Albania

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Albania is a rugged country, with mountains covering almost three quarters of its territory and a coast that brings together lagoons, dunes and the one point where the Adriatic narrows facing Italy. The Albanian Alps, known as the Accursed Mountains, keep glacial valleys, beech forests and a fauna that includes brown bear, wolf, Balkan chamois and, very scarce, the Balkan lynx. The great tectonic lakes of Ohrid, Prespa and Skadar, shared with its neighbours, provide exceptional aquatic biodiversity. On the coast, the Karavasta lagoon, separated from the Adriatic by a belt of dunes and pines, holds one of the few Dalmatian pelican colonies in the Mediterranean, and Butrint park combines wetlands, holm oak woods and ancient ruins. Albania's rivers are the last great unregulated watercourses in Europe.

The nature of Albania

National animal: The golden eagle, to the point that the country's name in Albanian means land of the eagles

Did you know?

In March 2023 the Vjosa river was declared Europe's first wild river national park: some two hundred and seventy kilometres flowing without a single dam from the Greek mountains to the Adriatic, with braided channels, gravel islands and riverside woodland. It holds more than 1,100 species, among them otters, terrapins and dozens of fish, and works as the last example of what the continent's great rivers used to be.

Biodiversity profile

Balcanes (costa adriatica-jonica)Albania es el pais con mayor cobertura relativa de areas protegidas transfronterizas de los Balcanes Occidentales (mas del 13% del territorio), por delante de Kosovo (10,68%), Macedonia del Norte (8,51%) y Montenegro (4,1%)

Climate

•Mediterraneo (Csa) en la costa adriatica y jonica
•Continental de montaña en el interior (Alpes Albaneses/Dinaricos)

Main biomes

•Bosque mediterraneo costero
•Bosque montano balcanico (Alpes Albaneses, norte)
•Humedales costeros (Laguna de Karavasta, Lago de Shkodra)
•Río salvaje trenzado
•Alta montaña dinárica
•Laguna litoral
•Bosque de hayas
•Duna y pinar costero
•Lago tectónico
•Matorral mediterráneo

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Costa adriatica y jonica, con delfines, tortugas marinas y tiburones en aguas costeras
•Laguna de Karavasta (unica colonia reproductora de pelicano dalmata del pais)

Flagship wildlife

•Lince balcanico (En Peligro Critico, poblacion regional compartida con Macedonia del Norte)
•Oso pardo y lobo gris
•Pelicano dalmata (Karavasta)
•Aguila real (ave nacional)
•Pelícano ceñudo
•Oso pardo
•Lobo gris
•Nutria paleártica
•Flamenco común
•Foca monje del Mediterráneo
•Tortuga boba
•Rebeco

Notable endemic species

•Lago Ohrid (compartido con Macedonia del Norte), con mas de 200 especies endemicas exclusivas, ampliado como Patrimonio Mundial en su parte albanesa en 2019
•Los bosques de Albania cubren aprox. 36% del territorio
•Lince balcánico
•Trucha del Ohrid

Notable threatened species

•Lince balcanico (En Peligro Critico, entre las poblaciones de felinos mas amenazadas del mundo: solo unos 40 individuos estimados en toda la region compartida entre Albania y Macedonia del Norte en años recientes, con declive desde unos 280 individuos en los años 1970)
•Pelicano dalmata (Casi Amenazado, unica colonia reproductora albanesa en Karavasta)

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional Divjake-Karavasta (laguna costera, pelicano dalmata)
•Parque Nacional del Valle de Valbona (Alpes Albaneses)
•Parque Nacional Llogara
•Parque Nacional del Río Vjosa
•Parque Nacional de Divjakë-Karavasta
•Parque Nacional de Butrint
•Parque Nacional de Valbona
•Parque Nacional de Theth
•Parque Nacional de Llogara

Main conservation threats

•Caza furtiva y perdida de habitat, principales amenazas para el lince balcanico, cuya poblacion ha caido mas del 85% desde los años 1970
•Deforestacion e infraestructura en humedales protegidos (incluidos proyectos de aeropuertos en zonas sensibles segun informes recientes)
•Caza ilegal de aves migratorias

Notable natural phenomena

•Desde 2006, un programa regional que incluye a Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia del Norte y Montenegro trabaja para expandir zonas de proteccion, sensibilizar a jovenes y combatir la deforestacion y caza furtiva que amenazan al lince balcanico

Conservation

Protecting the Vjosa against dozens of hydroelectric schemes is the most significant conservation milestone in the Balkans of the past decade. Hunting has been banned under successive moratoria since 2014 to halt the decline of the birdlife.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Karavasta between April and July for Dalmatian pelicans. Valbona and Theth in summer for mountain wildlife. Butrint and the bay of Narta in winter for flamingos and waterbirds.

Sources: constructive-voices.com - Albania Biodiversity | a-z-animals.com - Wildlife in Albania | IUCN - Local species global signals Western Balkans climate | malaymail.com - Saving the Balkan Lynx | EuroNatur - Biodiversity Spotlight Western Balkans

Mountain Freshwater