What has been accomplished so far?
May 2014
First occasion when mayors and locals from the river had the first press conference on the banks of the Vjosa and called Prime Minister Rama to reject the dam plans and to establish a Vjosa National Park instead
June 2014
First biodiversity assessment of the Vjosa together with Albanian scientists and 70 students finding
April 2016
European Parliament calls on the Albanian government to control hydropower development; specifically, in pristine areas such as 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.
December 2016
Local residents together with national and international NGOs filed a lawsuit against Poçem hydropower, a new dam project on the Vjosa
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.
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.
June 2019
New study finds the Vjosa an unsuitable candidate for hydropower plants – new plants would create a lose-lose situation
November 2019
International pressure to protect the Vjosa increases as celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio get involved
February 2020
One of the largest science petitions in global freshwater ecology calls to stop Vjosa dam projects in Albania
September 2020
Albanian Environmental Ministry rejected the environmental impact assessment of the Turkish-Albanian investor consortium and the proposed Kalivaç Dam will not be built
February 2021
20 Albanian environmental organizations 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.
March 2021
Patagonia released a new 6-minute film explaining the situation in Albania and calling upon Albanians and Europeans to get involved and support the protection of the river.
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.”
World Water Day 2021
‘Vjosa National Park Now’ cloaking the foreground of globally recognized monuments in Paris, Berlin, Brussels, and Tirana, targeting the attention of European and Albanian politicians, urging them to declare the Vjosa in Albania Europe’s first Wild River National Park.
March 2021
European Parliament adopted the 2021 Albanian Progress Report in which they urge Albanians “to establish as soon as possible the Vjosa National Park, extending the whole length of the river…”
April 2021
Liderët politikë në Shqipëri të konfrontuar në media me çështjen e Vjosës angazhohen publikisht për mbrojtjen e Vjosës. Prill 2021: EcoAlbania i përgjigjet deklaratës publike të Kryeministrit Rama mbi mundësinë reale te shpalljes së Vjosës si Park Kombëtar (Kategoria e II sipas standardeve të IUCN).
Dhjetor 2021
The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention asked the Albanian authorities to clarify why the proposal of EcoAlbania and IUCN, based on extensive studies to declare the “Vjosa River” as a National Park (Category II), was not considered.
Janar 2022
The Albanian government declared the Vjosa River a Nature Park (category IV of protected areas) instead of declaring it a National Park (category II of protected areas), as requested by activists for years.
Qershor 2022
Qeveria Shqiptare ndërmerr një hap të rëndësishëm drejt mbrojtjes së lumit Vjosa duke nënshkruar Marrëveshjen e Bashkëpunimit për Parkun Kombëtar të Lumit të Egër Vjosa.
Janar 2023
Nis procedura Ligjore për shpalljen e lumi Vjosa che degët e tij park kombëtar. Dorëzohet studimi i fizibilitetit nga ekipi i ekspertëve kombëtar dhe ndërkombëtar.
Mars 2023
Moment historik: Lumi Vjosa shpallet Park Kombëtar. Në një ceremoni zyrtare në Tepelenë, qeveria shqiptare shpalli lumin Vjosa dhe degët e tij, Bënça, Shushica dhe Drino, park kombëtar të lumit të egër.