Vjosa National Park NOW

The Vjosa River in Albania is the last wild river in Europe outside of Russia. The river and its tributaries flow freely from the mountains in Greece to the Adriatic coast in Albania. This wilderness area is made up of an enormous mosaic of different habitats types from the narrow gorges in the upper part to the wide braided river sections in the middle part to the near-natural delta at the Adriatic Sea. The middle stretch alone is made up of at least 8 habitat types that have the highest conservation importance at the EU level.

Scientific knowledge about the Vjosa’s biodiversity and physical processes is limited. It is one of the least explored rivers in Europe. But the few existing studies underscore the importance of the river valley as Albania’s biodiversity hotspot providing ideal aquatic habitats for numerous species. The river is host to over 1,100 species, including 13 globally threatened animal and 2 plant species, and at least 50 animal and 24 plant species are included in the national Red Lists of Albania.

The surrounding watershed provides the villages with fertile land for agricultural activities such as crop production and livestock farming. The abundance and diversity of fish is vital for the well-being of local fishermen mostly in the lower part of the Vjosa. Eco-tourism on the Vjosa and its tributaries is ever-increasing, particularly in recent years in which enthusiasts have started to enjoy activities such as rafting, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, etc.

Threat

The Vjosa - Queen of European Rivers © Gregor Subic

For years, the entire river system has been attacked by dam projects. If constructed, they will destroy this natural environment – flooding some parts of the valley while leaving others dry. In the whole Vjosa catchment, 40 hydropower plants are planned, 9 on the Vjosa itself and 31 on its tributaries. Three tributaries, the Langarica, the Shtika and the Çarshova river are already affected by dams and cannot be part of a future national park. Find below the map. The database of dam projects can be found HERE

The major threat that Vjosa has faced for more than two decades is hydropower dams. However, also the lower part of the Vjosa is in danger. Near the mouth of the Vjosa into the Adria, the Albanian government plans to build an airport inside a protected area and tourist resorts are foreseen to be built near Narta lagoon. The decision on the determination of the boundaries of the Protected Areas in Albania foresees the exclusion from the Narta Protected Area of the surface that will be potentially used for the construction of the Airport and the touristic resorts.

In September 2020, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced his intent to make the Vjosa a national park. However, plans submitted by the Albanian National Agency of Protected Areas (NAPA) include only minimal protection for the Vjosa, risking future hydropower construction, and falls far short of the protections inherent in a national park designation. Some politicians want to keep the door open for development and this puts the Vjosa in real danger.

In April 2021, the energy company Shell began surveying the banks of the Vjosa in the area of Permet in search for oil and gas. Without the level of protection a national park would offer, Shell will be allowed to start drilling, which would be disastrous for the Vjosa valley. In response to this threat, local residents have begun protesting.

Though many threats still remain, in June 2022, the Albanian government began to make some headway to officially protecting the Vjosa and its tributaries by signing a Memorandum of Understanding together with our partners Patagonia, as a commitment to establish a Vjosa Wild River National Park.

Opportunity – Europe´s 1st Wild River National Park

The Vjosa and its tributaries are without par in Europe (outside Russia). Thus, this river landscape needs to be protected by the highest possible nature protection category – a national park according to the standards of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Together with the local community, scientists and the support from all over Albania, we want to make it happen.

We are aiming to make the Vjosa, Europe’s first Wild River National Park, safeguarding the entire ecosystem including the watershed, tributaries, and floodplains, and the inhabiting wildlife. Only this designation would permanently prevent dam projects and other development within the protected area and would make a significant contribution to the EU Green Deal and Biodiversity Strategy.

A National Park would not only benefit the wildlife but also the people of the Vjosa valley and the potential for sustainable socio-economic development. In the future, thousands of tourists from all over Europe will come to visit this last wild river. A recent opinion poll shows that 94 per cent of Albanian people are in favour of establishing this wild river national park.

