The President, Bajram Begaj decreed Monday the controversial law for Protected Areas in Albania.

This law was voted on February 22 in a very short parliamentary session amid opposition protests.

The presidency informed that the head of state had many consults and opinions on the new law with the groups of interests.

President Begaj listened the reserves that civil society has over this law, but according to him, the constitutional experts do not see this claim as an issue that belongs to the procedure for reviewing constitutionality.

Initially, a group of Socialist Party MPs in January proposed changes to the law, claiming the legal protection provided to national parks was too restrictive and was limiting economic development.

PM Edi Rama’s government then filed “comments”, dismissing parts of the proposal and adding new legal provisos that, according to environmental activists, endanger Protected Areas even more than the initial proposal. They said the way the government had intervened amounted to a “trick” whose aim was to avoid the need for extensive public consultations.

Situated along the Adriatic and Ionian coasts, Protected Areas are being targeted by developers wishing to appropriate publicly owned land to build villas, apartment blocks or hotels.

The proposal approved by Albania’s Council of Ministers last week includes input from the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy, the Agency for the Development of the Territory and other ministries.

Most of the proposals for a change to the 2017 law “For the Protection of the Environment” come from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and the Agency for the Development of the Territory.

The ministry proposes that so-called projects of “strategic value” be added to the list of the activities allowed in Protected Areas. The current law allows only environmentally friendly and environmentally sustainable activities, such as non-intensive agriculture, recreational activities or similar.