Mountain Area Development - Albania

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has been working for the last decade to develop institutions and processes in Albania which can effectively support the development of mountain areas in the country, where poverty is highest and communities suffer from poor infrastructure and communications, declining populations and increasing out-migration. Besides providing investment for small-scale infrastructure projects, they are supporting the Government of Albania's programme of administrative decentralisation by supporting local-level planning capacity and the development of local fora to represent the interests and concerns of mountain area communities to policy makers and donors. IMM Ltd. provided advice to MADA and a local NGO, ICS, on institutional analysis and development during the process of establishing these fora on a pilot scale in 8 districts and provided training for a group of local facilitators to support this process.