Kenneth Glad
The case has become a public argument about land, money and nature. It also raises questions about how a small country manages outside investment.
Albania’s push for luxury tourism is facing a major backlash on the Vjosa-Narta coast, where a proposed resort connected to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner has put a protected wetland at the center of national protests.
According to The Guardian, machinery and fencing have appeared in the Pishë Poro-Nartë protected area, part of the wider Vjosa-Narta landscape.
Project representatives said the investors are involved in a personal capacity, while Albanian officials say current work is limited to technical surveys and environmental measurements.
Why this coast matters beyond Albania
The dispute has grown because the site is not an ordinary stretch of shoreline. The Vjosa delta contains lagoons, dunes, marshland and salt pans, and it supports migratory birds, flamingos, otters, turtles, dolphins and rare amphibians.
Conservation data reported by The Guardian identified 2,529 species in the delta, including 279 considered internationally threatened.
Aleksandër Trajçe, executive director of the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), the country’s largest conservation organization, said to the British newspaper:
“If you want to see the Mediterranean as it used to be, before it was wrecked by tourism, this is one of the last – if not the last – spots where you would find it.”
Campaigners say the public has not been properly included in the process. Environmental groups have also argued that work in the area is moving ahead without transparent approvals or an environmental impact assessment, a concern also raised by EuroNatur and Riverwatch.
Protected land is becoming political
The case has widened into a debate over Albania’s development model. Tourism has become a major economic priority, but opponents say recent legal changes have made protected areas more vulnerable to high-end construction.
In 2024, Albania amended its protected areas law. PPNEA said the change weakened safeguards for sensitive ecosystems, while the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority behind the Red List of Threatened Species, called on Albania to revise the law and restore protections against airports, luxury resorts and major infrastructure in the most strictly protected areas.
Prime Minister Edi Rama’s office defended the broader principle of development. A government spokesperson told The Guardian:
“No European country, including Albania, operates on the principle that development and environmental protection are mutually exclusive. The challenge is not exclusion but balance.”
EU accession adds another test
The controversy also matters because Albania wants to join the European Union by 2030. EU accession requires alignment with the bloc’s environmental rules, and the European Commission has urged Albanian authorities to act without delay over the resort issue, according to Euronews and Euractiv.
Sazan Real Estate Development LLC said it respects ongoing public and institutional processes. Its chair, Asher Abehsera, told The Guardian:
“Our focus remains on responsible stewardship, environmental enhancement, job creation and creating long-term value for local communities.”
Scientists remain unconvinced that a large resort can avoid serious harm. Aleko Miho, a biologist at the University of Tirana, warned that construction, traffic and aircraft could significantly disturb or degrade the habitat:
“The birds will fly away, for sure.”
Sources: The Guardian; Euronews; Euractiv; EuroNatur; Riverwatch.
