International attention is turning to Albania's coast, where work on a luxury resort associated with the Trump family has torn into a fragile lagoon ecosystem, and police used tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators in the capital.
What began as a local conservation fight has become a broader flashpoint over transparency, development, and who bears the cost when protected landscapes are reshaped for the ultrawealthy.
What's happening?
Türkiye Today said satellite imagery and field assessments indicate that the Narta lagoon, one of Albania's last relatively untouched coastal areas, has already suffered major damage.
A 25-day period in May brought a bridge over the channel linking the lagoon to the sea, tree removal, and a road cut through the site.
After visiting in June, scientists said the construction had already harmed loggerhead turtle nesting areas, bird habitat, and coastal dunes.
The 4.5 billion-euro ($5.1 billion) resort was first proposed in 2024 by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
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On a podcast, Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump, described the property as including "five miles of beach front directly across from the island with a beautiful peninsula with a lagoon on one side, the ocean on the other."
Weeks of public anger intensified when barbed wire and private security appeared around the proposed development.
Those demonstrations have since become nightly protests and eventually led to clashes outside parliament in Tirana.
Why does it matter?
Wildlife in the Narta lagoon relies on stable water flows and intact nesting grounds.
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Marine biologist and EcoAlbania head Olsi Nika called what is happening "an absolute biodiversity massacre."
Recovery can be difficult or impossible once dunes are flattened and breeding areas are disrupted.
Healthy coastal ecosystems can support tourism, fisheries, flood protection, and local identity.
Short-term construction damage can erode those benefits.
The protesters' anger now also reflects wider concerns about corruption and transparency, along with a planned 4 million-euro ($4.6 million) public subsidy for a Kanye West concert in Tirana.
What's being done?
Daily protests have kept pressure on authorities, and the sustained outcry has reportedly halted some work at the site.
Dua Lipa, the British pop star of Kosovar origin, has publicly backed the protesters.
In July, Marta Kos, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, said the EU and Albania had already agreed this year to repeal 2024 changes to the protected-areas law and drop a separate strategic-investments law because of environment and climate concerns in the country's accession process.
As Albania debates what kind of development it wants, scientists warn that the window to prevent more serious damage may be closing fast.
Professor Ferdinand Bego of the University of Tirana said the harm is "largely irreparable," while University of Vienna professor Friedrich Schiemer warned the project "could irreparably compromise its natural integrity."
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