Electronic Portal on Water Resources Administration and Management (AL0036)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Albania Second Action Plan for 2014-2016
Action Plan Cycle: 2014
Status: Inactive
Institutions
Lead Institution: Ministry of Environment
Support Institution(s): NA
Policy Areas
E-Government, Public Service Delivery, Water and SanitationIRM Review
IRM Report: Albania End-of-Term Report 2014-2016, Albania Mid-Term Report 2014-2016
Starred: No
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Access to Information
Implementation i
Description
The interested parties applying for a license or authorization for the use of water resources face a complicated and long procedure of application. The lack of a national inventory of permits for the use of water resources is also a disadvantage that causes conflicts between the institutional stakeholders and the interested parties. The Ministry of Environment, through the Directorate of Policies for Water Resources, will undertake the creation of an integrated water management system that will improve the cooperation of public and private actors through the use of new technologies for license applications and control. This system will help increase the transparency on the use of water resources in Albania. This commitment seeks to improve governance of natural resources for a better water management by reducing the cases of corruption, strengthening the public awareness on water management. The creation of an online register of water resources users will positively affect transparence and public access to information.
IRM Midterm Status Summary
For Commitment details, see Albania Mid-Term Report 2014-2016.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
Commitment 2.2. Electronic Portal on Water Resources Administration and Management
Cluster 3: Open Access on Natural Resources Data – 2.2 and 3.1
This cluster is composed of two commitments, as follows:
Commitment 2.2. Electronic Portal on Water Resources Administration and Management
Commitment 2.2. Text: The interested parties applying for a license or authorization for the use of water resources face a complicated and long procedure of application. The lack of a national inventory of permits for the use of water resources is also a disadvantage that causes conflicts between the institutional stakeholders and the interested parties. The Ministry of Environment, through the Directorate of Policies for Water Resources, will undertake the creation of an integrated water management system that will improve the cooperation of public and private actors through the use of new technologies for license applications and control. This system will help increase the transparency on the use of water resources in Albania. This commitment seeks to improve governance of natural resources for a better water management by reducing the cases of corruption, strengthening the public awareness on water management. The creation of an online register of water resources users will positively affect transparence and public access to information.
Responsible institution: Ministry of Environment
Supporting institution(s): N/A
Start date: 2014 End date: 2016
Commitment 3.1. Electronic Access to Protected Areas
Commitment 3.1. Text: Electronic access to a registry of protected areas increases the participation and the inclusiveness of the public opinion and interested stakeholders for activities related to protected areas, hunting areas and national legislative initiatives in the field of nature conservation and biodiversity. The access to the portal will allow consultation of legal documents related to environment protection, a database of new Protected Areas (PA) or extension of existing PA, information on Hunting Areas and associated GIS digital maps. The creation of this portal will strongly contribute in the increase of transparency and public participation; in fact the portal will allow interactive exchange of opinions on draft laws, regulations, and strategies in the field of protected areas.
Responsible institution: Ministry of Environment
Supporting institution(s): N/A
Start date: 2014 End date: 2016
Commitments Aim:
These commitments were proposed by Albanian civil society members, and they aim to improve transparency in the administration and management of natural resources, such as water and protected areas. The commitments entail the publication of concessions to private companies to use natural resources and the creation of a public database on polluted areas. Additionally, the commitments call for awareness-raising campaigns to inform citizens on the consequences of pollution in their communities.
Status
Commitment 2.2
Midterm: Limited
The Law on the Integrated Management of Water Resources (2012) mandates the creation of an electronic portal called the national register of permits, authorizations, and concessions. At the time of the action plan adoption, there was a water use database on the website of the Ministry of Environment. Available at bit.ly/1W7xVCN. The database showed authorizations on the use of water resources and was available in Excel format. The portal on water resources administration and management represents a much more comprehensive undertaking. It is part of a complex assistance project initiated by the World Bank in May 2013 in cooperation with respective ministries and the Technical Secretariat of the National Council of Water. The project provides assistance to the government in designing the national strategy of integrated water management, developing the water cadastre, and creating the electronic portal on water resources administration and management.
