
Natural Paradise Under Threat in Albania: Will the Lagoon Be Saved?
The Narta Lagoon, part of Albania's Vjosa-Narta protected wetland, is home to flamingos, pelicans, wood sandpipers, and curlews, and it sits in the path of a planned international airport. The film follows Zydjon Vorpsi, who works for the Albanian conservation group PPNEA, as he counts and catalogs the birds threatened by the construction and explains why the wetland's ecology cannot simply relocate. Footage shows the site already under construction despite the lagoon's national and international conservation status, while officials defend the airport as a source of tourism revenue and jobs. Vorpsi and PPNEA argue the project violates both Albanian law and international biodiversity agreements the country has ratified, and the film tracks their lawsuit against the developers, backed by foreign conservation organizations. With completion scheduled for 2025, the documentary frames the case as a race against time, weighing the promise of economic development against the loss of one of Europe's last largely untouched wetlands and the species that depend on it.