SHEBENIK-JABLLANICA NATIONAL PARK
A 339 national park, two-thirds of which is a Unesco natural heritage site, along North Macedonia.
Located along the North Macedonia, this park of 339 km2 (Parku Kombëtar Shebenik-Jabllanicë) is the green lung of Albania. Created in 2008, it concentrates 30% of the country's biodiversity. Since 2017, two thirds of its area are classified as natural heritage by Unesco as "primary and ancient beech forests of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe. Comprised between the villages of Rrajca (in the south) and Stebleva (in the north), the park stretches under the Shebenik (2,253 m) and Jabllanica (2,257 m) mountains shared with Northern Macedonia. In addition to its rivers, lakes and glaciers, it is home to beech forests and conifers (white fir, Bosnian pine and Macedonian pine). There is an endemic flower, the Albanian lily(Lilium albanicum), whose yellow petals resemble the Pyrenean lily. On the fauna side, 88 species of birds are listed, such as the golden eagle, the white eagle and the peregrine falcon. It is also the refuge of about thirty mammals: brown bear, wolf, fox, weasel, weasel, deer, roe deer, etc. But with only 25 poorly paid rangers and rampant corruption, the park is a victim of deforestation. For lack of money, the inhabitants of the neighboring villages use the wood for heating. And, above all, a real mafia has been organized: gangs from all over the country come every summer with trucks, chainsaws and Kalashnikovs to clear the last big forest reserve of the country.
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