Vrina Wetlands: A Mediterranean Biodiversity Treasure Under Threat from Tourism Development
Albanian Ornithological Society, March 11, 2025
Konispol, Albania – March 14, 2025. Despite being recently recognized by the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands as a priority site under the Green Light initiative, Albania’s Vrina plain, adjacent to Butrint National Park, is now under immediate threat from large-scale resort development. The area’s critical role as a biodiversity hotspot and cultural heritage site risks being irreversibly compromised.
In late 2024, Albania’s Council of Ministers authorized the Albanian Investment Corporation to open public lands in Vrina, Konispol Municipality, for tourism infrastructure. These plans target one of the last remaining wetland mosaics on Albania’s southern coast — an ecologically rich zone along the Ionian Sea, home to Ramsar-designated wetlands, migratory bird corridors, and the historic Castle of Ali Pasha.
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Allowing resort construction in Vrina undermines Albania’s own conservation objectives, including biodiversity protection, climate resilience, and responsible tourism development. Crucially, the Management Plan for Butrint National Park mandates that all developments in the buffer zone meet strict environmental and participatory standards — standards that remain unmet in Vrina’s case.
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Across the Mediterranean, wetlands are being sacrificed to short-term economic interests. But Albania has an opportunity to do things differently — to protect Vrina as a flagship site for nature-based tourism, environmental education, and wetland research.
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In 2025, Vrina marshes in Albania and Carska Bara in Croatia have been selected to deploy the Green Light Protoco
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(https://europe.wetlands.org/mediterranean/)
concerns already in 2011:
BEGO, F and MALLTEZI, J., 2011. Ecotourism Opportunities and Challenges in Butrint, Albania, a Unique UNESCO and Ramsar site. In: Micallef, A. (ed.), MCRR3–2010 Conference Proceedings, Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 61, pp. 150–157. Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy, ISSN 0749–0208.
Abstract
This paper provides ecoturism opportunities in the Butrint National Park (BNP), designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999 and Ramsar site in 2003. Geographical position, landscape and biodiversity combined with a very rich culture heritage makes the site the most frequented by foreign visitors in Albania. Other new opportunities to bring more visitors in outside of the summer touristic season, including birdwatching, walking trials, biking, scuba-diving are discussed. The paper raises concerns that the ecotourism opportunities are put at risk by a number of uncontrolled human activities, such as illegal urbanization and massive tourism, wetland reclamation, mining, irrational marine aquaculture, hunting, excessive grazing and fires. Finally, some recommendations on how to address these concerns and maximize potential for ecotourism development of this unique UNESCO and Ramsar Site in Albania are suggested.
Vrina Wetlands Restoration Project
https://aos-alb.org/portfolio/green-light-system-vrina/
The Albanian Ornithological Society (AOS) has been awarded the Green Light System grant by the Mediterranean Alliance for Wetlands (MAW) for the restoration of the Vrina freshwater marshes, situated within the Butrint National Park. This site is now recognized as the third selected under the Green Light Protocol, an initiative aimed at spotlighting and supporting Mediterranean wetlands under immediate threat.
Sunset over Vrina wetlands in Butrint, one of the most important yet overlooked bird habitats in Albania, now part of AOS’s restoration priorities.
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https://aos-alb.org/wp-content/uploads/ ... n.jpg.webp
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mediterr ... 87136-6THY:
Field Visit to Vrina Marshes: Advancing Restoration Efforts in Albania
(mouth of the Pavlle River
