Title

Albania and Montenegro: Creating an Integrated Water Resources Plan for the Buna/Bojana Watershed
Country
Albania Montenegro
Summary

The transboundary Buna/Bojana Watershed is shared by Albania and Montenegro, facing multiple pressures, including unsustainable agricultural methods, active tourism, altered hydrological regimes from hydropower generation and flood control measures. Albania and Montenegro share some social and economic similarities but differ in legal and institutional frameworks. Thus, both countries recognized the need to strengthen their cross-border cooperation through the development of an integrated water resource plan for the watershed.
Related IWRM Tools
  • Transboundary Organisations (
    B3.01
    )
  • Water Markets (
    C4.02
    )
  • Pollution Charges (
    C4.04
    )
Keywords
Buna (Bojana) River Basin Agriculture tourism Hydropower
Lessons Learned

Transboundary IWRM requires political stability and institutional will from all relevant players to be successful.

External actors can play an integral role in building momentum towards the development of an integrated water resource plan, especially in a transboundary context.

The IMF, developed specifically for integrated management of Mediterranean ecosystems, was piloted for this watershed. It proved to be a useful and thorough framework, recommended to be utilized in other transboundary and coastal watersheds to support RBMP development.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships formed during the development of the Plan are key in strengthening local ownership, building trust, and promoting visibility of the partners in the area. These should be supported and continued during Plan implementation stages.
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