Bern Convention: Vlora Airport row will make its way into EU membership talks

The Steering Committee of the Convention for the Conservation of Wild Life and Natural Habitats in Europe, or Berne Convention, has asked the Albanian government to suspend construction of the Vlora airport, stating the matter will find its way into EU membership negotiations.

Vlora Airport has been heralded as a massive boost to tourism. Still, its location on the Vjose-Narta Lagoon, smack bang in the flight path of various migratory birds, has caused outrage amongst those involved in preserving the country’s natural gems.

In recommendation 219, the Berne Convention states that the request for suspension of works was taken after consideration of a series of documents and an environmental assessment of the situation.

“Considering that the Vjose Narta Protected Area and its surroundings are a refuge for migratory species, waterfowl and other rare species that breed on land protected by the Berne Convention, AEËA (Euro-African Agreement on Migratory Birds of water) and the Convention on Migratory Species and aware of the foreseeable ecological impact of the airport project on this unique temple of nature,” the reasoning for the Bern decision states.

“This clear positioning of the states in the Bern Convention – including the EU – gives us a tailwind,” says Annette Spangenberg, Head of Nature Conservation at EuroNatur. “Albania has also signed this European convention on nature conservation – if the government does not adhere to it, it does not reflect well on Albania. The Bern Convention recommendation will certainly find its way into Albania’s accession negotiations to the European Union.”

Vlora Airport is being built by a consortium led by a company owned by Kosovo politician Behgjet Pacolli and a Turkish conglomerate tied to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the government said it would create some 27,000 jobs.

The companies involved in the project say the airport’s operation will not impact bird migration as the runway will be between 3.5km and 5km away from the bird sanctuary and migration routes.

However, EURACTIV visited the site in June 2023 and observed that the end of the under-construction runway was 300 metres from one pool where migratory birds were gathered.

Furthermore, activists have called out that work started on the site 18 months before the construction permit was granted and public hearing procedures were finished. They also state that a proper environmental impact report was not conducted and that plans to protect the Vjosa River and upgrade it to a National Park deliberately left out the Vjosa Narta area.

The site is public land, they say, meaning it costs the government nothing to give it for private development, while other, more suitable nearby sites would require the land to be purchased from its owners.

The government’s studies assessed the project was high-risk in terms of investment and offered a low rate of return. Despite this, the project has gone ahead with a contract that guarantees income to the consortium if the project is not profitable.

The European Commission said Tirana’s approval of Vlora International Airport violated both national laws and international conventions.

Activists are currently undertaking legal action against the project in the hopes of halting the work.

The development “is in contradiction with existing national laws for protected areas and with international conventions on biodiversity protection that Albania has ratified,” the European Union’s delegation to Albania said in a previous statement.

(Alice Taylor | Euractiv.com)