1. Small-Scale Irrigation Rehabilitation Project (SSIRP) in Albania

This UNDP project is implemented in collaboration with IFAD, Dutch SNV and the Government of Albania. The project includes assistance in the preparation and execution of the Annual Work Programs, budgets, and in monitoring and evaluation procedures. The project provides assistance in the revised implementation approach and continues to find operational modalities for the credit component and for the establishment of Water Users Associations through support to the Water Users Development Section. The project cooperates with the SSIRP Project Coordination Unit located in Tirana, but it interacts with the Government and project staff posted in the four districts in which the SSIRP operates, i.e. Mat, Mirdite, Bulqize and Diber.

The UNDP policy of collaboration with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Albania has resulted in significant initiatives to support the role and activities of such organizations. Collaboration with NGOs has centered on poverty alleviation and linkages to environmental sustainability.

The PDP II implemented in Albania seeks to better include the NGOs within the overall development of the country, strengthen their capacity to work with the community, and facilitate the networking among CSOs (Civil Society Organizations) and the Government of Albania.

As UNDP moves its contribution upstream into the areas of policy development and capacity building, cooperation with CSOs must become an integral element of this strategy. There are three closely interrelated goals proposed by the Government of Albania and UNDP Tirana to be taken under consideration in this project extension:

  Improving policy dialogue between government and CSOs and fostering enabling environments for CSO involvement in sustainable human development;

  Meeting the capacity-building needs of civil society through small grants for local CSO initiatives, so that it may effectively promote sustainable human development.

  Strengthening the institutional capacities of the NGO Department in the Ministry of Labour to better promote CSOs and NGOs within a sustainable human development framework.

3.  Special Programme on Food Security

The Special Programme on Food Security project is a result of the global FAO initiative for developing food security strategies in several countries. Through the joint efforts of the FAO, UNDP and the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture and Food it has been made possible to draft and start the implementation of such a project in Albania since June 1998.

The aim of the project is to promote food security in Albania by improving agricultural production and by increasing rural incomes to ensure effective purchasing power. The project will support the formation of Farmers' Interest Groups, with particular gender focus, in three or more districts to promote improved marketing of output, water management and access to improved seeds. The project will also support the establishment of an information management system at the regional level, based on the experiences of on-going efforts made so far, and at the individual farm level. Assistance will include reform of the seed sector and monitoring of trade in food items. 

4. The Albanian Human Development Report 1999

The aim of the annual Human Development Report (HDR) is to bring Albanian development issues into focus in a comprehensive, thoughtful, and stimulating manner for the Government and Albania itself, as well as donors, and the international community in general. In order to produce a useful Report, UNDP encourages the collective participation of government institutions, a wide array of national experts, and local NGOs that have shown excellence in their respective fields. The 1999 Report will focus on the persistent and deep-rooted effects of migration for Albania during the 90’s, and their impact on, and role in the general social, economic, and political aspects of Albania’s transitional development. The Kosovo crisis and the Stability Pact, with their profound effects on Albania, as well as a macroeconomic overview, and the evolving relationship between citizen and state, will also be addressed.

Click here to get the National Human development Report 1998 (zipped .doc)
Click here to get the National Human development Report 1998 (.pdf)