‘Albania is one of the world's fastest growing tourist destinations and has the fastest expanding airport in Europe.’ Dressed in a suit and trainers, Albania's Prime Minister stands behind the lectern in Berlin on March 3rd and opens the press conference for the ITB International Tourism Fair, of which Albania is the guest country this year. Edi Rama leaves no room for doubt: the former professional basketball player wants to make his country a tourism champion. Everything indicates that he has no regard for nature.
While Edi Rama is promoting Albania's nature as a tourist magnet in the spotlight at the ITB, Annette Spangenberg and Leonard Sonten from EuroNatur are standing on a hill with Zydjon Vorpsi from PPNEA. Their gaze wanders over a kilometre-long natural beach on the Albanian Adriatic, past the island of Sazan to the Narta lagoon. Wild bays, marshland and dunes as far as the eye can see. The sound of the surf and trees in the wind, a few bird calls, otherwise it's quiet. Thousands of flamingos fly past, not a soul to be seen far and wide. Although the air is spring-like, the three of them feel a shiver as their gaze moves further. The image of a perfect idyll is shattered. On the horizon, work is proceeding at breakneck speed to realise Edi Rama's vision of an Albania that welcomes luxury tourists from all over the world. Not far from the Narta lagoon, the terminal of the Vlora airport construction site is already visible, a futuristic building enveloped in clouds of dust that indicate speed with which lorries go to and fro, moving huge quantities of river gravel – from the Vjosa. The runway is to be more than three kilometres long, designed to take transatlantic jets.
Monstrous plans and dirty deals
A well-coordinated team: Annette Spangenberg and Zydjon Vorpsi assess the situation on the Zvërnec peninsula.
If Edi Rama has his way, Vlora International Airport will open this year. ‘The airport project makes the area attractive to investors and threatens to become a gateway for the dramatic destruction of nature,’ says Leonard Sonten, project manager for river protection at EuroNatur. The first international investors have long since been lined up, serious deals have already been concluded and the methods are highly questionable. In February 2024, Albania amended the country's nature conservation law to allow, among other things, the construction of hotels in nature reserves, provided they have at least five stars. Just a few days later, Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner announced his plans to transform the uninhabited island of Sazan into a luxury resort. He had presumably already received the green light for the project in the middle of the marine reserve from Edi Rama, and Jared Kushner was officially granted strategic investor status at the end of 2024. This is valid for ten years and guarantees benefits such as accelerated administrative or authorisation procedures. This status has not yet been granted to the Zvërnec peninsula, but we assume that this will also happen soon. "Holiday homes and residential buildings with thousands of rooms are to be built on the Zvërnec peninsula. At peak times, we can expect around 30,000 people to live there," says Zydjon Vorpsi. ‘A whole new city is to be created, with all the noise, light pollution, rubbish and roads that go with it.’
Sazan used to be a naval base. Due to its military use, only soldiers were allowed to stay there for longer periods of time; nature was able to develop largely undisturbed. The marine ecosystem around the island is a national and international nature reserve. Together with the unspoilt stretch of beach at Zvërnec and the nearby Vjosa delta, this is one of the last unspoilt stretches of coastline in Albania. The Zvërnec peninsula is part of the Vjosa-Narta protected area and until now only day tourists have been allowed to visit the island of Sazan.
The coast will be unrecognisable
The remains of the naval base on the island of Sazan.
On the way back, Annette, Leonard and Zydjon meet three residents from the neighbouring village of Zvërnec. When Annette Spangenberg was here for the first time, there was only a gravel track instead of a tarmac road. The development of the area has already begun here too. At first glance, the investments in infrastructure and the expansion of tourism are a gain for the local population. When talking to the women, it quickly becomes clear how Edi Rama's propaganda machine works. We don't care about the flamingos as long as Kushner gives us money, is their attitude. ‘Edi Rama is fuelling people's expectations that will never be fulfilled,’ Annette Spangenberg is certain. ‘When an investor comes along and says I'll buy your property for 10,000 dollars, that's a big sum to begin with, especially as the average monthly income in Albania is less than 600 euros. In reality, however, it's all about glitz and glamour for a few, while the local population loses everything that could give them real prospects, their nature and their land,’ says Spangenberg. Leonard Sonten shares this assessment: ‘In view of the immense destruction of nature that is planned here, people should stand up and fight back instead of being dazzled by the government's promises. Unfortunately, resistance has so far been muted. This is not just about the construction of a few hotels, but about the fact that the entire coastline will be unrecognisable.
Seit vielen Jahren pflegen wir eine Beziehung, die von gegenseitigem Vertrauen geprägt ist. PPNEA und Zydjon Vorpsi haben jede Unterstützung verdient!
Annette Spangenberg, Programmleiterin Flussschutz bei EuroNatur
Where the diggers rage
The construction of Vlora Airport is proceeding at full speed. As if nature wanted to prove its resilience, the nest of a great spotted cuckoo in the construction fence.
As the sun sets behind the island of Sazan, Annette, Leonard and Zydjon set off for the airport construction site. The contrast of impressions could not be sharper. While the beeping of the lorry alarm pierces the soul and the headlights cut through the darkness, a frog croaks out of a puddle into the night. The animal seeks refuge in a tyre track while the excavators rage around it, destroying its habitat stroke by stroke. An owl flits over the barbed wire fence onto the airport grounds and a golden jackal howls in the distance. ‘Nature is trying to reclaim its space,’ says Leonard Sonten. Standing next to him, Annette Spangenberg is shocked at the progress of the construction work since her last visit just over a year ago. But giving up is out of the question: ‘I am more convinced and determined than ever to stand by PPNEA. PPNEA as an organisation and Zydjon Vorpsi as a person deserve all the support we can give them,’ she says.
There is still hope!
Together with our Albanian partners, we have been able to mobilise forces at EU level and initiate encouraging developments:
Bonn Convention (CMS, Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species): In March, the Standing Committee called on the Albanian government to, among other things, carry out a comprehensive ecological assessment of the impact on the Dalmatian pelican as well as other protected species. Until then, the construction work must be suspended. Based on the results, the Albanian government should then reassess whether construction can continue. This is the first time that the so-called CMS review mechanism has been implemented. This emphasises the immense danger that the airport would pose to migratory birds in particular.
In April, Munich Airport International (MAI), a subsidiary of Flughafen München GmbH, withdrew from its ‘consulting activities’ for the Vlora airport project. Together with our Albanian partners and BUND Naturschutz, EuroNatur had criticised MAI's involvement in the controversial airport project in the media and elsewhere. To date, Edi Rama has tried to justify the seriousness of the project by claiming that Munich Airport would operate Vlora Airport.
The European Parliament, the European Commission and representatives of the Bern Convention (the most important international nature conservation agreement in Europe) have also strongly criticised the construction of Vlora Airport and are calling on the Albanian government to stop this environmentally damaging project.
Albania's EU accession process offers a promising bargaining lever. EuroNatur is campaigning for the effective protection of the Vjosa-Narta ecosystem to become a condition for Albania's accession to the EU.
