A group of 41 environmental organisations from 28 countries has urged Albania’s government to suspend plans for a luxury resort on the uninhabited island of Sazan, warning the project poses serious risks to protected marine species and breaches international conservation commitments.

In a letter sent on January 23 to Prime Minister Edi Rama and Environment Minister Sofjan Jaupaj, the groups called for “the immediate suspension of any executive or parliamentary decision related to the advancement of this project”, which is linked to a company owned by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

Kushner’s investment plans on Sazan have been promoted by the Albanian government as part of efforts to attract high-end tourism and foreign capital, but the project has faced growing domestic and international criticism from environmental groups, who argue it undermines Albania’s commitments as an EU candidate country, particularly in the area of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.

The Albanian government granted the project strategic investor status in January last year, fast-tracking procedures for the development, which would involve construction across around 45 hectares of the island, located at the entrance to the Bay of Vlora and surrounded by the Karaburun-Sazan Marine National Park.

“The proposed development would involve interventions on an area of 45 hectares on Sazan Island, raising serious concerns about its impact on the environment and its compliance with Albania’s international obligations,” the letter said.

Environmental groups warned that the project threatened habitats of the Mediterranean monk seal, one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals.

“The waters surrounding Sazan provide valuable and vital habitats for the most endangered marine mammal globally, the Mediterranean monk seal,” the letter said. “The construction of a luxury resort, with large-scale infrastructural interventions such as maritime traffic, roads and sewage systems, poses a serious threat to these delicate habitats.”

The organisations also said the area hosts 36 other globally endangered marine species and is protected under multiple international conventions.

“Sazan Island and its surrounding waters provide vital habitats for the world’s most endangered marine species, including the Mediterranean seal (Monachus monachus), which is included in the IUCN Red List and the Convention on Migratory Species,” Albanian conservation group PPNEA said in a statement on its Facebook page. “The area also carries 36 other globally endangered marine species.”

According to PPNEA, systematic monitoring since 2019 has confirmed a stable presence of monk seals and rich biodiversity in the Karaburun-Sazan area.

The groups demanded that Sazan be formally included in the national marine park and registered as an Emerald Candidate Area and future Natura 2000 site under EU environmental standards.

“We call on you to take immediate action to prevent the degradation of one of the rarest ecological assets of Albania and the Mediterranean, in the name of nature conservation, the rule of law, and responsibility towards future generations,” the letter said.

The intervention comes after Albanian media reported that Ivanka Trump, Kushner’s wife, visited Albania this week and was seen in Vlora and in Tirana, including at the prime minister’s office. Rama confirmed the visit but has not disclosed whether it was linked to the resort project or whether any new decisions were taken.