Tirana, 10 March 2025 – Today, at the “InNature” Cube of NAPA (National Agency for Protected Areas) at the Tirana Pyramid, the workshop “Environmental Crimes and Environmental Protection” took place within the framework of the “EU for Nature” project, funded by the European Union and Sida, and implemented by AICS and UNDP.
Organized by AICS Tirana and NAPA, in collaboration with the Municipality of Milan, ARPA Lombardia, Celim and Guardia di Finanza, the event was an important opportunity for discussion and in-depth analysis of environmental crimes and strategies for protecting natural heritage.
The opening session delivered the remarks of Daniel Pirushi, General Director of NAPA, who illustrated the key role of the agency in the prevention of environmental crimes and the Deputy Head of AICS Tirana, Letizia Fischioni, who described the strategy of the Italian Cooperation in environmental protection in Albania and, in particular, the Italian commitment against environmental crimes, a serious threat to biodiversity, sustainable development and the well-being of local communities. Both highlighted the fruitful and long-lasting collaboration in the context of various projects.
Among the Italian contributions, the workshop also hosted the interventions of ARPA Lombardia and the Municipality of Milan experts, partners of “EU for Nature” and represented by Giampiero Commodaro. Davide Corbella presented the Italian regulatory framework in the fight against environmental crimes, while Nadia Fibbiani from the “Regional Earth Observation Center” of ARPA Lombardia exposed the environmental monitoring activities through satellite images. Dario Bellingeri then explored the use of satellite, aerial and drone images for environmental control, illustrating practical cases of success. Giampiero Carrieri spoke for the Guardia di Finanza, highlighting the role of the Corps in the fight against environmental crimes, illustrating the operational strategies adopted at an international level.
Sistema Italia, through the above-mentioned actors, has long supported Albania in strengthening its legal, institutional and operational capacities on this issue, through the promotion of sustainable management practices, awareness-raising initiatives, training and inter-institutional collaboration between the Albanian authorities, civil society and the international community. The protection of Albania’s natural heritage is in fact an integral part of Albania’s accession process to the EU.
At the end of the workshop, a debate session highlighted the need to strengthen transnational cooperation and the use of technologies to combat environmental crimes.
