Second Environmental Performance Review of Albania

20 Part I: Policymaking, planning and implementationAgriculture, Food and Consumer Protection(MoAFCP) manages water used for irrigation inagriculture.AirMoEFWA is responsible for: drafting andimplementing policies, strategies, national actionplans and legislation that protect urban air frompollution; formulating measures for reducing thelevel of air pollution; and guaranteeing theorganization and functions of the air qualitymonitoring process. MoH is responsible for healthissues related to air quality. The Institute of PublicHealth (IPH) under MoH is continually engaged inurban air quality monitoring. MoH operates theDirectorate of Public Health which is responsible forair monitoring at the regional level.Radiation protectionThis responsibility lies with the Commission forProtection from Radiation (CPR), an inter-ministerialcommission chaired by the Minister of Health. TheCommission’s Office of Protection from Radiationprepares and updates the inventory of radiation wastefound in Albania and the Nuclear Physics Institutedeals with radioactive wastes.WasteThe administration of wastes is the responsibility ofseveral central and local organizations, each havingresponsibility for specific elements of the complexprocess of waste management (See chapter 7).MoEFWA is responsible for drafting policies andlegislation concerning waste management, and forensuring compliance. MoPWTT is responsible for thepractical implementation of various phases of thewaste administration process.Nature protectionMoEFWA is responsible for nature and landscapeprotection including the network of protected areas. Itis also responsible for managing forests and pastures.The Forestry Police, a specialized controlorganization, monitors compliance with legalrequirements regarding all forests and pastures,whether in public, private or communal ownership.LGUs, through their controlling and inspectingmechanisms, are responsible for communal forests.Noise controlMoEFWA is responsible for environmentalprotection from noise through the definition of limitlevels and the implementation of protectionmeasures. Managing noise in the workplace is theresponsibility of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairsand Equal Opportunities (MoLSAEA) while MoH isresponsible for health protection from the negativeimpacts of noise. The IPH defines base units for themeasurement, monitoring and assessment of noise.Intersectoral cooperationThere are some high-level decision-making bodieswhose legal competence includes approval ofdocuments concerning economic and socialdevelopment throughout the country. Specificlegislation regulates the organization and activity ofthese bodies, and guarantees the participation ofenvironmental public authorities and organizations.The Council of Ministers, the National Council ofTerritorial Adjustment, and the NWC areorganizations of which MoEFWA is a member.Inter-ministerial consultation at an expert level canbe initiated by MoEFWA in the course of preparationof a new legal document, programme or action plan.Horizontal cooperation among ministries cannotalways work perfectly without mandatory regulationsand assigned units on all sides.An important element of NES2 was that it prescribedthe establishment of a unit in all line ministries whichwould be responsible for environmental issues,representing its ministry in consultations dealing withenvironmental topics. Having a responsible unit, or atleast an expert providing capacity for integration ofenvironmental aspects into sector strategies andprogrammes and for consultation with MoEFWA andother interested parties, does not work in allministries.The MoEFWA has some employees (experts) whorepresent the Ministry in consultations on e.g.transport, health, tourism, regional developmentissues, organized by other ministries. There is no unitin the Ministry in cooperating and communicatingwith other ministries. Experts working in differentunits of the MoEFWA cannot directly exchangeinformation on the ongoing consultations with othersector ministries.As Albania has already received, and presumablywill receive, much financial and in-kind support frominternational organizations and countries, it is veryimportant to apply this support effectively. DSDC,that was established by the Council of Ministers inDecember 2005, provides a one-stop-shop for donorswith respect to strategic matters related to externalassistance. The Department has established a donor