What has been accomplished so far - a chronology

International Protest at the banks of the Vjosa at Queserat © Oblak Aljaz

June 2022 Albanian Government signs commitment to establish a Vjosa Wild River National Park, Vjosa Forever Concert in Tepelena unites musicians in support of a Vjosa National Park

January 2022 The Albanian government declares a Vjosa Nature Park instead of a Vjosa National Park. A nature park will not effectively protect the Vjosa or its tributaries against destruction and does not provide the same eco-touristic opportunities for the local communities as a National Park would.

October 2021 Global petition launch for a Vjosa National Park

Summer 2021 Vjosa National Park Now letters dawned on the foreground of renowned buildings in cities and parks around the world

June 2021 From May 29 to June 6, an international science delegation collects multidisciplinary data from the two major Vjosa tributaries, the Shushica and Bënça.

April 2021 The election may be over, but the fight for the Vjosa is not.

March 2021 European Parliament adopted the 2021 Albanian Progress Report in which they urge Albania "to establish as soon as possible the Vjosa National Park, extending the whole length of the river...”

World Water Day 2021 ‘Vjosa National Park Now’ cloaking the foreground of globally recognised monuments in Paris, Berlin, Brussels, and Tirana, targeting the attention of EU and Albanian politicians, urging them to declare the Vjosa in Albania Europe’s first Wild River National Park.

March 2021 IUCN presented their new study finding the “protection of the [Vjosa] must be ensured along the entire course of the river in order to achieve basic protection of the "continuity" of the river and sediment transport, as any potential disturbance along the riverbed may have upstream and downstream impacts.”

March 2021 Patagonia released the new 6-minute film "Vjosa Forever" explaining the situation in Albania and calling upon Albanians and Europeans to get involved and support the protection of the river.

February 2021 20 Albanian environmental organisations under the direction of EcoAlbania submitted a detailed proposal for the creation of the Vjosa National Park to the Minister of Tourism and Environment Blendi Klosi. According to the 16-page proposal, the national park should meet IUCN standards and encompass the entire Vjosa River in Albania as well as the free-flowing tributaries.

September 2020 Albanian Environmental Ministry rejected the environmental impact assessment of the Turkish-Albanian investor consortium and the proposed Kalicaç Dam will not be built

February 2020 One of the largest science petitions in global freshwater ecology calls to stop Vjosa dam projects in Albania

November 2019 International pressure to protect the Vjosa increases as celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio get involved

June 2019 New study finds the Vjosa an unsuitable candidate for hydropower plants - new plants would create a lose-lose situation

October 2018 Hundreds attend concert to show their support for a free Vjosa

June 2018 International scientists explore 300km of Vjosa and published a study in December 2018

October 2017 ‘Hands off Vjosa’ thousands attend concert in defence of Vjosa

October 2017 Albanian government decided to move ahead with dam construction on the Vjosa and gave the Turkish-Albanian consortium Ayen Eneji and Fusha company the concession to build the Kalivaç hydropower plant.

May 2017 Administrative court in Tirana decided in favour of EcoAlbania and local representatives to stop a dam project. The Turkish investor Ayen Enerji and the Environment Ministry appealed the court decision. Still pending.

December 2016 Local residents together with national and international NGOs filed a lawsuit against Poçem hydropower, a new dam project on the Vjosa

May 2016 International protest on the banks of the Vjosa to show local resistance to a large dam project. A special petition in the form of a kayak was left at PM Rama's doorstep.

April 2016 European Parliament calls on the Albanian government to control hydropower development; specifically, in pristine areas such as the Vjosa

May 2015 EU Parliamentarians demand protection for the Vjosa and the halt to all dam plans

June 2014 First biodiversity assessment of the Vjosa together with Albanian scientists and 70 students

May 2014 First occasion when mayors and locals from the river had the first press conference on the banks of the Vjosa and called on Prime Minister Rama to reject the dam plans and to establish a Vjosa National Park instead

