British financier Nat Rothschild has praised Prime Minister Edi Rama but said his government’s decisions to reduce the size of Butrint National Park and permit strategic investments in protected areas breach Albania’s international commitments.
Rothschild made the comments on X after sharing a Channel 4 report by international correspondent Lindsey Hilsum on the protests against the proposed development in the Zvërnec–Narta protected landscape.
“Edi Rama is a unique politician, someone I admire, and has done so many good things for Albania,” Rothschild wrote.
But he said the reduction of Butrint National Park in 2022 and the 2024 legislation allowing strategic investments in national parks and protected areas were inconsistent with Albania’s obligations under the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its EU accession commitments.
Hilsum responded: “I think it all began with a trip on your yacht?”
Her comment appeared to refer to a 2021 yacht trip during which Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump visited Albania and met Rama. Kushner has said that Rama joined them aboard the yacht and that the trip helped spark his interest in investing in Albania.
Rothschild replied that efforts to protect Butrint began much earlier.
He referred to the Butrint Foundation, founded by his father in 1993, with the mission of protecting the ancient site and its surrounding landscape.
According to Rothschild, the foundation’s cooperation with the Albanian government, UNESCO and the World Bank helped secure expanded protection for the park in 1999.
“Edi Rama decided to reduce the size of the park dramatically, which, in my opinion, was a rare error of judgment on his part, because Albania’s coastline and its natural heritage are genuinely irreplaceable,” he wrote.
A government decision adopted in January 2022 reduced Butrint National Park by more than 800 hectares, from 9,424 hectares to 8,622 hectares (Rothschild incorrectly refers to acres rather than hectares).
UNESCO describes Butrint and its surroundings as an exceptional cultural landscape combining archaeology and nature. The national park also serves as the buffer zone protecting the World Heritage site. UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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