FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Vlora International Airport is being built on the edge of the 40 square kilometer Vjosa-Nartë Lagoon, a key stopover for migratory birds that has been protected for 20 years.
A new international airport and elite tourism developments could put an end to one of Europe's last pristine parks.
Law 21/2024, as it is officially known, is a nightmare for environmentalists as it enables the construction of five-star mega resorts anywhere in the country, including protected natural areas.
His approval came in February, three days after Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner went public with his plans to create two resorts near the Vjosa River delta, an ecologically priceless wetland.
Today, Albania seems to have recognized the value of its natural assets. More than 21 percent of the country's total land is within a network of protected areas, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment says. It won international praise for creating Europe's first wild river Vjosa national park last year after bowing to pressure from a protracted campaign by campaigners.
But the protection did not extend to the delta, something that alarmed the NGO, Protection and Conservation of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), as this coastal wetland is the most biologically diverse part of the waterway, home to Dalmatian pelicans, frogs endangered waterfowl, flamingos, spoonbills and turtles.
Under the current of positivity, environmentalists say that there is a clear model of nature being sacrificed to development, while the government seeks to realize its vision of an Albanian riviera.
'Everything is connected': The airport by the lagoon
Nearby where Kushner is eyeing developments — on the Zvrnec peninsula and Sazan island — lies the construction site for a new airport, set to begin in 2022.
Vlora International Airport is being built on the edge of the 40 square kilometer Vjosa-Nartë Lagoon, a key stopover for migratory birds that has been protected for 20 years.
But the government revised the boundaries of this nature reserve (among others), meaning that the airport area fell outside the protected area and a building permit was subsequently granted. PPNEA is involved in two ongoing lawsuits over these steps.
The EU (which Albania intends to join) has said that the airport conflicts with national laws and international conventions for the protection of biodiversity that Albania has ratified. The Berne Convention Committee tells Euronews it is following the situation closely, after its call to suspend construction was ignored. For environmentalists, the airport is the start of a slippery slope.
Një zëdhënës i qeverisë thotë për Euronews Green se, “Projekti i aeroportit nuk po del nga hiçi; përkundrazi, ai po evoluon në një zonë ku aeroporti i mëparshëm funksiononte deri në fillim të viteve 1970. Ky lokacion bie jashtë sistemit të zonave të mbrojtura dhe nuk ka ndikim në Monumentet e Natyrës si Dunat e Nartës, Pylli i Zvërnecit dhe Laguna e Nartës.”
Ndryshimi i ligjit shqiptar që mundëson ndërtimet në zonat e mbrojtura
Sipas ndryshimit të ligjit të Shqipërisë për zonat e mbrojtura, Këshilli Kombëtar i Territorit mund të japë leje për resortet luksoze turistike kudo në vend. Deputetët dorëzuan projektligjin në nëntor dhe ai u përshpejtua në shkurt, pavarësisht se BE i kërkoi qeverisë të pezullonte votimin dhe ta bënte procesin më transparent.
Delegacioni i BE-së në Shqipëri – një mision diplomatik që drejton vendin drejt integrimit me bllokun – tha në përgjigje se do të ndjekë zbatimin e dispozitave të reja ligjore “me shumë vëmendje”.
Greenwashing is not working anymore for the Albanian government. Vlora International Airport in the delta of Vjosa shows that the river is nothing close to a National Park. https://t.co/V3mCa1vIzP
— PPNEA (@PPNEA) April 7, 2024
Aty ku lejohen resortet me pesë yje, ai parashikon një shtrirje shumë më të gjerë të infrastrukturës - nga autostradat dhe urat te termocentralet e reja dhe fushat e golfit.
Projektet e mbështetura nga Kushner në natyrën shqiptare
Firma e kapitalit privat me bazë në Majami e Kushner Affinity Partners është në prag të investimit në zhvillime të reja turistike përgjatë kësaj zone të Shqipërisë së Jugut.
Fotot e shpërndara në faqen e tij në Facebook tregojnë imazhe të hershme të projektimit për resortet në ishullin e pabanuar të Sazanit - një shëtitje me varkë të shpejtë nga vendi i aeroportit të Vlorës - dhe gadishulli i Zvërnecit, i lidhur me një urë druri me një ishull në lagunën e Nartës. Affinity Partners, me një tenxhere të mbushur nga Fondi i Investimeve Publike të Arabisë Saudite, sapo ka marrë dritën jeshile për të ndërtuar një kompleks hotelesh prej 500 milionë dollarësh (461 milionë euro) në Serbi, duke nxitur protesta lokale.
Sipas Ministrisë së Turizmit dhe Mjedisit, Shqipëria është ende “në një fazë shumë të hershme” me aplikimin e ishullit të Sazanit, i cili është marrë nga Agjencia Shqiptare e Zhvillimit të Investimeve, por duhet të kalojë në disa nivele shqyrtimi. Zyrtarisht, qeveria nuk ka marrë ende një aplikim për projektin në zonën e Nartës, shton ajo.
Sazani është në parkun kombëtar detar Karaburun-Sazan dhe Zvërneci është brenda zonës së mbrojtur Pishë Poro-Nartë, por ministria konteston se Sazani është zonë e mbrojtur.
Kushner's plan for Zvrnec is said to include up to 10,000 'cottage units'. Part of the required infrastructure will be supplied by the government as part of its offer to 'strategic investors'.
Environmentalist Jon Vorpsi says the name associated with Trump has been a distraction for the press and public, fueling political rather than environmental discussion.
How will developments affect biodiversity in the Vjosa delta?
The airport, the law change, the Kushner projects: "This is all a vision," says Vorpsi, which makes it impossible to talk in detail about the species that will be disturbed or lost.
" We are losing the coastal wetlands once and for all because of this vision. We don't talk at all about the presence of biodiversity there, in the end [...] it will disappear ", says the PPNEA pelican conservation coordinator.
People also risk losing their natural resources if the hydrology of the lagoon area and its underwater rivers is destroyed. And since this coastal wetland provides a vital defense against flooding and sea-level rise, "major disasters" could follow, he warns.
With an area of 240 square kilometers as it flows into the Adriatic, the Vjosa delta is one of the few intact deltas in the Mediterranean basin.
Scientists undertook a data-gathering mission to the site last month.
" Our first findings reveal the great ecological value of the delta. Amid the lure of luxury tourism, we must remember the unparalleled ecological importance of the Vjosa Delta, a unique treasure in all of Europe ," says Austrian lead scientist Prof Fritz Schiemer.
The environmental NGO Euronatur and others involved in the scientific delegation are asking the government to include the delta in the Vjosa Wild River National Park. But Vorpsi says that won't protect him from development given the new law.
How are environmental activists fighting back?
Instead, PPNEA is channeling its energy to rally the public and fight the government through legal means. One of her lawsuits against the construction permit for the Vlora airport, filed almost two years ago, has been returned to the Court of Appeal./ Adapted "Pamphlet" from "Euronews.Green"
Lini një Përgjigje