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Environment

Inside the fight for Europe's first wild river national park

Albania's Vjosa river was due to be the site of a massive hydroelectric dam, with disastrous consequences for biodiversity. New Scientist reports on its rescue, the benefits for local nature and why it is an inspiration for other river conservation projects

By Graham Lawton

23 May 2023

Permet, Albania and surroundings taken in May 2022; Shutterstock ID 2247817573; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Albania’s Vjosa river, dubbed “Europe’s last wild river”

Lukas Bischoff Photograph/shutterstock

WHEN you see the abandoned construction site, it isn’t hard to marvel at what could have been. We floated round a bend in the river on our raft and there it was: two colossal artificial banks beneath scarred hillsides, stranded diggers and cement hoppers.

These are the forlorn remains of the Kalivaç dam project on the Vjosa river in Albania, which has been dubbed “Europe’s last wild river”. If the developers had had their way, this would now be the site of a 43-metre-high hydroelectric dam with a vast reservoir behind it. Instead, in March, the Albanian government declared the entirety of the Vjosa and many of its tributaries a wild river national park, the first (and probably last) of its kind in Europe – saved in perpetuity from a fate that has befallen too many of the rivers in this part of the world.

The Vjosa is special because it is entirely free-flowing. Aside from the remains of the Kalivaç project, there are no dams, barriers or artificial banks. It will now stay that way. Mostly.

Dams generate hydroelectric power, but are disastrous for biodiversity and other crucial ecological gifts rivers bestow upon us. So the saving of the Vjosa is a big win for nature – including the critically endangered Balkan lynx and European eel – and an inspiration for other river conservation projects. It is also a rare bit of good news against the backdrop of the shocking state of many of the world’s rivers. But the battle to …

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