A team of international and Albanian experts presented their vision, roadmap and feasibility study for the creation of the Vjosa National Park to the country’s government this week, in the hopes of ensuring the protection of Europe’s last wild river.
The Vjosa River has been the subject of an international campaign to grant it the highest level of protection and turn it into a national park, preventing any development or potentially damaging activities taking place along it, or any of its tributaries.
The river and its basin are home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna including endemic, endangered, and migratory, making it a habitat of extreme ecological importance.
The campaign included EcoAlbania, River Watch, international brand Patagonia and Leonardo di Caprio and it saw large signs stating “Vjosa National Park Now” displayed by major landmarks around the world in a bid to draw attention to the cause.
In 2022, the Albanian government finally decided to work with international organisations and pledged to create a National Park, thus preserving the river which runs from Greece, through Albania and into the Adriatic Sea.
“The Vjosa is a major step closer to becoming Europe’s 1st Wild River National Park, with more than 400km of rivers and streams protected. 30 national and international experts prepared the feasibility study,” Ulrich Eichelmann ecologist and CEO of Riverwatch wrote on Twitter.
The documents submitted provide the technical proposal for the permanent protection of the river under IUCN Category II level standards. One month of public consultation will follow and in Spring 2023, it is expected that Phase 1 of the park will be declared.
Phase I will include the active channel of the river, plus some lands and river vegetation within the active channel, or at risk of flooding or erosion – over 400km in total length. Phase II will add areas that are flooded every 30 to 50 years and some private land, following consultation with stakeholders, a press release states.
It continues that a management structure for the park will also be developed which will serve as a model for other national parks in the region and create a new model of river protection globally.
The final aim is to protect the ecosystem and biodiversity of the Vjosa, and develop green tourism and sustainable agricultural development along the river and its tributaries.
(Alice Taylor | Exit.al)
Source: euractiv.com
