The drone footage shows how the area of the Bay of Manastir in Saranda is being alienated, which in January 2022 was removed from the map of the Butrint National Park after a decision by the Albanian government to review the borders of the Protected Areas.
The “Manastiri Resort” project is the first approved by the Albanian government on the coastline from the Çuka Channel to the Butrint Lagoon after the revision of the map of the protected areas, while other construction plans are in process.
About 800 hectares, including some areas of Ksamil, were removed from the Butrint National Park by the government’s decision.
The overcrowding of constructions, as seen from aerial views, is frighteningly evident in Ksamil, which has a small sea line for beaches.
Unspoiled millennia-old landscapes are being damaged along the coastline from Saranda to Ksamil to become beaches and constructions.
23 public administration officials and 1 notary have been arrested on suspicion of abuse of office over the past 21 months by order of the Saranda Prosecutor’s Office and SPAK.
Meanwhile, around 48 Albanian environmental organizations have requested that the review of protected areas not be approved and 11 of them are plaintiffs against the government’s decision and are continuing the battle for the annulment of the decision in a court proceeding in Tirana.
Despite these reactions, the socialist majority is preparing to approve new changes to the map of protected areas in Albania.
These days, 12 deputies of the Socialist Party have submitted a request for the amendment of the law “On protected areas”.
The new draft law again reduces the degree of protection of important natural areas of the country in order to pave the way for investments.