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Dear friends, This is the periodic newsletter of EcoAlbania (The Center for Protection of Natural Ecosystems in Albania). Here you can find the latest news on our work and activities, as well as publications regarding important environmental issues in Albania. You're kindly invited to share it with your friends and networks! |
Wilderness, free flowing river, species diversity, simple and loving people, exploring of the river valley, sleeping under the stars, whitewater kayaking, and clear message why we have to fight for the rivers... “The Vjosa Story” brings the history of Vjosa River viewed from a different point of view, aiming to raise the awareness and at the same time it is an appeal to our society and decision-makers to protect the last wild river in Europe.
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Tirana February 5th, 2016 The “Friends of Vjosa” and “Protecting Rivers” groups and civil society activists protested today in front of the Pyramid in Tirana, to oppose the government's decision for giving the concession of the Poçem hydropower plant in the Vjosa River.
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Bohinj, Slovenia, April 16, 2016. Today, about 150 paddler are opening the Balkan Rivers Tour on the Sava river in Slovenia. Led by former Slovenian Olympic athlete Rok Rozman, kayakers from all over Europe will paddle the most stunning and most threatened rivers in the Balkans over the next 35 days. This is without par in Europe. With this tour, they are taking a clear stance against the imminent dam tsunami: about 2,700 hydropower plants are projected to be built between Slovenia and Albania.
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Today, the European Parliament criticized the Albanian government for the planning of hydropower projects and called upon them to be more considerate of protected areas and other sensitive nature areas, especially national parks. In the current Enlargement Report that was adopted by the parliament in Brussel today, the Vjosa River is specifically mentioned.
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On Monday, 11th April, Hundreds of Tropojans joined by supporters from all over Albania gathered at the Museum, in front of the statue of Bajram Curri to protest the construction of 14 hydropower plants along 30 km of the Valbona River. This is the first public action of a campaign started by local people and supported by National and International NGOs, to protest the destruction of one of Albania’s most precious and best-loved natural areas, and one of Albania’s most popular tourism destination.
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The Balkan Rivers Tour moved to its final destination in the Vjosa valley, to continue a journey launched on April 16th in Slovenia. Under the slogan of “Save the Balkan Rivers – Stop the Dam Tsunami”, the Balkan Rivers Tour aims to raise awareness about the values of the Balkan Rivers and the threats they are facing. Led by former Slovenian Olympic athlete and founder of Leeway Collective, Rok Rozman, kayakers from all over Europe will paddle 17 rivers in 6 Balkan countries, starting with the Sava in Slovenia. The first destination of the tour in Albania was Valbona, and then Osumi.
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Tepelena, Albania, May 18, 2016. “Vjosa – No Dams!” An extraordinary alliance directed this appeal – written in letters seven meters high – to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama today. More than 150 people – kayakers from all over Europe, Albanian parliamentarians, residents, artists, Albanian and international environmental organisations as well as the Vice President of the European Parliament – gathered at the banks of the Vjosa and called upon the Prime Minister to stop the projected damming of the Vjosa.
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Joint press release by Riverwatch, EuroNatur and EcoAlbania ++ Albanian Prime Minister receives unusual petition for the protection of the Vjosa ++ Balkan Rivers Tour ends in Tirana ++ Tirana, Albania, May 20, 2016. Amid the applause of hundreds of spectators and attendants, kayakers from Albania, Slovenia, Greece, Italy, Germany, Austria, Netherlands and the US marched with their kayaks …
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Shortly before Christmas, the Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and other government representatives got mail from renowned scientists from Austria and Germany. The experts had analysed the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the hydropower project Poçem on the Vjosa river in Albania. The EIA attests the project to be environmentally sound. According to the scientists, however, the EIA is a farce. It does not even meet minimum requirements and is thus not suitable to predict environmental impacts of the projected hydropower plant
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