“Arrogance Toward Cultural and Natural Heritage”
By Auron Tare
The protection of the Ancient City of Butrint is the result of a long-term effort that began in the early 1990s, when the area surrounding the ancient city was threatened by tourism resort projects. After 1997, with the support of the then Minister of Culture, Edi Rama, the creation of a protected zone around Butrint was proposed. This proposal was approved and the area was declared a National Park.
 |
| Comparative satellite images (2021-2025) and field photos showing changes and new construction near the Butrint protected area. (Image source: Auron Tare's Facebook profile) |
What happened in 2020–2022?
In 2020–2021, the Ministry of Culture, led first by Mirela Kumbaro and later by Elva Margariti, together with the Albanian-American Development Foundation (AADF), drafted the Integrated Management Plan for Butrint. This plan was funded by AADF but without the participation of any Albanian heritage specialists.
The result was a radical change in the way Butrint was managed and protected.
On January 26, 2022, with Council of Ministers Decision No. 59, a change in the status and area of Butrint National Park was approved. As a result, the park’s surface was reduced from 9,424.4 hectares to 8,622.2 hectares, removing around 802 hectares from protection.
The decision was justified by the authorities as an administrative reorganization of the park’s boundaries. However, to this day there is no clear justification as to why the protected area needed to be reduced. The reduction was not supported by sufficient scientific arguments and opened the way for new development pressures in a territory that for decades had been considered a national and international asset.
Meanwhile, the administrative model was changed: the Ancient City was placed under the management of AADF, while the remaining 800 hectares were opened for construction. This decision also passed through Parliament with the help of parliamentary puppets and was signed by the President.
Conflict of interest
One of the most problematic aspects of the process was the role of the Minister, Mirela Kumbaro, and AADF, who collaborated in dismantling a structure built over decades to protect this World Heritage site.
Mirela Kumbaro led the entire process of fragmenting the National Park and publicly defended the removal of part of the park in favor of developers who have now created an urbanized area near the Ancient Walls of Dema and the Monastery of Saint George.
AADF:
- financed the drafting of the Integrated Management Plan,
- supported the new management model and the reduction of the protected zone,
- later became part of the Butrint Management Foundation, together with the Ministry of Culture, where British archaeologist Richard Hodges was also involved.
In other words, the same institution that financed the plan recommending the changes later became part of the structure implementing them. This raises serious concerns about the transparency of the process.
At the same time, the traditional administration of the National Park was weakened, while the management of cultural heritage was transferred to a new foundation structure. For many specialists and heritage activists, this represents a departure from the public management model of an asset belonging to all Albanians.
Impacts on the ground
Today, a visit to the area is enough to see the increasing pressure of urban development around Butrint. New construction and the expansion of tourist zones have raised concerns that the reduction of the park’s boundaries was not merely a technical adjustment, but part of a vision favoring construction development at the expense of long-term protection of natural and cultural heritage.
The main concern is that Butrint risks being gradually surrounded by tourist complexes, villas, and other urban structures, losing the unique character that made it one of the most important heritage sites in the Mediterranean and the world.
An unanswered question
Was the reduction of Butrint National Park based on public interest and heritage protection, or was it a step that opened the way for private development in one of Albania’s most protected areas?
This is a question that requires full transparency, public debate, and clear answers from those who drafted, supported, and signed this process—especially the Prime Minister of Albania.
Biography: Auron Tare
Auron Tare is an Albanian archaeologist and cultural heritage expert with a strong focus on underwater archaeology and the protection of historical sites. He has held positions within Albania’s cultural institutions and contributed to research, conservation, and management projects involving some of the country’s most important archaeological areas, especially the Butrint region.
Alongside his professional work, he is widely recognized for his public commentary and critical writing on cultural heritage governance, sustainable tourism, and the safeguarding of archaeological landscapes of national and international significance in Albania.