The NIPS project is fundamental to the future lives of Albania’s citizens. Clean, safe drinking water is a basic right. The EU’s drinking water directive aims to deliver it. Sparkling rivers, such as the Vjosa, contribute to overall well-being. The EU’s Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) as well as the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) are the key instruments intended to achieve that … and the NIPS project is about putting in place the measures needed to achieve compliance with those two directives.

A lot of things are needed before Albania gets there though. Implementing these directives requires planning and careful management: and the NIPS project is preparing so-called directive-specific implementation plans (DSIPs) designed to do exactly that. These are being supplemented by a national strategy for the management of sewage sludge, an investment programme, a programme of legislative development and various capacity development activities.