Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
Narta is one of the largest and most important coastal wetlands of Albania. The site comprises a large, shallow and brackish lake (Lake Nartes) and a number of coastal lagoons between the Vjose river delta and the city of Vlore. Large parts of the area have been converted into agricultural land or saltpans. The lake surface decreases by 30% (especially when the connection with the sea is blocked) during the summer and large mudflats are exposed which support saltmarsh. Coastal habitats include dunes, beaches and rocky shores, with
Pinus pinea and
Pinus halepensis. Surrounding habitats consist of olive-groves, pine plantations and scattered poplar plantations. The site includes the small Pishe Poro lagoon (former (1989) IBA AL011). Previously, the Narta lagoon IBA also included the Karaburun peninsula and Sazan island, but these are now included in site 010.
An important site for wintering and migratory waterfowl, especially
Pelecanus crispus; 19,663 waterfowl were counted in January 1996, and 81,223 individuals counted in 1997. No waterbird breeding colonies seem to occur around the lagoon (1996). It is considered as a potentially very favourable site for the globally threatened
Numenius tenuirostris.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The main threats are water pollution from a hydrochloric acid factory located on the north-east shore, urban expansion, deforestation, overgrazing, disturbance to birds, dynamite fishing, hunting, tourism and land claim for enlarging the saltpans. A management plan will be prepared as part of a GEF Biodiversity project, coordinated by the Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat.
National None
International None
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Narta Lagoon (Albania). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/narta-lagoon-iba-albania on 22/12/2024.
