After reviewing the site and focusing on the two main elements –its cultural and natural heritage– in this section, an attempt will be made to examine a few points that would facilitate the analysis and evaluation of the Butrint NP and, more specifically, to investigate the relationship between cultural heritage and nature protection.
The area first became famous due to its cultural heritage, mainly in relation to the ancient city of Butrint and several other sites and the excavations made over a peri-od of time. At that time (1992-1999), the responsible (cultural) institutions were against any designation of the site as a natural protected area, the application of na-ture protection categories, and the inclusion of the area as part of the protected are-as network then being developed in the country. Moreover, no attempts were made to assess the biological diversity values of the area and the possible functionality of an integrated conservation management scheme was never examined. From this perspective, the protection of the site was linked exclusively to bodies responsible for its cultural heritage (Ministry of Culture, Institute of Archaeology and Institute of Cultural Monuments), and this was reflected in their unwillingness to consider any future co-operation in protecting the area based on anything other than its cultural values. This was considered as a primarily institutional conflict, though one that had repercussions on a range of institutional levels (local authorities, regional institu-tions, research instituinstitu-tions, etc.) as well as on the local community.
Being promoted as an archaeological site and managed mostly for its cultural herit-age values, its natural and biodiversity values were not considered an additional val-ue. Even the decision of the Council of Ministers in 2000 designating the area a Na-tional Archaeological Park characterised it as a NaNa-tional Park (an environmental category) for its archaeological values (as, at that time, no other protection category was included in the Albanian legislation), and restricted the area under protection to the environs of the ancient city of Butrint for exclusively cultural heritage purposes.
After 2000, the environmental dimension became more prominent, and relevant studies began to identify and call attention to the natural values of the site. In spite of the fact that Butrint Lake and its surrounding area were already recognised for their biodiversity values, this increased appreciation led to environmental institu-tions and civil society organisainstitu-tions beginning to take conservation and protection measures, organising actions and participating in the management of the site.
In due course, the donor community also began to show a greater interest in the environmental protection of the area. The designation of the Butrint National Park (BNP) as part of the protected areas network –of high conservation impor-tance– under Albanian legislation (Law on Protected Areas, 2002), was support-ed by the culture sector. Butrint is the only example of a protectsupport-ed area in Alba-nia that is managed by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sport and not the environmental authorities.
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BNP is widely recognised as a tourist destination for its archaeological and other cultural values, and is visited mainly during the summer months. The World Her-itage Site represents the most important cultural site in the Saranda district and the most renowned archaeological site in Albania. It is visited by large numbers of tourists and other visitors. Butrint’s ancient city and other archaeological re-mains attract on average more than 20 000 visitors each year. The 2008 tourist season marked the highest number of visitors ever (58 000) and, as a consequence, the highest number of directly and indirectly employed people (about 60), thus providing financial support to the local economy (restaurants, hotels, etc.) of Saran-da and Ksamil. The park is also included as a travel destination in the programmes of many travel agencies on Corfu and in Saranda (ASPBM, 2009).
Even though the biodiversity and landscape values of Butrint Park are not yet in-cluded on the travel agenda of most visitors, the increasing visitor numbers in recent times can be considered an indicator of interest in the Park’s environmental values as well as its archaeological heritage. Data shows a growing interest on the part of both national and international visitors in participating in activities related to the habitats and species native to Butrint. The Park managers have realised that biodi-versity adds to the values of the archaeological site. Existing and potential activities include guided nature trails and treks, birdwatching, fishing, walking, cycling and sailing. The environmental perspective is now part of what draws visitors to the Park and helps to shape their itineraries once they are there. It is becoming clear that tourism has an important role to play in the area’s socio-economic development.
On the other hand, although the Park is becoming a tourist attraction, human ca-pacities and management infrastructure –and thus service standards– are poorly developed (insufficient staff, equipment, information and panels, eco-guides, guided tours, hiking paths, bird watching hides, campsites, etc.). There is an evi-dent need to extend tourism and leisure activities beyond the walls of the ancient town of Butrint, and to extend the tourist season beyond the summer months.
In the last three years, and as part of the obligations deriving from Butrint’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage site, a draft management plan has been drawn up for the area and presented to the relevant international institutions. At a national level, the draft was evaluated unfavourably as not engaging adequately with the environmental issues at stake. This prompted a revised version which integrates cultural and natural aspects in a closer and more interactive way, and recognises the environmental importance of a more extensive area than before.
