REHABILITATION OF THE KUNE WETLAND ECOSYSTEM

The Kune lagoon is part of the Kune-Vain wetland ecosystem located in the Albanian Adriatic coast. The ecosystem includes wetlands, marine waters, lowlands, shrubs, water courses, agricultural land and pastures. It is also the first national protected area nominated in Albania (in 1940). The Kune lagoon has undergone significant transformation during the last decade. This transformation has involved different components of the ecosystem, such as the coastline, bioindicators of the trophic state, the water quality, etc. The once existing communication channels that ensured a healthy environment for fish and other fauna, are actually closed. This study evaluates the main components of the ecosystem and assesses the factors that potentially influence the general situation of the ecosystem and the interaction of these factors with each other, correlating them with the ecosystem components. Factors that are assessed in this study include the causes of the drastic erosion of the coastline, changes in communication canals between the lagoon and the sea, urban, business and agricultural development in the area, water resources, sedimentation, etc. Based on a holistic analysis of these factors and their correlation, respective measures of rehabilitation are recommended and a management strategy is proposed.