‘It’s not just flamingos’: Opposition grows in Albania over Trump-linked resort project

Project amounts to ‘land grabbing, destruction of the ecosystem,’ conservation leader Aleksander Trajce tells Anadolu.

‘Why risk one of the last pristine deltas in the Mediterranean?’ environmental activist Besjana Guri asks.

A cardboard flamingo has become an unlikely symbol of political anger in Albania.

Thousands have been protesting for around 11 days in the capital Tirana and in coastal areas of the country's southwest against a luxury resort project backed by US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Demonstrators carry banners declaring "Albania is not for sale" alongside flamingo posters and cut-outs that have become a symbol of opposition to the project's potential impact on nearby wetlands and migratory bird routes.

The spark that helped ignite the movement came in a May 31 interview with Ivanka Trump that quickly went viral. Describing how she and Kushner first encountered the site, she said: “We were on a friend’s boat and we stopped for a swim. Effectively, that’s how we found it ... a beautiful 1,400-hectare private island in the middle of the Mediterranean."

The island she was referring to is Sazan, an uninhabited Adriatic island off the Albanian coast that served as a communist-era military base.

Besjana Guri, an environmental activist who received the Goldman Environmental Prize – often called the 'Green Nobel' – for her work protecting the Vjosa River, said the project raises questions about development in protected areas.

“Sazan, first of all, is public land in Albania,” she told Anadolu. “It is unexplored in terms of tourism.”

Questioning the location of the project, she asked: “Why a protected area? Why risk one of the last pristine deltas in the Mediterranean?”

How the project developed

The project linked to Kushner’s investment structures envisions luxury hotels, villas, marina infrastructure and a wider tourism zone.

The development is valued at $1.6 billion for the island component alone and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama recently cited a €4 billion ($4.7 billion) figure for the wider Vlora area.

It includes two components: a resort on Sazan Island and a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area near Zvernec, part of the protected Vjosa-Narta landscape on the Adriatic coast.

The region hosts more than 70 endangered species and over 200 bird species, including flamingos and Dalmatian pelicans. It is part of the Adriatic Flyway, used by millions of migratory birds each year.

The area is also one of the remaining Mediterranean habitats of the endangered monk seal.

Kushner's firm, Affinity Partners, presented plans for the luxury resort complex in 2024. The Albanian government under Rama signaled support, granting "strategic investor" status to Atlantic Incubation Partners, a firm linked to Affinity Partners.

The government also amended the Law on Protected Areas – a change that opened the door to luxury resort construction in zones that had previously been strictly protected.

“That law was strongly opposed by academia, NGOs, civil society and experts,” Guri said, adding that they are now calling not only to stop the project but also to cancel the legal changes.

Work begins amid regulatory scrutiny

According to environmental groups, excavators began work in the area last month, with land clearance, road openings and fencing in parts of the lagoon zone.

Aleksander Trajce, director of the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment (PPNEA) in Albania – the country’s oldest and largest nature conservation organization – described the project as “land grabbing and destruction of the ecosystem.”

He said the construction activity began before a permit was issued and without wider consultation.

"The government claims that there is a development permit given," Trajce told Anadolu. "Development permit does not mean construction permit. That's at a later stage."

He added that there had been “no public consultation or engagement with stakeholders” and that the process had moved “very quickly.”

A full Environmental Impact Assessment has not yet been completed for the project.

Prime Minister Edi Rama has said there is no finalized plan and therefore no completed assessment at this stage.

“Is there an expression of interest to have a project? Yes. Is there a project? No," he said. “The project is being worked on by investors.”

In multiple interviews following the protests, Rama defended the luxury resort, calling it “a blessing for the country” and saying billions in foreign investment would transform the economy.

Guri said the economic benefits of the project are likely to be concentrated in higher-end tourism.

“This kind of tourism is aimed at high-end visitors,” she said. “I don’t think local people will be the main beneficiaries.”

Construction work put on pause

Construction work has been paused amid backlash and an ongoing probe by Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office (SPAK) related to the project area.

According to media reports, on June 2 SPAK issued a preventive seizure order freezing the bank accounts of Albania Land Development, a landholding company, and a firm owned by Qatari investors Moutaz and Ramez Al-Khayyat.

The freeze was reportedly lifted shortly after a reassessment.

In a statement to Anadolu, SPAK denied imposing any preventive measures on Albania Land Development’s bank accounts.

“It has no open investigation concerning any project associated with Mr. Jared Kushner,” the statement also said, adding that it had “initiated a separate investigation, however, that matter is unrelated.”

Affinity Partners did not respond to Anadolu's request for comment.

Project sparks EU scrutiny, governance concerns

The project has also drawn attention in the context of Albania’s EU accession process.

The Vjosa-Narta area's status as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention and a key biodiversity area means that under European frameworks, it would be subject to the most stringent protections available.

On Tuesday, the European Commission urged Albania to act without delay to ensure alignment with EU environmental legislation.

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has so far shown no indication of changing course.

He dismissed parts of the backlash as politically motivated or as part of a “hybrid war” against Albania by unspecified “different forces.” He also suggested that foreign actors, including Iran, may be involved in spreading online disinformation around the protests, prompting a public exchange on social media with an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman.

Yet for many protesters, the resort has become a symbol of broader frustrations with governance after 13 years under Rama, including concerns over transparency and corruption.

“This is underlining many other social issues going on in Albania, and people are quite frustrated,” Trajce said, adding that he is concerned that political attention is being focused on justifying a private investment, while, in his view, more emphasis should be placed on public investment such as railways, hospitals, education and healthcare.

Referring to the protest symbol, he said: “It’s not just the flamingos in nature, it’s also the flamingos that represent everything that is going wrong in the governance of the country.”

By Beril Canakci-AA