Today biologist Slameršek was awarded the Wolfgang Staab Nature Conservation Prize 2021 for her outstanding commitment to nature of European value. This prize is awarded annually and is endowed with 20,000 Euros – financed by the Wolfgang Staab Nature Conservation Fund of the Schweisfurth Foundation.
After a decade of efforts to protect the Vjosa River in Albania, this petition will gather the voices of all supporters and demand an action that will make a real change: Proclaiming Vjosa as a National Park. Sign the petition and share it with your friends so that we join our efforts to protect what nature took centuries to create.
Last week, Kosovo's Supreme Court ruled that three KELKOS hydropower plants near the village of Deçan must be shut down pending a final court decision. Moreover, KELAG withdraws complaint against two activists.
Join us for our next Blue Heart webinar on November 4th,2021 (3-5 pm CEWT) to discuss with river activists and experts from the Balkans and beyond about social impacts of hydropower, their resistance and the lessons learned from successful river activism. REGISTER HERE
Under the slogan "Lets defend the Balkan Rivers", activists from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia Sarajevo met in Sarajevo on Saturday, July 3, to decide on a pan-Balkan alliance for the protection of the rivers in the region. From now on, the various organizations want to work more closely together, because the issues are the same in all countries
On Wednesday evening, Maida Bilal received the renowned 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize on behalf of the “brave women of Kruščica”. The prize is endowed with 200,000 USD. The Jury justified their decision on the grounds that hydropower is not green, and is one of the greatest threats to wild rivers and the people living along their banks. Maida Bilal and the other women fought for one of the last free-flowing rivers in Europe - and won.
From May 29 to June 6, a science delegation from Austria, Albania, Italy and Germany collects multidisciplinary data from the two major Vjosa tributaries Shushica and Bënça. This research week is a follow-up of a comparable undertaking at the Vjosa in 2017, which contributed substantially to our success in establishing the ecological value of the Vjosa, fending off the hydropower projects (HPP) and which led to the designation as a protected area.
The election may be over, but the fight for the Vjosa is not. Over the last several months, support for the Vjosa has grown tremendously in Albania, other European countries, and around the world. As a result of campaigning, Edi Rama’s government agreed to a low-level ‘nature park’ protection for the Vjosa in March - which is a good first step.
We are happy to present the Legal Toolkit which provides guidance to activists and civil society organisations in navigating the possibilities for legal actions in river protection. The toolkit will be presented on 29 April (2-4 pm CET) in a webinar. We will be happy to answer your questions and receive feedback on the toolkit.
This baseline survey summarises the value of the Vjosa River system as one of the few remaining reference sites for dynamic floodplains in Europe on the one hand, and reveals the detrimental effects dams could have on the river system on the other. Only one dam will significantly destroy the ecological continuum of a pristine river.
