A new, multimillion-euro international airport near Albania's coastal city of Vlora will mean hundreds of jobs for area residents. But environmentalists warn it could cause irreparable damage to the fragile ecosystems of protected lagoons that host flamingos, pelicans and millions of other migratory birds. Albania's new, 104 million-euro ($125 million) international airport — the country's third — is currently being constructed at the Narta lagoon some 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the city of Vlora. Set to start operations in 2025, the airport will boast a 3.2-kilometer (2-mile) runway and is expected to handle up to 2 million passengers a year. That's good news for Adriatik Sela, a resident of Akerni village. The unemployed man hopes that “if there is business here, I could sell a cigarette package, or a coffee, or work as a guard.” He and others among the village's 1,000-strong population see the airport as an opportunity for a better life. Heavy earth-moving vehicles and workers from Swiss company Mabco Constructions are currently busy building the runway as well as a road linking the airport to a nearby highway. But Aleksander Trajce from the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania, (PPNEA) says the airport poses a grave threat to the Narta lagoon and the Karavasta lagoon farther north and environmentalists have launched a court battle to stop its construction. Millions of migratory birds use the lagoons as a rest stop as part of the Adriatic flyway, a route the birds use to travel from central and northern Europe to Africa. Up to 3,000 flamingos and pelicans visit the lagoons each year. “Building such infrastructure right in the middle of this route would mean incredible damage to the bird populations for which this region is famous and on which it flourishes,” Trajce said. Niko Dumani, from the non-governmental group Natural Environment Preservation and Protection Vlora, accuses the government of changing a pre-approved plan delineating a protected zone to incorporate a part of the lagoon into the airport's construction plans. “It is strange how development policies change from promoting tourism to promoting other industries, like air transport, exploiting a habitat which is so important for tourism, like the lagoon,” he said. Annette Spangenberg, from the German-based conservation group EuroNatur, said the Narta lagoon is part of an ecological network of conservation areas aiming at the long-term survival of bird species and their habitats. “If you build the airport within this area, it’s going to harm the integrity of your river ecosystem. It is like cutting off the leg of the Vjosa River,” she said. The Ministry of Tourism and Environment says it has consulted with locals and with experts. The new airport will generate at least 1,500 jobs. The ministry told the Associated Press in an email that the site was selected “as the most favorable alternative" for the airport because a military airstrip had started to be built there in the 1920s. But a European Union progress report on Albania last year noted that work on the airport started in December 2021 “in contradiction with national laws and international biodiversity protection conventions that have already been ratified.” Environmentalists also fear birds could threaten flight safety. In its most recent meeting in December last year, the Standing Committee to the Bern Convention called on the Albanian government to “suspend the construction of the airport due to its apparent lack of adherence to national and international laws.” The ministry said “a series of protective steps will be applied.” The residents of Akerni are unconcerned. Sela wants the airport to start operating as quickly as possible “to help all people in southern Albania take flights from here and, for sure, that will bring good luck to our lives.”

To support the essential contribution that rural people make to preserve ecosystems, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will remunerate rural communities and small-scale producers for their environmental work through a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) projects. At COP27 on Tuesday, Germany pledged to contribute to the project by providing an additional EUR 15 million to IFAD's Enhanced Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP+). As the increasing speed and intensity of the climate crisis are outpacing the ability of poor rural people to cope, “we need to think out of the box and find new ways, such as this scheme, to bring justice and provide the support that rural people need,” said Jo Puri, IFAD’s Associate Vice-President, Strategy and Knowledge Department. Three PES pilot projects will be developed in Brazil, Ethiopia and Lesotho to help small-scale producers build their resilience to climate change, boost food production, better participate in markets, and improve their access to nutritious diets. Each of the three pilots will be equally funded. All the activities under the PES project aim to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and boost carbon sequestration. Read more: IFAD issues 1st bond connecting capital markets to rural poor around world “We must not spare efforts in acknowledging and harnessing the strategic contribution of rural people in low- and middle-income countries to improve food security and preserve vital environmental resources for future generations,” said Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary in Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), at the signing ceremony. Germany's financing pledge is also a way to encourage the international community to diversify financial instruments to fund sustainable climate adaptation and climate mitigation practises in the agricultural sector.  In Brazil, marginalized local communities will be paid to preserve forests by developing and marketing a wide array of non-timber forest products. Rural communities will protect forests by gathering, processing and selling forest products, activities that do not require cutting down or damaging trees. Remunerated activities align with traditional practices and are an income alternative for poor and food-insecure communities. “It is about time to reward the economic value of these essential services that rural people are carrying out. These are key activities to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems, which also provide a significant contribution to mitigate climate change. They are indeed preserving our future,” Puri added. The PES scheme in Lesotho will incentivize better water resource management in the Orange River Basin, spanning across Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, and rural communities will be able to contribute to restoring degraded soils and landscapes. Read more: Global food systems must be changed: IFAD In Lesotho and Ethiopia, as an income-generating opportunity, small-scale farmers will be connected to the voluntary credit carbon market, where companies and countries can buy credits to make up for greenhouse gases, they themselves emit. Since the establishment of IFAD in 1977, Germany has contributed US$711 million to IFAD’s work on climate action, gender equality, food and nutrition security, and establishing equitable and sustainable food systems. Germany has also provided loans for up to EUR 800 million through KfW, Germany’s public development Bank, and contributed US$89 million in supplementary funds to support inclusive sustainable value chains development, climate adaptation, and youth employment.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said more than 1 million of the planet’s estimated 8 million plants and animal species are at risk of extinction today.

Dr AKM Rafique Ahammed, Director General of Department of Environment on Thursday said Bangladesh has been facing many challenges in terms of land degradation in the country.