Forests Census to Show what Happened to Albanian Forests Since 1990

TIRANA, June 28

A national forest census will show how forest in Albania changed during the last decades.
The National Forest Inventory, part of the project on Environmental Service that is supported by the World Bank (WB) and the Swedish government, is set to begin soon. It will provide updated information on the current situation of forests in the country. The process takes place every ten years and it collects data on various changes on forests and biodiversity.
According to data offered by the World Bank, Albania and Bosnia are two countries with the highest deforestation rate in the region for the period 1990-2015.
Since 1990, over 170 square kilometers of forests have been destroyed in Albania. Meanwhile, Bosnia lost 250 square km of forests during the same period. On the other hand, the countries of the region recovered thousands of hectares of forests.
Macedonia recovered 720 square km of forests, Montenegro recovered 2,010 square km, and Greece recovered 7,550 square km while Kosovo preserved the forests surface it has before 1990.
The upcoming census is the second forests inventory held since 1990. It will start and end in 2018 and the results of the census will help to evaluate the current situation of forest resources as well as what happened to them during the transition years. Moreover, the results of the census will help to provide the forest administration and other related institutions with the strategies and tools for planning and managing all land resources.

News Source: Monitor