“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 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.

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!

++ Balkan Rivers Tour against dam tsunami ended ++ Kayakers paddled 23 rivers in 6 countries ++ Photo highlights of the tour for download ++ 23 rivers in six countries, 390 river kilometers: on Friday, May 14, a very unique activity ended in the Albanian capital of Tirana – the Balkan Rivers Tour. Over 35 days, kayakers from all over Europe paddled the most beautiful and most threatened rivers in the Balkans in order to draw attention to the looming dam tsunami on the peninsula. A total of over 500 paddlers from 18 nations participated in the activity.

Motion pictures say more than 1000 words. Below are short video impressions covering the entire 36 days of the Balkan Rivers Tour. Enjoy! Residents of the Vjosa valley share our vision: they don’t want PM Edi Rama’s dams – they want their river to remain free. The video shows impressions of the last week of the Balkan Rivers Tour at the Vjosa, Albania. Camera: Rozle Bregar, Miha Avgustin, Aljaz Oblak

++ Albanian Prime Minister receives unusual petition for the protection of the Vjosa ++ Balkan Rivers Tour ends in Tirana ++ Amid the applause of hundreds of spectators kayakers marched with their kayaks through the Albanian capital of Tirana today to hand over a kayak petition to PM Edi Rama. However, neither Edi Rama nor a representative of the government was willing to receive the petition. The police spaciously blocked the entrance. Rozman placed the kayak in front of the police cordon.

++ Day 33 of the Balkan Rivers Tour: protest action of kayakers, politicians, residents and nature conservationists against projected dams on the Vjosa in Albania ++ Government wants to have large dams constructed ++ River conservationists demand Vjosa National Park ++

++License granted by the Macedonian Ministry of Environment was illegal ++ Violation of national environmental law ++ Nature conservationists call upon financier EBRD to withdraw from project “Boskov Most” immediately++ According to an official statement by the Macedonian administrative court, plans for the large hydropower project Boskov Most in the Macedonian Mavrovo National Park are devoid of any legal basis.

++ Day 19 of the Balkan Rivers Tour: protest action against dam construction inside Mavrovo National Park ++ Hydropower projects endanger the last Balkan lynxes ++ On May 4, an international alliance of kayakers, anglers, residents and nature conservationists protested against the construction of hydropower plants inside Mavrovo National Park.

++ Day 8 of the Balkan Rivers Tour: 200 people protest against the dam construction at the Sana river in Bosnia and Herzegovina ++ Today, an international alliance of 200 kayakers, anglers, residents and nature conservationists protested on the river Sana in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the hydropower plant “Medna”, which is currently under construction. The Sana is one of the last remaining rivers in Europe that host healthy populations of the Huchen.