Save the Blue Heart of Europe - A campaign for the protection of Balkan Rivers
Ulrich Eichelmann (Riverwatch) takes you to the Bence River - a tributary of the Vjosa and one of the most beautiful and ecologically most valuable rivers in Albania. However, the river is threatened by the construction of a hydropower plant: 95% of its water ...
Ulrich Eichelmann (Riverwatch) takes you directly to a natural spring along the Langarica, a tributary to the Vjosa in Southern Albania. This natural treasure is under attack from hydropower projects. Within the context of the campaign, we are trying to protect this river amongst many others. From inside the thermal spring....
++ Stop of hydropower projects on the Vjosa and its tributaries demanded ++ Protest against hydropower projects in Albania. The European Parliament called upon the Albanian government to rethink the projected hydropower projects along the Vjosa River and its tributaries, “…since these projects would harm one of Europe’s last extensive, intact and near-natural river ecosystems”.
Coverage about the Vjosa Tour event in Selenica and the projected HPP on the Langarica (Vjosa tributary) on Austrian public service broadcaster ORF (ZIB2)
Lots of things have happened in the campaign in the last couple of weeks. Visual impressions thereof are now available on our website!
NGOs uncover: 33 hydropower plants projected ++ Austrian and Italian companies involved ++ New initiative supports national park idea. Today, the international NGOs Riverwatch and EuroNatur, together with their local partner EcoAlbania, are presenting a paper, which for the first time reveals the full extent of the threat to the Vjosa catchment area.
The Tirana Times published an interview with Ulrich Eichelmann about the Vjosa River, its threats, the alternative idea of a Vjosa National Park and the Blue Heart of Europe campaign. Read the interview here: Protecting Vjosa, Europe’s last wild river
Today, the Guardian published a detailed report about the situation of the Balkan Rivers. In it, the newspaper reports that the EBRD is likely to pull out of hydro project in the Mavrovo National Park in Macedonia, one of our key areas in the campaign. Read the full article which was published in the Guardian today, Feb 20: Balkan dam boom threatens Europe’s last wild waterways
150 people discuss the future of the river - parliamentarians will be informed. On Wednesday and Thursday the first public discussions about the future of the Vjosa Valley took place in Çarshovë and Përmet in southern Albania. While the government envisages the construction of eight dams along the river, the mayors and people of the affected communities support the alternative idea of establishing a national park.
The September print edition of the renowned German magazine GEO featured an article about the GEO Days of Biodiversity at the Vjosa River in Albania. Now, the article went online: Europas letzter wilder Fluss Since it is only available in German read a partial translation here:
The interactive map to explore the region in detail based on different criteria.
The Eco-Masterplan for Balkan Rivers is a comprehensive study which, for the first time, combines knowledge about biodiversity (fish, mussels, caddisflies), integrity of rivers and floodplains (hydromorphology), as well as the location of protected areas.
We are a coalition of NGOs who have launched the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” in order to raise awareness about the imminent dam craze on the Balkan peninsula and to spare the most valuable rivers and river stretches from destruction.