Albania’s incredible shrinking coastline

An aerial view taken in Durres on April 15, 2025 shows dikes built along the coast to curb coastal erosion. In Velipoja, waves are mercilessly attacking a pine forest that is gradually shrinking. It is another victim of the rising tides nibbling away more than half of Albania’s coastline. — AFP

ALBANIA’s coast is being hit by a double whammy of climate change and chaotic tourist development.

From Velipoja in the north where the waves are swallowing a century-old forest, to the tourist hotspot of Golem where galloping construction of hotels and restaurants is accelerating erosion, the country’s often spectacular Adriatic coast is under threat.