Country name: Albania
Did you know that Albania is called the “Land of the Albanians”? Our people are known as Albanians, meaning “Sons of the Eagle,” and our flag bears the iconic double-headed eagle—symbolizing the unity of the south and north.
The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), our national symbol and a majestic bird of the Albanian mountains, embodies our pride and national identity. Sadly, this iconic species is now under threat from poisoning, illegal killing, and habitat loss. Fewer than 25–63 pairs remain in the country, with a continuously declining population that has dropped by 50–60% over the past two decades.
Yet Albania, this small and unique Mediterranean jewel, carries the traces of thousands of years of history—celebrated through its rich cultural, historical, and natural heritage. Stretching from rugged coastlines in the south to alpine peaks in the north, Albania offers landscapes where pristine “virgin” areas can still be found. Our network of national parks, wild rivers, lakes, and extensive wetland complexes also serves as a vital corridor for migratory wildlife. Four Ramsar Sites of international importance—Karavasta Lagoon, Butrinti Lake, Lake Shkodra and River Buna, and the Albanian Prespa Lakes—highlight our global ecological significance. Albanian lakes and rivers play a crucial role in maintaining the country’s biological and landscape diversity.
Although a national hunting ban has been in place since 2014, the illegal killing of birds (IKB) remains a major problem. According to BirdLife International’s 2015 report on IKB in the Mediterranean, an estimated 206,000 to 325,000 individual birds may be illegally killed or taken each year in Albania—making it one of the ten worst-performing countries in the region. The most frequent method was illegal shooting.
The most problematic zones include wetlands along the coast, the Semani River mouth, and the terrestrial areas of Terbufi, Tirana, Korça, Shkodra, and Elbasan. The drivers behind IKB are complex, but largely stem from weak enforcement of hunting and biodiversity legislation, outdated legal frameworks, limited institutional capacity, and a pressing need for public awareness and education to promote both wildlife protection and responsible hunting.
An overview of AOS achievements:
AOS also led the creation of Albania’s National Anti-Poisoning Road Map and the establishment of the National Anti-Poisoning Working Group. This initiative coordinates governmental bodies such as the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, enforcement agencies, academia, NGOs, and hunters. It outlines a national strategy to address wildlife poisoning through a defined chain of custody, legal responsibilities, and action planning.
In 2019, AOS, as part of a coalition of NGOs and with support from international organizations and experts, played a key role in contesting the Divjaka Resort Masterplan proposed by Mabetex Group. This plan would have introduced large-scale tourism development into Divjaka-Karavasta National Park. Thanks to our efforts, the Strategic Investment Committee ultimately rejected the project.
AOS leads Albania’s most successful wildlife recovery program—the Dalmatian Pelican Conservation Initiative. In 2020, the number of breeding pairs of Dalmatian Pelicans in Divjaka-Karavasta National Park reached 85—the highest figure recorded in the past 40 years.
In July 2019, the Albanian Parliament adopted a set of integrated legal amendments to Law No. 10 006 “On the Protection of Fauna,” which were proposed and drafted by AOS. These amendments explicitly banned poisoning, the use of poison baits, and the misuse of agricultural chemicals and veterinary drugs—activities previously unregulated under Albanian law.
The same legislative package established the National Wildlife Council, which began operating in July 2021. The Council oversees wild fauna protection and hunting regulation in Albania. It brings together representatives from relevant ministries, environmental NGOs (including AOS), hunting federations, universities, and research institutions.
• AOS runs the national ringing scheme as a member of EURING.
• AOS was the national coordinator and data provider for the most comprehensive breeding bird atlas – the European Breeding Bird Atlas 2 (EBBA2).
AOS is highly devoted in fighting IKB in Albania. Our work is focused in three different levels:
- Monitoring (gathering data and evidences on IKB). Systematic monitoring of blackspots for IKB in the country, as well as black markets, pet shops, restaurants that serve wild meet, online portals that trade wildlife and customs. Keeping records is very crucial to demonstrate the scale and distribution of the problem in the country.
- Governance and policy. Some of the achievements of our work so far in this direction are:
- Proposed amendments on fauna law approved;
- Establishment of National Council of Wild Fauna;
- Proposed amendments in the Penal Code;
- Supported and provided relevant data to national government for reporting (task force scorecard system, CMS, AEWA, Bern Convention, Scoreboard 2018, 2020);
- Reported cases of IKB to the responsible institutions and organized joint monitoring in the field.
- Awareness raising. AOS have been organizing several activities and events related to bird protection in order to raise awareness of the public at large. The following activities has been undertaken annually since we have started the fight against illegal bird killing in the country:
- Coordinating EuroBirdwatch since 2016 in Albania, inviting annually hundred volunteers to take part of it;
- Coordinating IWC (International Waterbird Census) since 1994 in Albania;
- Global Birding twice per year (May and October) in frame of World Migratory Bird Day;
- World Wetlands Day with schoolchildren close to the blackspot areas for IKB;
- Conducting “Flight for Survival” campaign;
- Organize World Shorebirds Day.
The names of Albania mean the land of eagles.
The names Albania, Illirea and Arnavud seems to have meant the land of eagles in the Indo-European languages:
In Indo-Iranian-Sarmatian (former Serbian):
Ale: eagle
bania (vania): area
or
alba (alva, arva): eagle
ania: the country that belongs to
In European:
illir: eagle
ia: area
In Scottish Gaelic, the word for an eagle is iolair (pronounced ee-lur).
or
illi: eagle, wing (aile)
irea: eyrie:
An eyrie (a variant of aerie) is a bird nest of an eagle, falcon, hawk, or other bird of prey.
aerie (n.):
“eagle’s nest,” 1580s (attested in Anglo-Latin from early 13c.), from Old French aire “nest,” Medieval Latin area “nest of a bird of prey” (12c.), perhaps from Latin area.
In the Albanian language, the country is called Shqipëria, which directly translates to “Land of the Eagles”.
foundational Illyrian legend tells of a young man who rescued an eaglet from a venomous snake. The grateful mother eagle bestowed upon him her strength and sharp eyes. He went on to become an invincible king, founding a kingdom that became known as Shqipëria (Land of the Eagles).
The eagle is a sacred, totemic symbol in the culture of the ancient Illyrians.
Divine Connection:
Archaeological artifacts, such as 6th-century BCE plaques from the Lake Shkodra region, depict eagles alongside solar and celestial deities, suggesting the bird was a powerful mythological protector.
Symbol of Kings:
King Pyrrhus of Epirus (an ancient region overlapping Illyria and Greece) was famously named “The Eagle” by his soldiers.
Albanopolis (the white city or the mountainous city) is another category:
This connection is further supported by the writings of the Ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy during the 2nd century AD, where he included the settlement of Albanopolis situated to the northeast of Durrës.
Albanopolis (in the sense of the mountainous city) could be Tirkan (next to the mountains, Tirana).
Arnavud (eagle worshippers): Arnaut (Ottoman Turkish: ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. Arvanid (اروانيد), Arnavud (آرناوود), plural: Arnavudlar (آرناوودلر): modern Turkish: Arnavut:
“Arne” is a traditional masculine given name of Old Norse and Germanic origin, and it directly translates to eagle.
avid (adj.)
“eager; greedy,” 1769, from French avide (15c.), from Latin avidus “longing eagerly, desirous, greedy,” from avere “to desire eagerly”.