Developing Local Disaster Risk Assessments, Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and Civil Emergency Plans for Durrës, Shijak, Krujë Municipalities and Durrës County
Donor: GIZ, through the ALBAdapt – Programme for Climate Resilient Urban Development in Albania
Timeframe: December 2025 – October 2026
The project aims to strengthen disaster risk governance, resilience planning and emergency preparedness in Durrës County, with a focus on the municipalities of Durrës, Shijak and Krujë. It addresses the increasing exposure of the territory to multiple hazards, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, wildfires, coastal erosion and other climate-related risks.
The project supports the development of Local Disaster Risk Assessments, Disaster Risk Reduction Strategiesand Civil Emergency Plans for the three municipalities and Durrës County. These documents will help local authorities better understand risks, identify vulnerabilities, improve coordination and plan concrete actions for disaster risk reduction and emergency response.
Methodologically, the project follows a structured and participatory process, moving from stakeholder mapping, data review and institutional coordination to GIS-based risk mapping, field assessments, community consultations and validation workshops. The assessment process combines technical analysis with local knowledge and covers physical, social, economic, environmental and cultural dimensions of vulnerability.
Special attention is given to vulnerable groups, including women, elderly people, persons with disabilities, Roma and Egyptian communities and households in poverty, to ensure that disaster risk reduction planning is inclusive and responsive to local needs.
Building on the risk assessment findings, the project will support the preparation of municipal DRR strategies, including a shared vision, strategic objectives, priority measures and action plans. These strategies will include both structural and non-structural measures, ranging from safer infrastructure and nature-based solutions to improved planning, institutional coordination, awareness raising and capacity building.
The project will also contribute to the development of Civil Emergency Plans, defining roles and responsibilities, early warning procedures, emergency response functions, evacuation routes, safe zones, available human and equipment capacities, volunteer engagement and coordination mechanisms. A tabletop exercise and simulation will be organized to test the plans and improve operational readiness.
The expected results include strengthened municipal capacities, updated GIS-based risk data, validated risk assessments, actionable DRR strategies and operational emergency plans for Durrës, Shijak and Krujë. This initiative continues CoPlan’s tradition of supporting local actors in strengthening their DRR capacities, following the pilot experience with the Municipality of Lezhë; the development of DRR Strategies for the municipalities of Fier County; and a series of inter-municipal trainings on disaster risk data management and financing for disaster risk reduction.
This assignment is implemented by CoPlan in partnership with MetroPOLIS l.t.d, in the framework of ALBAdapt – Programme financed by GIZ.