Finiq riverscape | Green and blue infrastructures among the Finiq municipality rivers

Abstract

The Municipality of Finiq is part of the District of Vlora. It is located 20 km from the city of Saranda, 7 km from the city of Delvina, 8 km from the shores of the Ionian Sea, and it shares a border with Greece. It consists of 5 ad- ministrative units: Livadhja, Finiq, Dhivri, Mesopotamia and Aliko. It has 58 villages under its administration among which the most important ones are the cen- ters of the administrative units with the same name. According to municipal reg- isters, the population of the municipality is 35,518 inhabitants or 10,103 families while according to the 2011 census, the population reaches 11,862 inhabitants.1 From the ethnographic or anthropogeo- graphic point of view, the Municipality of Finiq consists of three communities: Vurgu, consisting of plain villages; Rëza, consisting of mountain villages; and the intermediate hilly area consisting of vil- lages like Sirakat, Livinë, Llazat, Gravë, Karroq.2 The history of these areas is “written in the stones” of the old settle- ments of Phoeniciae, Butrint and in the religious buildings of Dhrovjan. These historical evidences speak of a glorious past of these areas, but today they are in a state of constant shrinkage3. All of it concentrates in a territory of 441.2 km2. Finiq Municipality spreads between two mountain ranges, one in the west dividing it from the Ionian Sea with an elevation of 100 – 600 meters above sea level, the other one on the west dividing it from Dropull Municipality with an elevation of 800 – 1400 meters above sea level. Both mountain ranges are directed north- west. The terrain of the municipality is composed of 44% plain, located in the middle, 34% mountains and 22% hills. In this environmental complexity, the natural area spreads in 71% of the territory, especially in the east part of the municipality, agriculture area spreads in 24% of the territory, concentrating in the west part of the municipality. Agriculture and nature make up the predominant use of the territory of Finiq. On the other hand, the settlements spread only on 3% of the territory, but they are scattered in the whole municipality. Water and infrastructure make up only 1% of the territory each and connect the various settlements of the municipality together.4 The District of Vlora faces a number of environmental issues that are also a reality for the Municipality of Finiq5. The District of Vlora faces a high pressure from urbanization and new development of touristic structures, which is especially true for the coastal ecosystem but not only. The settlements, with an emphasis on villages, are characterized by the absence of a wastewater management system and solid waste management system, which are important sources of pollution for the land and also for the water. The shrinkage of protected areas is another relevant environmental issue not only for Vlora District but also for Finiq Municipality. The area of protected areas is changing to accommodate strategic public investments. In the case of the Butrint protected area (a Ramsar area6 and also a UNESCO-protected area7), it is shrinking to accommodate the construction of a national airport. In the natural landscape deforestation is a very relevant issue since in the Finiq Municipality on 25% of the original forest remains8. For the rivers, the main threat is the illegal exploitation of the riverbeds but also the mismanagement of the river deltas.