ALBANIA / FORESTS

Decades of logging and overgrazing devastated many of Albania's forests, leading to poor soils and erosion. The Albanian government is working with communities to plant new trees and to let forests grow undisturbed so they can one day become a sustainable source of income and jobs. WORLD BANK

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:03:00
• Production Date: 8 September 2010
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: WORLD BANK
• Subject Topical: NATURAL RESOURCES; ENVIRONMENT
• Geographic Subject: ALBANIA
• MAMS Id: U100908h

Description

STORY: ALBANIA/ FORESTS
TRT: 3:00
SOURCE: WORLD BANK
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ALBANIAN/NATS

DATELINE: JUNE 2010, ALBANIA

Shotlist

ALBANIA, JUNE 2010

1. Tilt down, Rubik city
2. Wide shot, former copper plant near Rubik
3. Wide shot, former copper plant
4. Tilt down, acacia forest
5. Close up, acacia trees
6. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Mark Ruci, Mayor of Rubik:
“We have a project where a citizen plants a tree. And that citizen is going to find it hard to cut down his own tree.”
7. Med shot, tending trees above reservoir
8. Close up, tending trees tight
9. Wide shot, thinning oak forest
10. Med shot, man scything grass
11. Wide shot, Rubik City
12. Pan right, mountain view
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Haki Kola, Forest Engineer:
“The main aim was to stop the further degradation of the forests in Albania and in transition from central economy to market economy.”
14. Wide shot, Rubik’s church
15. Med shot, people in Rubik café
16. Wide shot, new highway past Rubik
17. Med shot, orchard with watering pool
18. Various shot, man watering fruit trees
19. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Agim Dushku, Farmer:
“All the children my son’s age work with apple trees, they water them; in the village you can see apple trees that have grown to this size because of the care.”
20. Med shot, thinning forest
21. Med shot, thinning forest tight
22. Pan right, forest off limits
23. Med shot, Shepherd walking with herd of goats
24. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Ermir Leka, Shepherd:
“I am very pleased because without a forest I have nowhere to send the animals.”
25. Med shot, Shepherd in forest
26. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Ermir Leka, Shepherd:
“I emigrated to Greece for five years, but I have returned and decided to raise my herd here, and to support my family.”
27. Wide shot, fields
28.Wide shot, man scything hay
29. Close up, erosion near road
30. Wide shot, erosion affecting reservoir
31. SOUNDBITE (English) Haki Kola, Forest Engineer:
“We have a lot of needs and a lot of challenges especially to know better the huge possibilities of the forest to generate employment, to reduce erosion and flooding.”
32. Various shots, man tending trees above reservoir
33. Wide shot, erosion
34. Various shots, kids playing soccer in valley

Storyline

Three years ago this acacia forest above Rubik city was a bare patch oozing mud onto the houses below—a result of years of acid rain from a nearby copper plant and overuse by citizens.

Now the plant is closed, and the forest is coming back to life, thanks to the same citizens who once stripped the land bare.

SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Mark Ruci, Mayor of Rubik:
“We have a project where a citizen plants a tree. And that citizen is going to find it hard to cut down his own tree.”

A government program supported by the World Bank and the Swedish government is helping Rubik and 240 other communities like it to plant trees and to better manage forests and pasturelands—resources used by almost a million people.

It has helped transfer five thousand hectares of forest to the municipality of Rubik, and hundreds of thousands more to other local governments across Albania.

SOUNDBITE (English) Haki Kola, Forest Engineer:
“The main aim was to stop the further degradation of the forests in Albania and in transition from central economy to market economy.”

Rubik hopes there will be a market for eco-tourism in their newly green area-- tourists coming via the new highway.

A new highway isn’t coming to Gjalish anytime soon, but new forests and orchards are.

Villagers received hundreds of fruit trees through the program, which combat erosion and give fruit.

SOUNDBITE (English) Haki Kola, Forest Engineer:
“The main aim was to stop the further degradation of the forests in Albania and in transition from central economy to market economy.”

All the children my son’s age work with apple trees, they water them; in the village you can see apple trees that have grown to this size because of the care.

Villagers receive a little cash to tend their orchard but also to thin the forest to grow better.

Until it can regenerate itself, the forest—and many others in the program—is off limits to logging and animal foraging.

But villagers like this shepherd whose flock must graze further afield, don’t mind.

SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Ermir Leka, Shepherd:
“I am very pleased because without a forest I have nowhere to send the animals.”

Much of the forest near here that was clear cut over the years is coming back.

SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Ermir Leka, Shepherd:
“I emigrated to Greece for five years, but I have returned and decided to raise my herd here, and to support my family.”

Shepherds, farmers and city dwellers have a stake in healthy pasturelands and forests. Roads and dams affected by erosion do too.

SOUNDBITE (English) Haki Kola, Forest Engineer:
“We have a lot of needs and a lot of challenges especially to know better the huge possibilities of the forest to generate employment, to reduce erosion and flooding.”

Sixty percent of Albania’s forests are now being managed by local governments. As the forest cover grows along with new attitudes, this sustainable resource can offer benefits for this generation and the next.