Albanian conservationist Ardian Koçi will receive the EuroNatur Award on October 16, 2025. As director of the Divjaka-Karavasta National Park, he has shown backbone — and accepted personal and professional disadvantages as a result.
“I was a general without an army,” says Ardian Koçi about his last weeks as national park director. He was cut off from all support.
© Mirjan Topi
For a long time, the national park was considered the most popular and best-managed protected area in the country—thanks in large part to Ardian Koçi.
© Katharina Grund/EuroNaturThe Divjaka-Karavasta National Park is considered one of the most biodiverse protected areas in Albania. The fact that there is still so much life in the Karavasta Lagoon is thanks to one person in particular: Ardian Koçi. During his tenure as director of the national park, he has been an exemplary advocate for the protection of the area and, in doing so, has made influential enemies in the country.
His consistent enforcement of the hunting ban in Albania was a thorn in the side of numerous hunters and poachers, and his courageous opposition to plans for large-scale tourism infrastructure within the national park also caused displeasure among the government in Tirana. Ultimately, Koçi was nearly forced to resign. However, his work has received recognition and support from the local population.
“In his role as National Park Director, Ardian Koçi has shown exemplary commitment to the conservation goals of the Divjaka-Karavasta National Park and has accepted professional and personal disadvantages for his integrity,” says EuroNatur Executive Director Gabriel Schwaderer. "We want to honour this extraordinary commitment with the EuroNatur Award.”
The award ceremony will take place on 16 October 2025 at 5 p.m. on the island of Mainau, on Lake Constance.