Ecosystem Services in the Kune-Vaini Lagoon, Albania

The Kune-Vaini lagoon is located along the Albanian Adriatic coast, with an officially protected area of around 2,300 ha, but with an area of immediate habitat interdependencies extending over 9km2. Because of its richness on habitats and biodiversity, the site was used since the early years in the 1900s for recreational hunting, and it is the first Protected Area in Albania, declared as such since 1940. Since 1992, the Kune-Vaini lagoon is declared Managed Nature Reserve of the IV-th category, after IUCN. The biodiversity of the lagoon is comprised of Illyrian deciduous forests and Mediterranean woodlands, with broadleaf and mixed forests biome. The nature reserve is characterized by its prolific vegetation and biodiversity. There are approximately 277 species of plants. The fauna is represented by 341 species; 23 species of mammals, 196 species of birds, 10 species of amphibia, 59 species of insects and 58 species of fish. The lagoon’s ecosystem is vulnerable to current and expected climate change impacts, which threaten the ecosystem services that communities and a larger regional territory rely on, including mitigating floods and providing food and freshwater to the local communities. Additionally, the lagoon is exceptional for its supporting services, such as maintenance of biodiversity and habitat for species, serving in particular as a breeding area for a number of migratory species. The objective of this RRI action is to co-design and establish a scientific platform for mapping and assessing ecosystem services in the Kune-Vaini lagoon, with information produced through citizen science and public engagement, involving all actors of the quadruple helix, and to be endorsed by the Regional Agency of Protected Areas. The action contributes to a vision of climate change related regional institutions, local communities and research actors with enhanced R&I and STI capacities for evidence-based decisions on the management of protected areas, in view of climate mitigation and adaptation, with a particular focus on mapping and assessing lagoon ecosystem services. The services being mapped and assessed are: fisheries, carbon sequestration, moderation of extreme flood events, waste water treatment and recreational tourism activities. The resulting changes and transformations foreseen in the territory include: institutional capacities and territorial scientific knowledge on ecosystem-based climate change adaptation for the lagoon are strengthened; the stakeholders of the quadruple helix, particularly the community, are made aware and educated on the importance of the lagoon ecosystem services for the improvement of quality of life and disaster/climate resilience of their area; the scientific community, regionally and nationally, has advanced its knowledge on ecosystem services for lagoons, and policy-makers have a database for place-informed and evidence-based policymaking.