Gregor Subic

Goldman Prize 2025 : Eco Albania rewarded for his work for the Vjosa

Since 1989, the Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded to environmental “heroes” around the world. In Europe, and in the “fresh water” category, two Albanian activists from Eco Albania were rewarded for their defense of the Vjosa, one of the continent’s last wild rivers. Through their campaign, they succeeded in preventing the construction of multiple dams and in designating the Vjosa and several of its tributaries a national park.

In 1992, France and Loire Vivante also won an award for Christine Jean, who coordinated the national campaign to prevent the construction of dams on the Loire at Serre de la Fare, Le Veurdre and Chambonchard.

Plus d’infos

La loire à Champtoceau

Disparition de Philippe Auclerc et Laurent Roy : hommage

En ce début mars 2025, nous avons appris avec tristesse la disparition brutale de deux hommes passionnés et engagés pour les rivières : Philippe Auclerc, Rédacteur en chef pendant 25 ans de « La Loire et ses Terroirs » et de la lettre « Les Nouvelles du bassin de la Loire » et Laurent Roy, ancien Directeur de l’Eau et de la Biodiversité au Ministère de 2013 à 2015 et ancien Directeur de l’Agence de l’Eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse jusqu’en 2023. Notre association a eu la chance de travailler avec eux, ils ont souvent partagé les visions de notre association et leurs compétences ont fait avancer la cause des rivières.

Philippe Auclerc était un fin connaisseur du territoire ligérien et de ses acteurs. Son engagement pour la préservation de la Loire et de ses affluents était profond et sa plume était sincère et souvent aiguisés sur la description du jeu d’acteur et le sens de la gestion de l’Eau du bassin. Son travail a plusieurs fois croisé les actions de l’association SOS Loire Vivante, il est venu nous voir dès les débuts de notre combat dans les années 1990 et a encore récemment été le modérateur de notre dernier colloque « Des Saumons et des Hommes » à Brioude en 2023, un sujet qui l’animait fortement. À travers ses écrits, il a su sensibiliser un large public aux enjeux environnementaux et patrimoniaux de ce fleuve. La disparition de Philippe marque la fin d’une époque pour les passionnés de la Loire, c’était le seul encore aujourd’hui à informer de la vie du fleuve, avec un sens critique, de la source à l’estuaire. Nous espérons que son projet de relier les ligériens perdurent. Nos pensées vont à sa famille et ses proches.

Laurent Roy a également joué un rôle important en faveur des politiques de gestion de l’eau et de préservation de la biodiversité en France tout au long de sa carrière. Avec European Rivers Network nous avons pu le rencontrer plusieurs fois lorsqu’il était au Ministère et à l’Agence de l’Eau, notamment au sujet du rétablissement de la continuité écologique sur le Rhin ou en lien avec le projet du label « Sites Rivières Sauvages ». Homme de conviction, sa capacité à dialoguer et échanger de manière constructive en faisait une personnalité respectée dans le milieu. Nous présentons nos sincères condoléances à sa famille.

Adoption of the European Nature Restauration Law

We have some very good news from Brussels. The European Nature Restauration Law has been adopted.

The opposite was to be feared, as it had become one of the targets of farmers’ protests in the Member States. Farming unions had urged members of the parliament to support the agricultural sector by rejecting the text. Lawmakers passed the law with 329 votes in favor, 275 against, and 24 abstentions.

According to the new law, the EU must put in place restoration measures for at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems by 2050. As far as RIVERS are concerned, among others, the objective of 25,000 km of free-flowing RIVERS!

Our NGOs and allied coalitions (including LRE ) fought very hard. It deserves a big bravo.

 

Background:

Over 80% of European habitats are in poor shape. The Commission proposed on 22 June 2022 a nature restoration law to contribute to the long-term recovery of damaged nature across the EU’s land and sea areas, to achieve EU climate and biodiversity objectives and to reach the EU’s international commitments, in particular the UN Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity framework. According to the Commission, the new law would bring significant economic benefits, as every euro invested would result in at least 8 euro in benefits.

 

Protest on the Albanian Shushica River: Vjosa National Park in danger

++ An entire valley stands up against the diversion of its water: On Saturday, 24 February, the mayors from the Shushica Valley gathered to protest the nature-destroying plans for the Shushica ++ Albanian government wants to divert the water from the Vjosa tributary ++ Vjosa National Park in danger after just one year ++

Press release from EuroNatur, Eco Albania and Riverwatch

Radolfzell, Vienna, Tirana, Kuç. 12 mayors and numerous other residents of the Shushica Valley and other regions of the Vjosa National Park, activists, lawyers and scientists gathered this morning in the village of Kuç on the banks of the Shushica River. They are protesting the plans of the government in Tirana to take the water from the Shushica and channel it to the Mediterranean coast 17 kilometres away in Himara to promote mass tourism there.

