6:17
Life around the Mediterranean was proving much more extreme than I'd ever expected. As I neared the end of the first part of my journey, I headed back towards Albania's coast. Albania has perhaps the greatest system of wetlands in the entire Mediterranean. It's an absolutely crucial rest stop for birds that are crossing the Mediterranean Sea. The largest and most important of these coastal lagoons is Karavasta National Park. Look at this. It is completely enormous. A critical habitat for an incredible 250 species of birds, many of them threatened by hunting around the Mediterranean.
I met up with a heroic conservationist called Ardian Koci, the park's director. Morning. Pelicans? You have pelicans in the park? WOW! WHAT A beautiful creature. To see something that large in flight is a real treasure. Oh my goodness. It's a whole island of pelicans. Brilliant. What do you love about them?
They're really crammed onto their little islands there, but they seem to get on okay. They share parental responsibility. Around the Mediterranean. Pelican incoming. Tens, possibly hundreds of millions of birds are hunted every year. In Egypt and Lebanon, birds are slaughtered in their millions. Even inside the European Union, when nature laws should protect vulnerable species, it's a scandal. Italy is worst offenders. In Albania, guns are in plentiful supply and hunting was a huge threat. But then in 2014, the government here
set an example to the rest of the Mediterranean and banned outright all hunting. What was life like here before the hunting ban? Dark. Nothing. Very brave. And that's what it takes. What's the reason for putting the buoys out? So, we are protecting the pelicans. Okay. Simon here. Here? [snorts and laughter] The biggest battle to safeguard these wetlands may still lie ahead. Albania, naturally enough, wants a slice of the Med's massive tourist industry with all the investment and jobs that go with it.
There is a plan for a colossal resort to be built here on a scale rarely seen around the Mediterranean. It would start roughly 10 mi in that direction. And it would completely transform the national park. The future of Karavasta National Park is still to be decided. But there is hope. With its hunting ban, Albania has already shown it can take tough decisions to protect the environment and the wonder of the Mediterranean.
