A coalition of 534 scientists from 32 countries has formally delivered a petition calling on the Albanian government to halt luxury resort developments in the Vjosa Delta and grant the area full national park protection.
The petition, “Call for the Comprehensive Conservation and Sustainable Development of the Vjosa Delta,” was sent to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, alongside EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the Secretariat of the Bern Convention, and UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Programme.
The scientific coalition, led by prominent ecologists including Prof. Emeritus Friedrich Schiemer of Vienna University and Prof. Aleko Miho of Tirana University, warns that proposed heavy infrastructure projects threaten irreversible harm to one of the Mediterranean’s last wild river deltas.
A delta under threat
While Albania made international headlines in 2023 by creating Europe’s first Wild River National Park along the Vjosa River, its coastal delta and the neighbouring Narta lagoon were left out of the protection framework. Today, the fragile landscape, home to over 2,300 species, including 200 bird species, faces immediate danger from a proposed €1.4 billion commercial resort rollout.
“Current proposals for rapid, large-scale luxury tourism development would cause irreversible harm to this unique ecosystem,” the scientists state in the petition, noting that pushing heavy commercial construction into the Pishe-Poro-Narte landscape directly violates its protected legal status.
Three non-negotiable demands
The international scientific community is demanding three immediate actions from decision-makers:
- Cancel all destructive projects in the Vjosa Delta.
- Expand the Vjosa Wild River National Park to officially incorporate the Delta, securing a continuous protected corridor from river to sea.
- Develop a science-backed, nature-compatible eco-tourism strategy that protects the ecosystem while supporting local communities.
The signatories stand ready to assist the Albanian government in creating a sustainable future for the Vjosa Delta, but the destruction must stop now.
