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Flamingo or airport? "Deutsche Welle": Nature under threat in Albania

Politiko 2024-02-27 12:13:14

Flamingo or airport? "Deutsche Welle": Nature under threat in Albania

The habitat of flamingos in the Albanian nature reserve of the Narta Lagoon is in danger, writes "Deutsche Welle". An international airport will be built here to boost tourism.

But this will come at the expense of one of Europe's last untouched natural havens.

A large international airport will be built near one of Europe's wild river national parks, in Albania. According to the Albanian government, it will bring tourists to the country and create jobs.

But building an airport in the middle of this vast, untouched wetland would destroy one of the last natural paradises in Europe, warns Zydjon Vorpsi, who works for an Albanian environmental protection organization. He is particularly concerned about the many rare bird species that live and breed in the Narta Lagoon area, which he regularly counts and catalogs. Be it rare pelicans, flamingos or endangered species, such as

Although Narta Lagoon enjoys national and international conservation status, construction is already underway. Zydjon Vorpsi and the PPNEA initiative (Protection and Conservation of the Natural Environment in Albania) argue that the airport project in the Vjosa-Nartë protected area violates Albania's own laws and also violates international agreements for the protection of biodiversity, ratified by the country itself. They have filed a lawsuit against the project and have been supported by foreign conservation organizations. Can they still stop construction? It's a race against time. The airport is scheduled to be completed by 2025.

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