PROTECT VJOSA-NARTA: STOP CONSTRUCTION IN PROTECTED NATURAL AREAS! Protecting wetlands can start with a simple action: signing and sharing this #petition to oppose plans for large-scale tourist development in Albania’s Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape. 🇦🇱🌿👉 https://c.org/7zQSJFW6zn
Vjosa-Narta is a European wetland at risk, highlighting why the EAZA Wetlands for Life campaign is calling for stronger protection, restoration and appreciation of #wetlands across Europe and beyond.
🚨Since April 2026, heavy machinery has been operating inside the Pishë Poro-Narta Protected Area, within the wider Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape in Albania. This work is linked to large-scale tourism development in and around this protected coastal wetland. Reports describe the clearing of coastal habitat, damage to sand dunes, the opening of roads through previously undisturbed areas, and the blocking of one of the lagoon’s connections to the sea. 🚜🚧
🚨 Conservation organisations warn about a lack of transparency around permits, environmental impact assessment and public consultation. The site is internationally important for biodiversity, supporting hundreds of bird species, including greater flamingos, along a major migratory route. The wider area is also important for other threatened wildlife, including Mediterranean monk seals and loggerhead sea turtles. 🦩🐢🦭⚠️
🚨 The damage could have lasting consequences for the wetland ecosystem and species depending on it. The issue has also sparked wider public concern about how decisions are being made over protected nature and public access. Protests in Tirana and calls for international support show how strongly people feel about democracy and the future of this wetland. 💪
How you can help:
- join 100k fellow participants in signing the petition https://c.org/7zQSJFW6zn ,
- share it through your own channels, and
- help your visitors and audiences understand what is at stake.
Help keep momentum going around efforts for a wetland that is important for biodiversity and a powerful symbol of why wetland conservation matters.
More about the advocacy efforts by the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands / BirdLife International:
Albania’s flamingo protests: https://lnkd.in/eWibwCPY
Albania is destroying a protected wild coast for President Trump’s son-in-law - and lying to parliament about it: https://lnkd.in/dzXJZUCg
Illegal bulldozers are destroying one of Albania’s most precious wild places: https://lnkd.in/eHBKmDvT
Wetlands matter. Protect them today for tomorrow! 🌿💧🦩
Video: Anouk Puymartin
Photo: PPNEA
#ConservationAction #Vjosa #Albania #Democracy #Environment #ProtectedArea
Original post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7470006809051787265