At the midterm, the electronic portal on water resources administration and management was in the early stages of development, and its progress depended on the development of water cadastres. The government’s midterm self-assessment reported this commitment as not implemented. IRM progress report, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Albania_Second%20IRM%20Report_for%20public%20comment.pdf.
End of term: Limited
The government’s end-of-term self-assessment states that this commitment was transferred from the Ministry of Environment to the Ministry of Agriculture, but no further action has taken place.
The design of the portal has not advanced since September 2015. The water cadastre remains at an early stage of development. In early 2016, the Ministry of Agriculture opened a tender for technical supervision, verification, and independent validation of a Geographical Information System (GIS) water cadastre. APP, Bulletin No. 4, 1 February 2016, https://www.app.gov.al/ep/DF_DocumentViewer.aspx?id=e74ba95d-41c0-43ed-9df6-fcdf288185b7. According to the terms of reference, this service contract will be carried out through 34 working days over a 12-month period, thus extending into 2017.
Commitment 3.1
Midterm: Limited
At the time of the OGP action plan's publication (July 2014), a database of protected areas was online at the Ministry of Environment’s website along with a map of protected areas. The development of this portal was entrusted to the National Agency of Protected Areas. At the midterm, the development of the portal was at an early stage. The portal was meant to provide more detailed information on every protected area, including plans, activity, flora, fauna, etc. The government’s midterm self-assessment suggests this commitment was partially implemented. However, it does not report on specific implemented activities, with the exception of creating the template database for electronic access to protected areas. As the commitment’s description suggests, the portal will serve also as a channel for public consultation of legal documents related to environmental protection. IRM progress report, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Albania_Second%20IRM%20Report_for%20public%20comment.pdf.
End of term: Limited
Although the National Agency of Protected Areas has carried out significant work to establish a database of protected areas, the commitment’s implementation remains limited considering its intended scope. The agency has designed a complete database (HTML format) of protected areas as a subsection of its website, including basic descriptions and information about each of these areas. See section at http://akzm.gov.al/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&layout=category&task=category&id=5&Itemid=289&lang=en. However, it does not include digital maps, and it did not hold an interactive consultation forum on draft laws, regulations, and strategies on protected areas.
Did it open government?
Both commitments are highly relevant to OGP values and are in line with civil society recommendations to improve transparency and to open access to natural resources data.
Commitment 2.2
Access to information: Did not change
Commitment 2.2 had limited progress, which has resulted in limiting the actual results of this important initiative. CSO stakeholders stated that although the commitment had good intentions the timeline for implementation was unrealistic.
Commitment 3.1
Access to information: Marginal
Civic participation: Did not change
The complete implementation of the commitment would have improved access to information via the portal, as well as GIS links and civic participation through consultations. The national agency offers basic information on protected areas, which marginally improves access to information as these facts were not publicly available prior to this commitment. http://akzm.gov.al/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&layout=category&task=category&id=5&Itemid=289&lang=en. Since the portal does not provide a way for the public to comment on legislation, this commitment has not created any opportunities for citizen participation.
Carried forward?
Commitments were not carried forward in the new action plan.
