The Albanian capital hosted the Mediterranean Exchange for Marine Protected Area Replication and Transfer Session of the LIFE A-MAR NATURA 2000 project, two days of dialogue and cooperation dedicated to sharing best practices for the management and protection of Marine Protected Areas and promoting the European ecological network Natura 2000.

The event, organised as part of the project’s replication and transfer actions, brought together representatives from Triton Research, Fundación Biodiversidad, Federparchi – Europarc Italia (project coordinator), Legambiente, and Albanian institutions and organisations including NAPA (National Agency of Protected Areas), AICS Tirana – the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, CELIM, UNDP Albania, and the University of Genoa.

The agenda was adapted to the audience and local partners, focusing on themes most relevant to the Albanian context. Several networking LIFE projects joined specific sessions, sharing their experiences and conservation tools.

The first day opened with a welcome by Maria Stella Scordo (Triton Research), followed by Víctor Gutiérrez (Fundación Biodiversidad) presenting Spain’s implementation of the marine Natura 2000 network, and Corrado Teofili (Federparchi) highlighting the importance of the Habitats Directive and the process of identifying potential Natura 2000 sites in Albania. Tatiana Mehillaj (UNDP Albania) emphasised the role of international collaboration in strengthening national environmental policies.

In the same session, Massimiliano Bottaro, coordinator of LIFE ELIFE, presented the project’s conservation strategy for elasmobranchs (sharks and rays), as an example of good practices transferable to the Mediterranean context.

The second day focused on stakeholder engagement in Spain, presented by Fundación Biodiversidad, and on education and communication strategies for conservation, with Eleonora Ledda from LIFE EOLIZARD sharing experiences on engaging different target groups.

Triton Research introduced innovative tools for awareness-raising and participatory management, including the AMAR Sea LIFE app, designed to promote knowledge and awareness of marine and coastal Natura 2000 sites in Italy and Spain. Federica Barbera (Legambiente) enriched the discussion with experiences from LIFE DELFI and LIFE SEA.NET, presenting their apps – Marine Ranger and SEA.Net – and leading a lively debate on their effectiveness and limits in supporting citizen science and marine conservation.

The final session focused on Albania’s marine conservation efforts and recent national initiatives:

Jula Selmanij (NAPA) presented governance and monitoring tools for MPAs;

Valeria Parracino (CELIM) illustrated the NaturAlbania project, aimed at strengthening sustainable and participatory management of coastal and marine protected areas;

Giovanni Timillero (AICS Tirana) introduced EU 4 Nature, a five-year programme to improve the management of Albania’s protected areas and raise citizens’ awareness of their importance;

Francesco De Leo (University of Genoa) presented the coral restoration project in the new Porto Palermo Marine Protected Area, established in September 2025, the country’s second MPA after Karaburun-Sazan (2010).

The Tirana event marked a key milestone in the replication and transfer path promoted by LIFE A-MAR NATURA 2000, strengthening cooperation among Mediterranean institutions, NGOs and agencies, and promoting a shared approach to the protection of marine and coastal biodiversity within a connected Mediterranean Natura 2000 network.