The Vjosa-Narta area in Albania is an important stopover site for migrating birds between Europe and Africa and is one of the most important wetlands along the Adriatic Flyway. This protected area is home to over 70 endangered species, 200 bird species, and amazing creatures like the Loggerhead turtle, Monk seal, and Albanian Water frog. However, this gem is in danger of disappearing forever due to the construction of an illegal airport.
Wanting to finish the project as soon as possible, the Albanian government bypassed several mandatory procedures, including obtaining the proper construction permit. The latest findings suggest that the construction permit was only granted in 2023, 15 months after the start of construction works. A year after the construction launch, the government also removed the airport area from the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, creating a spatial gap in the middle of the protected area.
This marks the beginning of the end of protected areas in Albania, a country that has developed at an unprecedented rate, but sadly, not in the right direction for nature. Ironically, the Albanian government is announcing the project as a tool to boost tourism in the south of the country – not realizing that the magnificent nature of Albania itself is one of the main tourist attractions. Destroying it for the sake of tourism makes no sense. Worryingly, this airport could be the first step in a long journey to urbanize the Albanian coast for the sake of vested interests.
Dalmatian Pelican, copyright Zoltan Baczo, from surfbirds gallery
Furthermore, a recent report from the Swiss Ornithological Center points out that the construction of an airport within such a bird-rich area would create a severe risk of plane collisions with birds. A collision with one of the world’s largest birds, the Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecan curled up), which proliferates around the planned airport, is likely to end in a disaster.
But all hope is not lost. Local NGOs AOS and PPNEA filed two lawsuits against their authorities that are still ongoing: one against the construction of the airport and the second against the decision to change the boundaries of the protected area.
The international community is not sitting still either. This September, the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife requested that construction works be suspended until a proper Environmental Impact Assessment can be carried out, meeting international technical, scientific, and methodological standards.
Together with the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands, the BirdLife Partnership addressed letters to the European Commission, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and the International Air Transport Association, asking them to immediately stop the construction works and preserve the emblem this Mediterranean biodiversity.
Meanwhile, AOS and PPNEA have proposed alternative solutions to the construction of a new airport, such as expanding the size of Tirana International Airport, building a high-speed railway to connect the south of the country to Tirana, or considering alternatives location for the airport such as Risili, Kafaraj, or Levan, after conducting a proper environmental and risk analysis.
