News - Media

Albania: Lawsuit against hydropower project on the Vjosa has been filed

++ Dam project on Europe’s last wild river was intended to be realised without adequate environmental assessment or civic participation ++ Legal precedent for rule of law in Albania ++ Tirana, Vienna, December 2, 2016. The planned destruction of the Vjosa, one of Europe’s last big wild rivers, is now being challenged in court.

Research confirms: Hydropower is not carbon neutral!

 29.09.2016

Hydropower is not green, it is not even carbon neutral, as Washington State University researchers now confirm. “In their paper to be published next week in BioScience, the researchers reported that reservoirs of all sorts are important sources of the potent greenhouse-gas methane. The gas is produced by decomposing organic material underwater,” so the Seattle Times report...

Watch Planet E „Madness Hydropower“ + interviews now online!

 26.09.2016

For everyone who missed the Planet E program “Madness Hydropower – River destruction in the Balkans” on ZDF yesterday – you can now watch it online! Also, don’t miss out on the interviews with Ulrich Eichelmann (Riverwatch CEO) and Ulrike Lunacek (Vice President of the EU Parliament) that weren’t featured in the program...

Program announcement: Madness Hydropower – Sunday at 16:30 im ZDF

 22.09.2016

On the occasion of the World Rivers Day, the ZDF will air a documentary about the Balkan Rivers and the dam craze that puts them at risk on Sunday, September 25 at 16:30. This episode of the ZDF “planet e” series will depict the beauty of these rivers as well as the opposition against the imminent river regulations and damming.

228 scientists from 33 countries fight for Europe’s last wild river

++ Scientists demand 3-year construction freeze for hydropower plants on the Vjosa in Albania ++ Environmental assessment according to EU standards urgently required ++ Memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Edi Rama ++ World Rivers Day on September 25 ++

Vjosa in the TIME and Scientific American

 17.08.2016

The Vjosa is now getting attention in American media, as interest for this last big wild river of Europe increases around the world. Recently, an article was published in the TIME magazine, titled "Europe’s Last Wild River Is About to Get Dammed". Another article in the Scientific American – “Europe's Last Wild Rivers Could Soon Drown” – also features a short video.

Save the Blue Heart of Europe: Climbing in Albania

 04.08.2016

“If you climb it, they will come, and with them ecotourism dollars that could give the people of this area a much preferred alternative to the damming of their river.” Within the context of the Balkan Rivers Tour, a Patagonia climbing team explored climbing possibilities in Albania. They were awed by what they found...

Scientists criticize dam projects on the Vjosa

 09.06.2016

++ Scientists from Albania, Austria and Germany demand moratorium on dam construction plans on Europe’s last wild river as well as a 3-year research program ++ Between June 8 and 10, international experts from Austria and Germany met with scientists of the University of Tirana in Albania to discuss the future of the Vjosa river. They adopted a joint position paper, which was handed over to the Albanian Ministry of the Environment.

Vjosa Story wins first price at Environmental Film Festival Albania

 07.06.2016

We are proud to announce that Leeway Collective's kayak documentary "One for the River - The Vjosa Story" was awarded the first price at the Environmental Film Festival Albania. The film was winner of the most significant category of the festival "long films". We congratulate Rok and his team for this great achievement!

The Biggest Dam-Removal Project in History

 21.04.2016

While 2700 dams are projected to be built between Slovenia and Albania, dams are being torn down one after another in the US in order to restore their rivers.  Now, the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River has been approved, rendering it the biggest dam removal project in history.

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