Vjosa - Narta Is Not for Sale!
Nature and Institutions belong to the people.
Albania has recently found itself at the center of European attention following the controversial development project in the Pishë Poro–Narta Protected Area, part of the Vjosa–Narta Protected Landscape and the delta of the Vjosa River, one of Europe's last remaining wild rivers. The project, linked to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, has sparked widespread protests and mobilised activists, local communities, and civil society organizations across the country and Europe.
From the very beginning, the project has been marked by a significant lack of transparency and democratic accountability. Construction works began without the necessary permits, without a completed environmental impact assessment, and allegations of the Albanian government providing false information about the project to the parliament. Rather than serving the public interest, state institutions appear to have facilitated the interests of politically connected investors at the expense of environmental protection and democratic oversight.
According to the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), the destruction already inflicted on the area is unprecedented and the most severe environmental damage ever recorded within Albania's protected areas. The site lies on the Adriatic Flyway, one of Europe's most important migratory bird routes, used by millions of birds traveling between Africa and Europe. More than 200 bird species have been documented there, including Flamingos and Dalmatian Pelicans, alongside over 70 endangered species. The surrounding marine ecosystem also provides one of the last Mediterranean refuges for the Mediterranean Monk Seal and serves as a crucial nesting habitat for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle.
This is not the first time Jared Kushner's investments have generated controversy in the Balkans. In Serbia, there were plans for a luxury hotel development on the site of the former General Staff Building in Belgrade. To accommodate the project, Serbian authorities stripped the site of its protected cultural monument status, demonstrating once again how public heritage and collective memory can be subordinated to private profit and investment.
As the attention is now on Albanian people, they remind us that the problem is not only in Vjosa–Narte luxury resort. The protests highlight a broader pattern in which public institutions are increasingly captured by political and economic elites, while environmental protection, cultural heritage, and democratic participation are treated as obstacles to investment rather than public goods worth defending. The Albanian people remind us that European integration alone cannot guarantee democracy, transparency, or social justice. Without accountable institutions and meaningful public participation, economic development risks becoming little more than a vehicle for the enrichment of a privileged few.
We, the Cooperation and Development Network Eastern Europe, stand in solidarity with the people of Albania in their fight to protect Vjosa–Narta and to defend democratic institutions, environmental justice, and the public interest. Natural heritage must be protected and democratic governance must serve people and communities, not politically connected investors and private capital.
Support the people of Albania, sign the petition “Protect Vjosa–Narta: Stop Construction in Protected Natural Areas” on the link HERE.
