Pheasant and partridge used to be autochthonous species populating the woodlands and the fields in the western plain of Albania. Starting from the 60 ties, this area of the country was completely transformed due to drainage of wetlands and deforestation of hills that were transformed in arable land.
Starting from early 2000, forested areas near the villages were transferred under the jurisdiction of the communes and classified as communal forests. When transferred, communal forests were, in most of the cases, areas of degraded oak coppice forest of very little economic value other than some marginal pasture. Due to the time needed for the natural regeneration, it is expected that these forests will yield little income in terms of timber products for a period extending from 10 ? 20 years. For this reason it is crucial that in the mean time any effort is made for creating income from other forest products.
This project is experimenting collaboration between the commune and the local hunters association for the sustainable use of the area for hunting. The project consists in repopulating the area approximately 420 hectares with 250 pheasant and 50 partridges. A smaller scale pilot repopulation effort in the same area during 2009 has proved successful.