News

Albanian Government signs commitment to establish a Vjosa Wild River National Park

 13.06.2022

After ten years of dedicated action by local communities, environmentalists, scientists and artists to permanently protect the Vjosa River and its tributaries, today, the Albanian government took the historic step of signing a commitment to establish a Vjosa Wild River National Park. The Wild River National Park will protect the entire network of the Vjosa from the Greek border to the Adriatic Sea, including the free-flowing tributaries. This is something that has never been done before in Europe. 

Vjosa Forever Concert in Tepelena unites musicians in support of a Vjosa National Park

 09.06.2022

On June 4th, well-known artists from Albanian and abroad performed at the "Vjosa Forever" concert in Tepelena in support of the #VjosaNationalParkNow campaign: At the concert, organized by Blue Heart partner EcoAlbania, hundreds of supporters filled the Lord Byron square in Tepelena and enjoyed the electrifying performances of the #ArtistsForVjosa

Lawsuit filed against hydropower cascade on the Shushica river

On May 6th, EcoAlbania together with 28 residents of Brataj village and the Association "Impetus", filed a lawsuit against four hydropower plants planned on the Shushica river to the Administrative Court of Tirana/Albania. The Shushica is one of the most important tributaries of the Vjosa River, which carries high natural and cultural values.

The Shushica in danger again

 25.03.2022

The Shushica - a tributary of the Vjosa in Albania – is once again under attack from hydropower projects. They had already been averted, since the permits for the plants had long expired. However, we now learned that the Albanian National Environmental Agency had already given the green light on November 16, 2021

World Water Day 2022 - Groundwater: The Liver of our Rivers

 22.03.2022

The theme of this year’s World Water Day is “making the invisible visible” with a special emphasis on the importance of groundwater. Groundwater is quantitatively the most important freshwater resource as there is 100 times more groundwater than surface water. In fact, it is where we source most of our fresh drinking water.

Cutting hydropower subsidies – how are the Western Balkans doing?

 15.02.2022

The small hydropower boom, which has damaged pristine rivers and streams across the Western Balkans, has largely been fueled by generous feed-in tariffs. This briefing highlights the recent progress towards changing the rules on renewable energy support in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.

Major blow to Bosnia hydropower project as Germany’s KfW drops financing plans

The German development bank KfW has today confirmed that it has dropped plans to finance the controversial Janjići hydropower plant on the river Bosna in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The plant would entail a 16 m high dam and would flood a picturesque section of the river with a series of rapids upstream from Zenica.

Solar in Kutë: The first community project in Albania for the production of solar energy starts

 06.12.2021

After a fundraising campaign, solar panels are installed on the rooftops of public buildings and streets of Kutë village on the Vjosa in Albania as an alternative to hydropower plants for the benefit of the local community and environment

Bern Convention targets crimes against nature in the Balkans

At the urging of nature conservation organizations, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention took another look at various projects in the Balkans at its most recent meeting. These include an airport in the middle of the Narta Lagoon in the Vjosa delta in Albania or a series of hydropower plants along the Neretva in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Video: Vjosa National Park Now - Global Tour

 17.11.2021

For the past eight months, river activists from around the world demanded a Vjosa National Park Now. There have been 23 visual actions across 13 countries in the middle of cities, national parks, in front of national monuments or in special natural places.

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