Officially declared in March 2023, the Vjosa Wild River National Park encompasses the Vjosa and its key tributaries, including the Shushica. However, less than a year later, the Shushica faces potential removal from protected status, leading to the “amputation” of the Vjosa National Park. The proposed withdrawal of 140 litres of water per second from the Shushica would completely dry up the upper river reaches during summer. This poses a significant threat to biodiversity and has severe repercussions for the local population in around 30 affected villages. The intervention may lead to the exclusion of the Shushica from the national park, as such measures are prohibited in this protection category, depriving the local community of the benefits of ecotourism.

Elidon Kamaj – Mayor of Brataj says : “We had high hopes for the national park as we anticipated it would boost economic development. Given our region’s challenges with emigration, establishing the national park held the promise of transformative change for us. However, if our water is now taken away and Shushica loses its national park status, our economic future will be at stake.”

The German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the Western Balkan Investment Framework (WBIF) are financing the project, and the Austrian company STRABAG is carrying out the construction work. The ministries’ approvals and the financing were based on a completely flawed environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA). The consequences of the project for the Shushica were not analysed, and the people living along the Shushica were not informed. National and international scientists who reviewed these analyses concluded “…the results are misleading and incorrect.” (see attachement).

“We won’t stand by as our water is stolen from us. This project was never communicated to us; its existence only came to light when the construction equipment showed up. We won’t tolerate our water being taken away, and we are prepared to take action to halt the construction.” More than 50 residents filed a lawsuit against this project together with the Albanian nature conservation organisation EcoAlbania. The first court hearing is still pending, declares Astrit Balilaj – Mayor of Kuçi.

“The risk lies in the potential for the water diversion on the Shushica to set a precedent. The actions unfolding today on the Shushica might repeat tomorrow in other sections of the national park. The credibility of the entire Wild River National Park is at stake,” says Olsi Nika, Executive Director of EcoAlbania.

“The Wild River National Park is based on a largely natural, undisturbed water balance in its network of veins. This is what makes this area so unique, which is why people from all over Europe come here. This diversion project, therefore, jeopardises the entire national park. Germany and the WBIF must withdraw from the project if Albania does not stop the construction work immediately and order a real EIA,” says Ulrich Eichelmann, Executive Director of Riverwatch.

“The Albanian government has probably assumed that we will turn a blind eye to one or two nature-destroying projects in return for the designation of the Vjosa National Park, but we will not compromise. We will not give up until the Vjosa and its tributaries are truly safe!” says Annette Spangenberg, Head of Nature Conservation at EuroNatur.

The joint demands of the local residents, mayors, scientists and activists can be summarised as follows:

  1. Halt construction immediately.
  2. Conduct a new environmental impact assessment.
  3. Identify and analyse alternative water resources for the coastal area around Himara as part of the EIA, with the help of national and international experts.

Background information:

– Joint press release by EuroNatur, Eco Albania and Riverwatch,

– In March 2023, the Vjosa National Park was established in Albania, Europe’s first wild river conservation area, which encompasses a total of 404 kilometres of the Vjosa river network with its tributaries Shushica, Drino and Bënça. After less than a year, the national park is now in danger; construction work is already well advanced and is due to be completed in August this year.

– The nature-destroying project has so far also been financed with German taxpayers’ money, namely with funds from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).

– EIA & position paper available on demand

– The “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” campaign aims to protect rivers with particularly high natural value on the Balkan Peninsula, which are threatened by more than 3,400 hydropower projects and other nature-destroying plans. The campaign is coordinated by the international nature conservation organisations Riverwatch and EuroNatur and implemented together with partner organisations in the Balkan countries. The local partner in Albania is EcoAlbania. Further information can be found at https://balkanrivers.net

– The campaign is supported by the Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung, among others.

Historic milestone for rivers: Emptying of the Iron Gate dam on the Klamath River to prepare its removal

The largest dam removal and river restoration project in the history of the United States is taking a major step toward the removal of all hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River in northern California and southern Oregon. The drawdown (draining) of Iron Gate Reservoir began early January so that Iron Gate Dam can be removed later this year. Two other dams, Copco #1 and JC Boyle, will likewise begin to drain in the coming weeks and be fully removed in the summer/fall timeframe. Copco #2, the smallest of the four dams slated for removal, was demolished in October 2023.

