TIRANA, Sept 8 /ATA/ – The fund of protected zones expanded by 16% or by about 84,000 hectares last year, data from the National Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, showed.
“In 2022, protected areas covered an overall area of 608,684 hectare from 524 000 hectares in 2021, accounting for 35.1 % of the forest and pasture fund and around 21.2 % of the country’s total area,” INSTAT said.
The expansion of the area of protected zones was also driven by the decision to declare Vjosa River a protected zone and a national park earlier this year.
Protected natural and tourist areas in our country are considered as protected land and water areas due to the biodiversity of the natural and cultural assets they offer.
In 2022, national parks accounted for the largest area of protected zones by 49.5% of the total area, followed by Habitat/Species Management Area with 36.8%, Protected Landscape/Seascape with 13.45% and natural monuments 0.25%.
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