During the month of September, over 30 members and partners of MAW joined the Albanian NGOs PPNEA and AOS in launching a Red Alert to request the suspension of the Vlora Airport inside the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape. Vjosa-Narta is Albania’s second most important wetland and is home to more than 70 endangered species, 200 bird species and some other highly valuable species such as the Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta),the Monk seal (Monachus monachus) or endemic species such as the Albanian water frog (Pelophylax shqipericus). Most importantly, the Vjosa-Narta wetland constitutes a key stopover area for thousands of birds each year that migrate between Europe and Africa along the Adriatic flyway.
Based on the scientific and conservation consensus of the supporting organizations, MAW addressed three official letters to the European Commission, the Albanian government and the IATA (International Air Transport Association) urging them to engage in high-level dialogue and to explore alternative solutions to the airport construction.
This Red Alert coincided with the decision of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife (Council of Europe) to issue an official recommendation requesting the immediate suspension of the construction “until a new and sufficient Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure will be conducted as well as a Proper/Appropriate Assessment.”
The EU commission has since replied to our letter and the Ministry of Tourism of Albania has responded to the requests to stop the construction of the airport.
News and media coverage of the Red Alert for Vjosa-Narta
As part of this Red Alert, the MAW members orchestrated a communications and social media campaign, which gained the attention of international and Albanian media, including:
- The New Your Times :
- Deutsche Welle:
- Euractiv
- Euronews
- Balkanweb
- Ecopress Greece
- Other Australian news outlets
Moreover, MAW worked with an illustrator to produce an infographic to explain the impacts of the airport development inside the Vjosa-Narta protected area, which obtained high levels of interaction on social media:
The Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife has specifically requested to be updated on the outcomes of this Red Alert.
We would like to thank our members and partner organizations who decided to support this campaign and specially the Albanian NGOs and Euronatur for their outstanding initiative.
