Environmental Protests Intensify in Albania As Kushner Plans Major Construction

Environmental protests across Albania are intensifying as multiple luxury construction projects led by Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, break ground over miles of ecologically-crucial wetlands.

Kushner has served as an unofficial peace envoy for the Trump administration across the past year and a half, allowing him to strike lucrative deals with several nations overseas while collecting capital within the United States. He is currently married to Ivanka Trump, Trump's daughter, and is one of the president's closest family members.

After the first Trump term, Kushner founded a private equity firm known as Affinity Partners, which grew to maintain over $3 billion in capital through his connections with the rich and wealthy of America. However, over $2 billion of that total has been provided by sovereign wealth funds belonging to sheikhs and emirs across Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates– nations that Kushner has consistently visited to improve relations throughout Trump's second term.

In addition to this, Kushner has also struck massive real estate deals and construction projects across the globe, but two of the most lucrative are a pair of upcoming luxury developments on the sweeping coasts of the Balkans. Situated on the Albanian shoreline, facing the calm waters of the Adriatic Sea, the two spots are prime destinations for tourism, particularly due to the area's high biodiversity.

One of the two complexes will be situated on Sazan Island, the site of a secretive military base that has been abandoned since the Cold War. Kushner and his wife confirmed that the 3,460-acre island will be converted into a luxury eco-resort with more than 4,000 rooms, but they claim that they will show "restraint" and "care" with the ecosystem.

The second would be located on the Zvernec Peninsula, encompassing over 1,000 acres– it plans for more than 6,000 rooms and villas for tourists, with Kushner claiming that it will turn the destination into a tourism hotspot.

As a whole, both projects – designed in collaboration with Studio Genesis – have a combined worth of over $4 billion, which could be a massive benefit to a nation that has historically struggled with financial and economic issues.

However, local protests are impeding upon Kushner's plans. The two sites happen to be located within a highly-endangered ecological area known as the Vjosa-Narta Protected Area. The wetland region is home to more than 2,000 species, including various critically endangered species like the European eel, Dalmatian pelican, Adriatic sturgeon, Albanian water frog, Mediterranean monk seal, and loggerhead sea turtle. It is also an essential stopover along the Adriatic Flyway, a pathway used by thousands of migratory birds every year. As a whole, the area has been described as one of the last untouched wetland areas in the Mediterranean, making its protection even more important.

A large portion of Albania's coastline has already been heavily developed into agriculture and tourism destinations, leaving very few untouched spaces of wilderness along the Adriatic Sea. Environmentalists fear that Kushner's development could further endanger the already-sensitive ecosystem, posing more danger to species that have already been threatened by the fishing industry, pollution, and overtourism.

Furthermore, the area is currently open to the public, including Sazan Island, but Kushner's project could pave the way for other resorts to take over the area. From their perspective, an influx of elite, wealthy tourists would take over, damaging the local environment while restricting public access to one of the last remaining preserved areas on the Adriatic coast.

On top of this, many locals feel left out of the decision process; they claim that the government has completely circumvented democracy by approving the deal, which appears to be highly unpopular among the local population. Kushner's development company has also failed to provide an environmental impact report, raising concerns that they may be attempting to hide the true ecological consequences of the project.

Nevertheless, the project has steamed ahead, with construction equipment already beginning to carve through environmentally-crucial sand dunes. The government claimed that the equipment had arrived to construct a road for "environmental surveying," but locals have reported otherwise. Barbed wire fences have also been erected around the property, preventing protesters from breaching the area.

For these reasons, demonstrations have erupted across Albania, quickly growing to encompass people from various communities and walks of life. Thousands took to the streets in Tirana, Albania's capital, with the movement expanding to encompass a larger fight against overtourism, excessive development, a lack of political transparency, democratic backsliding, and environmental destruction. However, Prime Minister Edi Rama has vowed to continue with the project, asserting that the development could turn Albania into one of the most desired destinations in the Balkans.

Meanwhile, on-site, at least 15 protesters were arrested after video emerged of several private security guards dragging a trespasser along a dangerous cliff. Following the incident, at least one guard was jailed, and the licenses for two private security companies were revoked.

As part of the government's response to the people's call to action, Albania's anti-corruption office, known as SPAK, has opened a probe into the project. However, many believe that the investigation is likely to yield no results, particularly due to the international pressure of probing the son-in-law of the president of one of the world's most powerful countries– a leader that has not hesitated to make life difficult for those who go against him, his family, and their plans for financial growth.

Locals have hope, though. Last year, local pushback and protests were able to halt a planned development by Kushner in Serbia, which was set to include a Trump Tower-style high rise in the capital of Belgrade. The apartment and office complex was set to be constructed upon the remains of the Yugoslav army headquarters, which was bombed by a US-led campaign in 1999, sparking even more backlash over the building's historical significance. In the end, anti-corruption authorities were able to stop the project from going through, resulting in a major success for local Serbians.

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Image credit to Studio Genesis