Author: Denis Tahiri
On July 1, 2017, Prime Minister Edi Rama would post a photo of the beaches of Ksamil, describing the southern town as one of the most favorite destinations.
"I wish you a good day with this fantastic view from the beach of Ksamil, one of the most favorite destinations of local and foreign tourists", greeted Rama four years ago. But for Ksamil, things are not going well. As the tourism industry, which is in the center of attention in this town, is facing many difficulties due to Covid-19, the beauties that attract tourists in the southern town are in danger and can disappear from moment to moment. Inerts were thrown into the Butrint lake, which were systematized, but the perpetrators who carried out this action remain unknown. The same thing is happening with the beaches of Ksamil, where the struggle to gain as much coastline as possible also has a negative impact.
The lake is filling up!
Soraldo Nebo, a graduate of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, 31 years old, is one of the many young men and women of Ksamil who, after completing their higher studies in the capital, have chosen to return to their hometown to practice their profession. The first step he took was to unite young people in the enterprise of preserving Ksamil.
Association for the Movement for the Development of Tourism in Ksamil, opened its doors in 2016, engaging young people from different professions, but united by the goal of a sustainable tourism that helps Ksamil and the residents of the area.
"Regarding the association, we have clearly defined by statute that the association will deal with any environmental issues in the area of Ksamil. And for this reason, we had a project, where we had two areas, that of Pallavraq and that of the islands. We concluded a contract in which we assigned an additional ranger to AKZM", Soraldo says. In one of his observations, the ranger found that parts of the lake were being filled in the area of Pallavraq in Lake Butrint. The youth association of Ksamil notified the National Agency of Protected Areas that monitors the Butrin National Park, which includes Butrint Lake. The inert filling of the lake located in a protected area, their systemization and compaction was then described in the AKZM reports.
In the inspection report from the Vlora Regional Administration of Protected Areas, it is stated that on 13.03.2021 "On our part, the inspection was done in the area of Pallavraq, where inert and urban dumps were found, open and compacted, where some trees were also planted in the area. This is located within PK (Butrinti) protected area within the yellow line". The alarm in the inspection report held by the specialists of AKZM Vlorë is further reinforced as the specialists admit that they contacted the local police who have not yet discovered the perpetrators because according to their suspicions the inerts were thrown during the night.
Ping-pong for finding authors
Officially asked what steps have been taken regarding this problem, the National Agency of Protected Areas, the Directorate of Management, Projects and Monitoring under the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, states that it has communicated with the responsible institutions specialized in taking measures. "Given that the area where the intervention was carried out is outside the pasture and forest fund and is located within the urban area of the town of Ksamil, specifically with document no. protocol 91, dated 02.04.2021 "Request for cooperation and taking measures", AdZM Vlorë has been addressed respectively to: Mr. Ardian Gurma, in the capacity of the Mayor of Sarandë, Mr. Simbol Pazaj, Regional Director of the Regional IKMT and Police Station of the Sarandë police for cooperation in the investigation of the case in order to identify the author and take measures according to the legislation". it is stated in the official response of AKZM.
Meanwhile, in the documents owned by the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism, the Inspectorate of Territory Protection in the Municipality of Saranda, after an inspection of an unidentified subject, decided not only to demolish the illegal object and return the land to its previous state, but also to punish unidentified person. The decision turns out to have been signed on March 15, 2021.
A day later, this institution issues another decision with number 25, where a fine of 500.000 ALL is imposed on an unknown address and an unknown offender, who, it is emphasized, could not be identified. "In the absence of an address, and personal data on who will be the offender where this fine will be executed, it is automatically invalid and unenforceable. This is a penalty for procedure" , a lawyer told ACQJ.
AKZM, for its part, informs that the Municipality of Saranda has announced in the official letter-exchange that this case would be referred to the Prosecutor's Office of the Court of First Instance of Saranda.
Experts: The law has been violated, it should be taken seriously
"There has been occupation, after the foundations have been laid, they have been systematized and trees have also been planted", this is how Olsi Nika, leader of Ecoalbania, begins his description when asked about the laying of the foundations in Lake Butrint.
"It is within the protected area and the National Park of Butrint has become a park apart from the lagoon, because it was an archaeological park and the coastline is also included", says Nika, adding that with the recent decisions that changed the borders of the protected areas, the coastline has been halved, removing it from the map of the protected areas.
"The very laying of the foundations creates concern in the imbalance of the balances that the lagoon has. Lagoons are very fragile ecosystems, the slightest impact can lead to total destruction. The integrity of the Park itself is broken. Therefore the coastline is left and not interfered with at all. The ecological limiting factor of lagoons is water exchange with the sea and fresh water, otherwise it is completely destroyed. And when you go and create even a small amount of pressure, creating other water flows, even more dirty water, imagine what can happen." insists Nika, stressing that the integrity of the park is broken.
Even for Shkëlqim Hajno, Executive Director of the Ionian Agency for Environment, Media and Information, the filling of parts of the lake will negatively impact the ecosystems in Lake Butrint.
"Ecosystems in Lake Butrint, even as they are, are endangered due to insufficient oxygenation as a former flow from the Bistrica river has not continuously worked during these last decades. So living things are directly threatened, not just the mussel. Lake Butrin is also a barn of other living things, such as crabs, different types of fish and different types of eels", declares Hajno.
In addition to this problem, even the beaches of Ksamil, enviable by thousands of tourists, are at risk.
"The beaches in Ksamil, what they are today, 90% of them are created beaches. So they were rented from the municipalities and then they were systematized, so they were excavated to increase the surface and ground sand was thrown, which impacts the entire area of the coastline and can be seen with the naked eye, as they are usually thrown not during the day, taking into account the increased sensitivity, but also the tightening of the legal framework for environmental crimes. But this practice continues, since until now there has not been a rigorous control by the government structure, such as the Coastal Agency, etc., underlines Shkëlqim Hajno, who points out that there is a total lack of signage in these areas. The expert points out that awareness is not enough.
On the other hand, Olsi Nika shows that two very important Mediterranean ecosystems of rocky beaches in Ksamil have already been lost.
"The sea is divided into several floors, so the floor that we call the littoral and the infralittoral have been completely transformed. Tikalitoral is the area between the sea and the land and is wetted only by the waves and there is a very interesting living world and you generally find it only on the rocky coast. She is lost. But even the Infralittoral, which is the part of the rocky coast that is covered and revealed based on the waves and the tide, has practically been lost." he says, noting that although it can be claimed that a floor of sand fauna has been acquired, it is not true as the sand dumped is not natural sand but mined from limestone rock.
"This sand being thrown into the sea, whenever it is under the effect of the waves, creates a milky white haze, which reduces the penetration of sunlight, reduces oxygen and does not allow life to settle there. But also from the point of view of the beaches, you bathe in a calcareous sludge that has a basic effect for your skin, which only corrodes", he concludes.
On May 14, 2021, Prime Minister Rama asked the State Police for an immediate launch of an action against illegal constructions, for the police and every responsible institution in the Ksamil area, the statement of the head of government has not yet arrived.