Conclusions
The process of public consultation on the management plan, which included dis-cussion of the respective roles of cultural and natural heritage protection in the area, brought some interesting material to light. According to inhabitants of Mursi and Xarrë (Xarra Commune), the BNP has had little influence on their vil-lages, as they are situated towards the periphery of the Park. Regarding the
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pansion of the influence of BNP, the inhabitants of Vrina believe their socio-eco-nomic situation has been negatively affected by the Park as a result of a claimed loss of land ownership. Nonetheless, they believe that the BNP could contribute far more to the economic development of the local community if tourism was bet-ter organised, and if visitors were encouraged to stay longer in the areas beyond the ancient town of Butrint. This could increase opportunities for local people to sell their produce (food, honey, handicrafts, etc.) to visitors (ASPBM, 2009).
In the villages of the Aliko commune, local inhabitants consider their life to have been very little influenced by the existence of the Butrint Park. This is mainly due to the fact that most of those who count themselves as belonging to these villages in fact now live overseas. The relative inaccessibility of these villages, given the poor condition of the road network, is another factor (ASPBM, 2009).
The inhabitants of Ksamil declared that 95% of the socio-economic development of their village is influenced by other activities and only 5% by the Park (ASPBM, 2009). However, a majority of the inhabitants share the opinion that, without the BNP, the Ksamil area would resemble a ‘legless body’. This means that the future development of the area is seen as being closely linked to the existence and man-agement of Butrint National Park. Benefits would accrue to Ksamil from well-man-aged and well-promoted year-round tourism and leisure activities in the Park area.
These opinions lead to an important conclusion regarding the integrated protect-ed areas approach (for both natural and cultural heritage): if the area includprotect-ed un-der conservation and/or protection does not bring benefits to the local population, the conservation policy is unlikely to succeed. This is related to the need for insti-tutional collaboration which avoids conflicts that impact negatively on the devel-opment of the local community and on their interest in participating in the process.
In the Butrint example, we can see how useful the area’s resources, both natural and cultural, may prove to be. The Butrint area is the ‘heart’ of the region, its most attrac-tive part and the reason why most people choose to visit is its fascinating archaeo-logical site and high biodiversity value. Most local stakeholders clearly believe that increasing the site’s attractiveness can help expand the market for local goods and services, so that the population living in the area may benefit from a direct income.
In spite of the progress made in protecting and managing the archaeological as-sets of the BNP, there is increasing pressure throughout most of the Park from il-legal building work; the dumping of debris along the road, lake and seashore; the unsustainable development of marine aquaculture; overgrazing and uncon-trolled grazing; illegal hunting, quarrying, fires and other threats.
From an analysis of the data and opinions concerning the natural and cultural heritage in this area, it is apparent that:
– Butrint represents a unique site in the Mediterranean Region: a blend of cultur-al and historic landscapes, it cultur-also supports a wide variety of habitats and spe-cies and has outstanding landscape value;
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– Butrint’s ancient city and surrounding areas represent one of the most impor-tant cultural heritage sites in Albania;
– Butrint supports species which are endangered nationally and internationally, and sustains a high proportion of the country’s biodiversity, with particular im-portance for birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals;
– as a key attraction to visitors to the region and a potential gateway to other sites of archaeological and natural interest in southern Albania, Butrint constitutes an important economic resource for more than 15 000 inhabitants, primarily in terms of tourism;
– Butrint is an educational resource for schools and the general public.
These elements form part of a mosaic that is in need of further definition and elaboration, but there are already sufficient indicators of Butrint’s significance as an interesting and positive example of the conservation of cultural and natural heritage being combined. The statutory authorities for both cultural and environ-mental affairs have a key role to play in this, as do the local communities in the area. There will be a number of challenges requiring their collective attention in the future, principal among which may be the challenges of administrative and financial capacity. Nonetheless, it is to be hoped that ways will be found to con-struct the effective mechanisms required.
Fig. 2.9 View of Butrint: the ancient city and Vivari channel.
References
Andrews, R. (2001), Condition Survey of Monuments Ruins and Walls, Butrint.
Dedej, Z. and Bino, T. (2003), Information Sheet on Ramsar Wetlands, Tirana.
Martin, S. (September 2002), Butrint National Park Development Study, Tirana.
The Albanian Society for the Protection of Birds and Mammals-ASPBM (2009), Butrint National Park Management Plan, Tirana (Draft).
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