COUNTRY: Albania

CLIENT:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

PROJECT TITLE:
“Conservation of Agrobiodiversity in Rural Albania (CABRA) – Capacity building for guesthouses “

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Albania is characterised by great biological and landscape diversity. Although the country accounts for less than 0.3 per cent of the surface area of the European continent, it is home to 30 per cent of all known species of European animals and plants. Albania’s mountain regions, some of which are extremely remote, are especially rich in flora and fauna. This very high species diversity can be attributed to the geographical location and decades of economic isolation. As the country has opened up politically, the loss of natural biodiversity and agrobiodiversity has increased. Wild species are being threatened by fragmentation of their habitat and unsustainable hunting and gathering. Native crops and animals are being lost due to relocation of the rural population and insufficient controls on trade in seed and pets. In the process, knowledge about their management and care and their economic potential is also being lost. The CABRA (Conservation of Agrobiodiversity in Rural Albania) project by the GIZ Albania has set as its goal improving the protection and sustainable use of biological diversity. In the framework of this project, AGEG Tourism for Sustainability was tasked with developing a first training for “Quality & Service & Agrobiodiversity” for operators of small guesthouses (B & Bs) and piloting it in the mountain village of Thethi in the Albanian Alps.

Service quality and competitiveness of guesthouse owners and employees is to be increased and awareness raised for the local biodiversity and its protection. , iIn the long run, guesthouse owners are to turn into “ambassadors” of the biodiversity in the surrounding of their tourism businesses and integrate the principles of biodiversity conservation into the communication with their guests.

AGEG Tourism for Sustainability Consulting AGEG Tourism for Sustainability Consulting provided the following services:

• Development of an interactive training module on agrobiodiversity
• Piloting of an interactive capacity building programme on service quality, quality criteria for mountain tourism and agrobiodiversity
• Documentation and analysis of the pilot programme
• Fact finding in the Albanian Alps region: Interviews with relevant stakeholders and organisations for tourism and environmental protection issues in the Albanian Alps
• Synthesis of interviews and development of first marketing suggestions for the Albanian Alps