Commitments
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Transparency of Government Reporting
AL0061, 2018, E-Government
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e-Government
AL0062, 2018, Access to Information
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Improved Business Regulation
AL0063, 2018, Capacity Building
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Safe Communities
AL0064, 2018, Anti-Corruption
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Improvement of Database/Portal with Coordinators’ Data of the Right to Information and Transparency Programs
AL0044, 2016, Access to Information
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Budget Transparency
AL0045, 2016, E-Government
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Integrated Registry of Citizens’ Housing
AL0046, 2016, Citizenship & Immigration
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Establishment of Electronic Registry for Public Notification and Consultation
AL0047, 2016, E-Government
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Digital Archive
AL0048, 2016, E-Government
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Creating a Database for Archiving and Publication of Research Funds and Programs in Albania
AL0049, 2016, E-Government
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Commitment to Publish Online Central and Local Government Legislation in Open Systems and for Free
AL0050, 2016, Capacity Building
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Commitment to Open Standards for Contracting
AL0051, 2016, Access to Information
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Implementation of the Law "On Protection of Whistleblowers", Capacity Building, Amendments and Its Bylaws
AL0052, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Provision of Electronic Services
AL0053, 2016, Capacity Building
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Establishment of Multifunctional Centralized System for Building Permits
AL0054, 2016, Capacity Building
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Establishment and Distribution of Digital Counters
AL0055, 2016, E-Government
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Service Passport Standardization
AL0056, 2016, Capacity Building
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Citizen Card
AL0057, 2016, Capacity Building
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Electronic System of Registration of e-Prescription in the Republic of Albania
AL0058, 2016, E-Government
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Electronic Monitoring System of Forests
AL0059, 2016, Anti-Corruption
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Integrated Electronic System for Professional Licensing of Individuals and Legal Entities That Will Operate in the Field of Study Design and Supervision of Commissioning of Construction Works
AL0060, 2016, E-Government
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Standardization of Corruption Complaints
AL0031, 2014, Anti-Corruption
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Electronic Registry of Energy and Industry Permits
AL0032, 2014, E-Government
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Implementation of Public Expenses Module in "Open Data" Format
AL0033, 2014, Access to Information
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Promoting OGP Values Among Local Authorities
AL0034, 2014, Public Participation
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Database on Economic Assitance Beneficiaries
AL0035, 2014, E-Government
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Electronic Portal on Water Resources Administration and Management
AL0036, 2014, E-Government
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Single Window
AL0037, 2014, E-Government
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Electronic Access to Protected Areas
AL0038, 2014, E-Government
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National Geoportal
AL0039, 2014, E-Government
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e-Albania
AL0040, 2014, E-Government
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e-Document
AL0041, 2014, E-Government
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Law on Whistleblowers Protection
AL0042, 2014, Anti-Corruption
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Police Service Offices
AL0043, 2014, E-Government
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Open Data Portal
AL0001, 2012, Access to Information
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e-Acts
AL0002, 2012, E-Government
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e-Parliament
AL0003, 2012, E-Government
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Extension of the Governmental Network, GOVNET
AL0004, 2012, E-Government
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e-Government Interoperability Framework, e-GIF
AL0005, 2012, E-Government
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Government Datacenter
AL0006, 2012, E-Government
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Excise System
AL0007, 2012, E-Government
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Starting of the e-Tax System
AL0008, 2012, E-Government
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Online State Matura
AL0009, 2012, E-Government
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The Regulation on Ethics in Research and Publishing
AL0010, 2012, Education
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Digitalization of Higher Education Accreditation Process
AL0011, 2012, E-Government
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U-Gov System
AL0012, 2012, E-Government
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Online Inspections of Courts and Judicial Hearings
AL0013, 2012, E-Government
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Digitalization of the File Transfer Process
AL0014, 2012, Judiciary
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e-Employment Project
AL0015, 2012, E-Government
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e-Concessions Procedures
AL0016, 2012, Anti-Corruption
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Amendment of the Law “On the Right to Information for Official Documents”
AL0017, 2012, Dispute Resolution & Legal Assistance
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Drafting a New Law on "Notice and Consultation"
AL0018, 2012, Legislation & Regulation
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Tracking Project
AL0019, 2012, E-Government
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Digitalization of the Notary Register
AL0020, 2012, Access to Justice
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Online Citizens’ Claims in the Judiciary System
AL0021, 2012, Access to Justice
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Work Inspection, Online Complaint
AL0022, 2012, E-Government
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Financial Module of All Educational Institutions
AL0023, 2012, Education
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Audio and Video Recording of Judicial Hearings
AL0024, 2012, E-Government
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e-Albania Portal
AL0025, 2012, E-Government
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e-Inspection Portal
AL0026, 2012, E-Government
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Portal Www.Gjykata.Gov.Al
AL0027, 2012, E-Government
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Disclosure of the List of Payments Made Daily by the Government Units
AL0028, 2012, Access to Information
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e-Procurement System for All Small Purchases of Public Procurement
AL0029, 2012, Anti-Corruption
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Implementation of the EITI Recommendations
AL0030, 2012, Anti-Corruption