ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF LIQENAS COMMUNE

Environmental management is now a term encompassing planning, protection, monitoring, assessment, conservation and sustainable use of resources now accepted as a major guiding factor for sustainable development at regional and national level. Concept of sustainable development has become widely acknowledged by governments and institutions. Concept of environmental planning emerged as an alternative to the traditional sector approach to solve environmental problems that emerged after 1990 and on. In appropriate and inefficient procedures have contributed to the creation of new environmental problems mainly to the difficulties in policy coordination. The activities of the local population in the past has increased the level of pollution, urbanization and other related developments are pushing the environmental impacts closer to the thresholds of tolerances. The deviation of Devolli River to flow toward the Prespa Lake was the major detrimental intervention to the environment and the water system. Consequently the amount of deposits carried out in to the lake is near the catastrophic levels. The vegetation has eaten up by the lake' space, reducing it to a small surface area. This represents additional reason to prepare a Local Environmental Action Plan for the commune of Liqenas which will contribute to the creation of a harmonious relationship between the local community and the environment as the basis for sustainable development of the commune. The reason to undertake such a small environmental planning is related with to ensure a multi functionality of the forest area for biodiversity conservation and increase of incomes to local community; intensification of natural clusters growth through silvicultural interventions, especially in degraded coppicces of this economy, aiming at the same time improving the age structure of classes, increase of the surface of forest cover and ensuring continuity of natural regeneration; special attention is paid to planning policies, for having a sustainable husbandry and multifunctional forest. It is aimed to achieve really productive potential of forests to protect biodiversity and the environment in general.