02wg198 3 eng (1)

UNEP(DEC)/MED/GEF/198/3
7 January 2002
ENGLISH
MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN
First Meeting of the ad-hoc Technical Committee to select pollution
hot spots for the preparation of pre-investment studies within
the GEF Project
Athens, 28-29 January 2002
REVISION OF POLLUTION HOT SPOTS
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
COUNTRY REPORTS
In cooperation with
WHO
UNEP
Athens, 2002

Introduction
The project on “Formulation of a Strategic Action Programme for the Mediterranean
Sea to address pollution from land-based activities” supported by GEF, was implemented
within the framework of the MED POL programme during 1997 and 1998. The project aimed
specifically to develop a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the protection of the
Mediterranean sea against degradation, and in particularly pollution from land-based
activities. One of the most important components was related to priority pollution hot spots
and sensitive areas, in order to have a global situation in the Mediterranean. The final
product resulted in lists of pollution hot spots and sensitive areas of national priority, which
were compiled according to the country reports prepared by national or international
consultants with the assistance and input of the MED POL National Coordinators.
Following the above project, a more detailed one was approved, which is also
supported by GEF and related to the “Determination of priority actions for the further
elaboration and implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Mediterranean
Sea”.
The innovative component of this project is the preparation of a plan of identification
of sources of pollution and their control, which will be included in pre-investment studies.
These studies will be prepared in order to assist countries in protecting the environment and
coastal zones through prevention of pollution and by reduction and, as far as possible,
elimination of pollutant inputs, and to also assist donors in making their financial contribution.
In order to prepare the pre-investment studies, there is a need to prioritize the
pollution hot spots in the Mediterranean taking also into consideration the potential risk of a
transboundary effect and the financial aspect of the measures required to abate pollution.
As in the past, the above task was entrusted to WHO/EURO, within the framework of the
MED POL Phase III Programme. For this purpose the GEF-eligible countries were asked to
revise the already existing lists as they were included in the MAP Technical Reports Series
issue no. 124 and to make eventual changes related to new data and information, based on
surveys or new measurements and analyses carried out in the meantime.
In the new lists, changes were made on the pollution hot spots in relation to the
following: (a) the reduction of pollution loads; (b) the elimination of pollution sources, (c) the
measures taken for progressive or immediate decrease of loads polluting the sea; (d) the
existence of another pollution hot spots with greater impact to human health and the
environment than the listed ones; and (e) the inappropriate inclusion in the list.
New hot spots are also indicated and supported by relevant data on pollution load,
collection, treatment and disposal of municipal and industrial wastewater.
The present report includes the revised country reports on pollution hot spots, which
were prepared by national experts taking into consideration the existing ones and were also
adopted by the MED POL National Coordinators.

REVISION OF POLLUTION HOT SPOTS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
Country report for
A L B A N I A

Prepared in 1997 by: Mr Ante Bariæ
Revised in 2001 by: Dr. Tatjana Hema
Ms Mirela Kamberi
Acknowledgements
• Mr. Emil Gjika, GEF Focal Point, who collected the available data and filled out the questionnaires.
• Mr. Gani Deliu of CEP, who provided useful information on the state of the coastal sea.
• Mr. Kosta Koci, University of Tirana.
•
Mr. Veli Puka, Instiute of Hydrometeorology, who provided information on the concentrations of
pesticides and chlorinated hydrocarbons, and on river pollution.
• Mr. Gazmend Gjtli, Director of The Research In
stitute of Chemical Technology, who provided
information on industrial waste dumping sites.
•
Mr. Lirim Selfo, Chairman of CEP, for acting as an intermediary with various government offices in
order to obtain all the available information.

1. INTRODUCTION
Albania is a small country covering 28,748 km2 and has approximately 3.3 million
inhabitants. It is mostly mountainous with hills and mountains accounting for 2/3 of the
territory. The coastal area opens to the Adriatic and lonian Seas. The total length of the
coastline is 476 km, of which 200 km in the north are on a coastal plain up to 50 km wide. All
Albania's rivers belong to the Mediterranean watershed. The population of the wider coastal
area is approximately 1.3 million, and two towns on the coast have more than 100,000
inhabitants: Durres in the northern part, and Vlora in the south, where the Adriatic and lonian
Seas meet. In the north, the town of Lezhe has around 50,000 inhabitants, and in the far
south the town of Saranda has some 25,000 inhabitants.
From the end of World War II until 1990, Albania was virtually isolated from the rest
of the world, which resulted in severe economic underdevelopment despite considerable
natural resources. The social transformation that started in 1990 brought about economic
changes. Practically all industries, which had been large-scale polluters, were closed down,
but some of the dumping sites created earlier are still active and remain significant sources
of pollution. However, the principal source of the coastal sea pollution is the urban
wastewater discharged directly into the sea without any treatment, mostly through open
canals and numerous outlets, as well as by the rivers.
Hot spots were identified on the basis of analyses of available data, completed
questionnaires, and direct contacts with the representatives of the Committee for
Environmental Protection (CEP) and the SAP Focal Point during the visit to Tirana.
Unfortunately, the amount of data available was rather limited. Moreover, those that were
available do not usually reflect the actual situation as in the last few years considerable
changes have occurred with regard to sources of pollution.
2. PROCEDURE FOLLOWED IN IDENTIFYING HOT SPOTS
In order to identify hot spots, the given criteria were used, and the towns of Durres
and Vlora, with more than 100,000 inhabitants each, were selected, together with the rivers
of Drini, Mati, Semani and Shkumbini, with average flows greater than 30 m3/s. In addition,
two locations in the vicinity of Durres and Vlora that had been used in the past for depositing
toxic industrial waste were selected, as they represented a constant threat to the coastal
sea.
3. CONTRIBUTION OF DIFFERENT SOURCES TO DEFINED HOT SPOTS
Hot spots Main sources of pollution Principal supporting data extracted from the
questionnaires
Durres - Domestic - BOD 2,864 t/y
- Ntot 477 t/y
- Ptot 95.5 t/y
- TSS 4,300 t/y
- FC 109col/100 ml
ex PVC factory in Vlora Leakage from chloralkaline plant Area of approximately 11 ha
contaminated by elemental
mercury
ex chemical factory, Lalzi Bay,
Durres Industrial solid waste Deposit of approximately 20,000 t of solid waste containing 4-5% of
hexavalent chromium