The wetland area is shaped by a tectonic lagoon of 1,600 hectares, known as Lake Butrint, surrounded by forested hills, mountains, freshwater and brackish marshes, and connected to the straits of Corfu by the Vivari canal. The “Lake” has an average depth of 14 meters (maximum 22 meters), while the natural channel of Vivari is up to 100 meters wide. The archaeological remains of Butrint are part of the natural woodland, forming a complex ecosystem that relies on Lake Butrint and the Vivari Channel, which drains into the Ionian Sea. This combination of historical monuments and natural environment makes Butrint a unique site, a landscape with monuments cherished by grand tourists of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Butrint area supports 16 threatened plant species, including Agrimonia eupatoria, Capparis spinosa, and Laurus nobilis. It also contains 12 rare species such as Alkano corcyrensis SE and Limonium anfracium, as well as 4 insufficiently known species like Scabiosa epirota. The park supports globally endangered species, including two critically endangered species, two endangered, and ten vulnerable species such as Rhinolophus and Myotis. Butrint holds 17% of Albania’s species; the park is particularly impressive for its amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals (including the wolf) and is the only site in Albania that supports species like the Epirote frog, tortoise, sand boa, and the Balkan wall lizard.

Butrint Bay and the Vrina Marshes are important feeding and roosting grounds for birds. During winter, flocks of waders use the shallow waters, including the European curlew, redshank, grey plover, and dunlin. In 2003, the wetland complex, including a part of the lagoon and the coastal area of Butrint – Stillo Cape – was declared a Ramsar Site of National Importance and a National Park (Category II of the IUCN Protected Area Management Categories).

Source: https://www.expoaus.org/butrint-national-park-uso12