TIRANA (Albania), July 9 (SeeNews) – The World Bank said on Wednesday it approved the disbursement of a 7.3 million euro ($9.9 million) loan by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for an environmental services project in Albania.
The IBRD is one of five institutions that make up the World Bank Group.
The financing will benefit farmers, forest associations, groups, and individuals in 310 rural communes and 2,980 villages across the country, the World Bank said in a press release.
The project has a total cost of 16.8 million euro, co-financed by a trust fund of 7.3 million euro from the Swedish government and a trust fund of 2.2 million euro from the Global Environmental Facility.
The project's objective is to support sustainable land management and increase communities’ incomes in erosion-prone rural upland areas.
Its interventions will promote the financial, economic, and institutional sustainability of land use and natural resources management. The project will also help build capacities of Albanian farmers, community organizations, and central and local government institutions to efficiently use EU funding.
($=0.7344 euro)