The future of the mountain communities in Albania is highly dependent on the establishment of a sustainable tourist market that values the landscape beauty as well as the rich and frequently quite original culture that has developed during centuries in the geographical isolation provided by the high mountain ranges. If such market is not established in time these communities will be abandoned and the cultural richness will disappear once forever only to be replaced by the culture of the new comers of a latter generations that might find these areas once again attractive.
The GEF Small Grants together with GTZ has been working since two years in the Thethi valley in a series of projects conceived to exploit the mutual synergies between different projects with the goal of protecting the pristine state of the nature and its rich biodiversity typical of these alpine valleys.
This project will build on an existing activity that is being supported since 2 years by GTZ consisting in the mapping of the main itineraries. The SGP will support the equipment of the itineraries with the appropriate signs as well as will install and restore a series of light structures such as signposts, information tables, small pedestrian bridge, and water fountain.