January 2014 Vjosa River received its first spotlight in the international media

Partners in support of a Vjosa National Park

EcoAlbania, Riverwatch, EuroNatur, Patagonia, AOS - Shoqata Ornitologjike e Shqipërisë, EDEN - Qendra Mejdisore për Zhvillim Edukim dhe Rrjetëzim, Milieukontakt Shqipëri, PPNEA - Qendra për Ruajtjen dhe Mbrojtjen e Mjedisit Natyror në Shqipëri, ILIRIA - Shoqata Mbrojtja dhe Zhvillimi Mjedisor e Social, IEP - Instituti i Politikave Mjedisore, REC Shqipëri - Qendra Burimore e Mejdisit, Grupimi Ekolëvizja, URI – Instituti i Kërkimeve Urbane, Qendra EPER, Shoqata Cesvi, Shoqata Pro Permet, Shoqata Vjosa Explorer, All Green Centre – Qendra për Mbrojtjen e Mjedisit dhe Zhvillim të Qëndrueshëm, PPNE- Qendra për Ruajtjen dhe Mbrojtjen e Mjedisit Natyror Vlorë, Res Publica, Argonaut, Seep, Vizioni i Gjelbër

International support for a Vjosa National Park

"This is a rare opportunity to really protect one of the last wild big rivers. This would be an asset for Europe but also a contribution to global conservation efforts." Dr Kathy MacKinnon, Chair of IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas

"We call on the Albanian political leaders, to initiate the necessary steps to plan and designate the Vjosa National Park on the full length of the river in Albania including its tributaries, according to IUCN standards." Awardees of the Right Livelihood Award

"The Vjosa River runs untamed from source to sea & local community groups in Albania are calling for it to be protected through the establishment of a new national park. Show your support…" Edward Norton

"The Vjosa is the crown of the #BlueHeartofEurope and people across Albania want to protect it forever. They are asking to the government of Albania to create #VjosaNationalParkNow, which would be the very first wild river park in Europe. Let’s stand with them." Leonardo DiCaprio

Political support

“Albania’s Vjosa is nature’s unrelenting force, the only survivor of the wild rivers of our continent, the last river vein that bears no trace of contamination from the industrial development that has morphed Europe’s rivers into animals tamed for the energy-generation circus. Vjosa will remain the only wild water body that, just like on the day of its creation, will continue to bear witness to the wonder that once were the European riverbeds. Under the protective cloak of the National Park, Vjosa will stay intact for Albania, for Europe, for the planet we want for our children’s children.” Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama

“In Albanian, Vjosa is both a river and a woman’s name. Indeed, Vjosa is the most perfect metaphor for Albanian nature - with its pearl-white stones that captivate the eye, the pebble islets with burgeoning wildflowers that speak in the language of the creatures populating this corner of Albania. It is a river that runs on a bed as old as the world, its meanders opening the doors to the frontier with the Greek neighbour, then flowing into the Adriatic Sea. But Vjosa is also a symbol of the human history of an important part of Albania, where the woman who nurtures the heart and hearth is the queen of the house, just like Vjosa is the ‘wild queen’ of European rivers. It defends its throne with a beautiful vigour, its tresses resembling those of the women of Permet, Gjirokastra, Tepelena, Mallakastra, Vlora, Fier, Memaliaj, Kelcyra, with the colours and shades of the sun-kissed skin of the girls of Selenica, where Shushica runs, and even those of Libohova, where Drino flows. This inseparable marriage of Nature and Man is our new project for a sustainable development of Vjosa National Park.” Minister for Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro

“On the occasion of #WorldWaterDay I encourage all Albanians to show solidarity with the cause of declaring #VjosaNationalParkNow. It is our responsibility to protect this precious Albanian and European Union natural heritage from any destructive and abusive projects.” Ilir Meta, President of Albania

“…I join the call of citizens of the Republic of Albania, local and international activists, candidates for deputies of the Movement SELF-DEVELOPMENT! in the elections of April 25 and the institutions of the European Union that the Government of Albania declares the Vjosa River a National Park and renounces all plans for the construction of new hydropower plants.” Albin Kurti, Prime Minister of Kosovo

“Protecting & restoring free flowing rivers is an #EUBiodiversity Strategy goal! We support the designation of protected areas in all countries including in Albania & its majestic Vjosa river!” Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries

“Lets fight together for a strong protection of one of Europe's last wild rivers in Albania: the Vjosa River.” Thomas Waitz, Member of European Parliament, Greens/EFA