Rules and regulations for the safeguard of water resources: examples from European, Italian and Albanian experiences

Water is a vital and precious resource for people and for ecosystems. We should make each possible effort to protect water resources and increase people’s access to clean and sufficient water. To pursue these purposes many efforts have been realised in terms of technical rules and national laws. This contribution describes the approach of the European Union, Italy and Albania, considering also some local government initiatives concerning the protection of water resources, in terms of availability and quality, and of ecosystems. Attention is given also to the effect of the whole water cycle management in terms of environmental protection and reduction of water-related natural disaster

Effects of Natural and Anthropogenic Stressors on Fucalean Brown Seaweeds Across Different Spatial Scales in the Mediterranean Sea

Algal habitat-forming forests composed of fucalean brown seaweeds (Cystoseira, Ericaria, and Gongolaria) have severely declined along the Mediterranean coasts, endangering the maintenance of essential ecosystem services. Numerous factors determine the loss of these assemblages and operate at different spatial scales, which must be identified to plan conservation and restoration actions. To explore the critical stressors (natural and anthropogenic) that may cause habitat degradation, we investigated (a) the patterns of variability of fucalean forests in percentage cover (abundance) at three spatial scales (location, forest, transect) by visual estimates and or photographic sampling to identify relevant spatial scales of variation, (b) the correlation between semi-quantitative anthropogenic stressors, individually or cumulatively (MA-LUSI index), including natural stressors (confinement, sea urchin grazing), and percentage cover of functional groups (perennial, semi-perennial) at forest spatial scale. The results showed that impacts from mariculture and urbanization seem to be the main stressors affecting habitat-forming species. In particular, while mariculture, urbanization, and cumulative anthropogenic stress negatively correlated with the percentage cover of perennial fucalean species, the same stressors were positively correlated with the percentage cover of the semi-perennial Cystoseira compressa and C. compressa subsp. pustulata. Our results indicate that human impacts can determine spatial patterns in these fragmented and heterogeneous marine habitats, thus stressing the need of carefully considering scale-dependent ecological processes to support conservation and restoration

Rules and regulations for the safeguard of water resources: examples from European, Italian and Albanian experiences

Water is a vital and precious resource for people and for ecosystems. We should make each possible effort to protect water resources and increase people’s access to clean and sufficient water. To pursue these purposes many efforts have been realised in terms of technical rules and national laws. This contribution describes the approach of the European Union, Italy and Albania, considering also some local government initiatives concerning the protection of water resources, in terms of availability and quality, and of ecosystems. Attention is given also to the effect of the whole water cycle management in terms of environmental protection and reduction of water-related natural disaster.PublishedScutari (Albania)1.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcaniope

Monitoring Pollution of Underground Water Caused by the Oil Industry, Area Patos – Marinz

Soil, water, air and underground water pollution by the Oil Extraction Industry, i.e. crude oil and oil-water mixture is present in most of the oil fields installations. With 2000 wells covering about 200 km2, the Patos-Marinza oil field is one of the largest oil fields in Albania, but also one of the sources with the greatest contamination potential for soil, groundwater, water and air pollution from different sources of the industrial activity in this region. Oil leakages and discharges on land are transported by filtration waters or rinsing waters, contaminating both groundwater (springs, watersheds) and surface waters (streams, reservoirs, rivers, lakes). These contaminated groundwater and surface waters are used and continue to be used for irrigation, and in some cases as potable water for humans and animals. Knowing that hydrocarbons bring many effects with carcinogenic effects to humans, it is necessary to këp under monitoring all the sources that are used as drinking water for the residents.The purpose of this paper is to monitor and evaluate the Bacteriological, Physico-Chemical, Havy Metals, Pesticides, Aromatic Polycyclic Hydrocarbons (PAHs); Vajra & Graso (HEM); all thrë of the main wells in the Patos -Marinza area. Two drilling wells in Marinza and drilling well Qafë Stefan (Kuman).Keywords: contamination, wells, groundwater, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, etc

Anthropogenic Sources and their Environmental Impact to Surface Waters

Abstract Influence of the human beings to the nature initially was inexistent, but it increased continuously until the industri

Effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on fucalean brown seaweeds across different spatial scales in the Mediterranean Sea

Algal habitat-forming forests composed of fucalean brown seaweeds (Cystoseira, Ericaria, and Gongolaria) have severely declined along the Mediterranean coasts, endangering the maintenance of essential ecosystem services. Numerous factors determine the loss of these assemblages and operate at different spatial scales, which must be identified to plan conservation and restoration actions. To explore the critical stressors (natural and anthropogenic) that may cause habitat degradation, we investigated (a) the patterns of variability of fucalean forests in percentage cover (abundance) at three spatial scales (location, forest, transect) by visual estimates and or photographic sampling to identify relevant spatial scales of variation, (b) the correlation between semi-quantitative anthropogenic stressors, individually or cumulatively (MA-LUSI index), including natural stressors (confinement, sea urchin grazing), and percentage cover of functional groups (perennial, semi-perennial) at forest spatial scale. The results showed that impacts from mariculture and urbanization seem to be the main stressors affecting habitat-forming species. In particular, while mariculture, urbanization, and cumulative anthropogenic stress negatively correlated with the percentage cover of perennial fucalean species, the same stressors were positively correlated with the percentage cover of the semi- erennial Cystoseira compressa and C. compressa subsp. pustulata. Our results indicate that human impacts can determine spatial patterns in these fragmented and heterogeneous marine habitats, thus stressing the need of carefully considering scale-dependent ecological processes to support conservation and restoration

Ecotoxicologial assessment of Vlora Bay (Albania) by a biomonitoring study using an integrated approach of sub-lethal toxicological effects and contaminants levels in bioindicator species

An integrated ecotoxicological study based on bioaccumulation and biomarker responses in sea urchin, mussel, and fish was conducted in Vlora Bay (Albania). Despite several past industrial activities and current increase of anthropogenic impact characterising Vlora Bay, no ecotoxicological data have been published so far, underlining the need to investigate the area and to validate the ecotoxicological approach. Heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides (OC), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured in native sea urchin (Arbacia lixula), Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), and red mullet (Mullus barbatus). Several biomarkers such as expression of heat-shock proteins (HSP-70) in sea urchin (PCR), detoxification enzyme activities and apoptosis in mussels, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in mussels and red mullet were investigated. Overall, ecotoxicological data suggest an environmental quality of Vlora Bay resembling a marine protected area except for levels of Cd, Ni, and Hg in mussels and red mullet gonads; these results are in agreement with past industrial activities. OC pesticides were found to be below the detection limit in sea urchin. PCB levels were very low (4.13-13.87 Angg1 fresh weight) both in mussels and fish, while PAHs were similar to those reported for moderately impacted areas. No exposure to neurotoxic pesticides (physiological AChE activities) or to cytotoxic contaminants (low apoptosis frequency: <1%) can be inferred both in mussels and fish. . Detoxification enzyme activities in mussels were highly similar compared with those reported for low-impact areas. The results of the present ecotoxicological study on Vlora Bay also support its suitability in environmental quality assessment of marine coastal areas. © 2011 Coastal Education and Research Foundation