating health concernsin urban planning, and environmental qualitymanagement with considerably greater societalbenefits, are not envisioned in the cross-cutting or thetransport sectoral strategies.The goals on water supply and sanitation of the 2007ECS coincide with those of the NSWSS. MoPWTThas the central role in administering funding of thesanitation infrastructure (Chapter 5). Integratedapproaches to water resources management fromsource to consumer with a clear health focus, such asthe WHO water safety plans, should be put in motionthrough both regulations and intersectoralinstitutional mechanisms to assure a high level ofhealth protection.Legal frameworkTo bring to life the strategic integrated approach andcoordinated action on cross-cutting issues, severalkey pieces of environmental legislation have recentlybeen developed with a shift towards putting publichealth high on the environmental legal agenda. Ascompared with its predecessor, the new Law onEnvironmental Protection which enters into force in2012 features the main aspects of an integratedapproach to health and the environment. While the2002 Law on Environmental Protection focuses onthe environmental sector, specifying its mandate,tasks and responsibilities, the new Law clearlyarticulates reducing and eliminating adverse effectson human health, quality of life and environment asthe main aim of environmental protection measuresin the fields of air quality, water, and nature andforest protection, as well as in development plans.