IRONGATE dam Klamath

For more than 100 years, these artificial barriers have blocked the migration of several species, like salmon and steelhead trout, impeding them from reaching over 400 miles of habitat. Not only the animals have been harmed. Water quality has been severely damaged, impacting the Hupa, Yurok, and Karuk tribal communities whose livelihoods depend on a healthy river.

To turn the tide, this monumental project symbolizes a collective effort to repair a century of obstruction to fish migration, celebrate indigenous heritage, and ensure the long-term vitality of the Klamath River ecosystem. The project integrates the growing movement to remove more dams and free rivers across the USA, a trend that has also been scaling up in Europe in the past decade through the combined action of several organisations integrating the Dam Removal Europe coalition.

This article is an extract from the article published by Dam Removal Europe (read the complet article)

Albania : River Vjosa becomes (Wild River) National Park (Pressrelease NGOs)

Radolfzell, Vienna, Tepelena – 15 March, 2023 At a formal ceremony in Tepelena this morning, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Minister of the Environment and Tourism Mirela Kumbaro declared the River Vjosa a Wild River National Park. As from today, the entire River Vjosa in Albania from its border with Greece to the Adriatic sea and its free flowing tributaries – a river system totalling more than 400 kilometres in length – have the very highest level of protection. This is something unique in Europe.

After more than ten years of unstinting efforts working for the preservation of one of the last wild rivers in Europe, EuroNatur, Riverwatch, EcoAlbania and many other conservationists and river activists are rejoicing over this great milestone. However, the river conservationists have not yet finished.

“We have fought long and hard with our partners for this day, with court hearings, petitions and discussions with those responsible in government and with local communities. Today we can celebrate,” says Annette Spangenberg, EuroNatur’s Head of Conservation. “Now we will continue campaigning for the other free-flowing tributaries and the river delta to be given protection so that the entirety of the Vjosa’s unique river eco-system can be preserved for ever.”

> read the pressrelease

logo Living Rivers Europe

Open letter: Counting on new hydropower to accelerate Renewable Energy deployment in Europe is irresponsible

ERN and more than 100 NGOs write to EU negotiators asking them to protect Europe’s rivers from new hydropower deployment in the revised Renewable Energy directive.
Already in 2020, 150 NGOs signed a manifesto asking EU decision-makers to stop new hydropower development in Europe.

Read the WWF press release:

 Ahead of the nextpolitical trilogue on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, more than 100 NGOs are sending an open letter to co-legislators from the European Parliament, European Commission and Council Presidency, asking them to exclude new hydropower from go-to areas as well as to include sustainability criteria recognizing that hydropower has direct impacts on freshwater ecosystems which must be mitigated.

 Because hydropower potential has been so exploited already in Europe, new hydropower would only make a small contribution to the energy transition, while causing immense damage to our waterways. According to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022, freshwater species populations have seen the greatest overall global decline (83%), and within this species group, on average, monitored migratory fish populations have declined by 93% in Europe, making our continent the most affected.

Contact
Florian Cassier
Climate Communications Officer
fcassier@wwf.eu
+32 479 33 92 11

Ecosystem services of wild rivers: Webinar replays available

The study relating to the research and development contract on the ecosystem services of wild rivers in connection with the ecological label “Site Rivières Sauvages” carried out by the Office Français de Biodiversité (OFB) in partnership with ERN France, Association du Réseau Rivières Sauvages and Cerema is being finalised, one of the stages of which was the holding of a restitution seminar in the form of a webinar, remotely, on Tuesday 07/12/2021 from 9.30 am to 12 noon.

This webinar highlighted the main lessons learned on the technical and scientific, social, environmental, territorial and economic aspects of the so-called ecosystem services generated by rivers in very good ecological condition that have been awarded the “Wild Rivers Site” label.

The challenge in terms of research consisted in addressing the dynamics of the interdependence between an ecosystem and the stakeholders who benefit from it, in order to shed light on the modalities of an adapted sustainable management. The aim was to go beyond an approach based on the pure functionality of the ecosystem.

Three labelled watersheds were analysed: the Estéron (06), the Léguer (22), the Nant Bénin (73) following the study on the Taravo (2A) …

 

> to the replay page (in french only)

Goldman Environmental Prize for the “Brave Women of Kruščica”

Photo : Maida Bilal received the award on behalf of the all the brave women of Kruščica. © Goldman Prize

++ River defenders from Bosnia and Herzegovina win the Goldman Environmental Prize ++ For the second time in the past three years an activist has received this prestigious award for campaigning against hydropower in the Balkans. ++ See the Riverwatch Press Release below

San Francisco, Kruščica, Vienna, Radolfzell, June 16th, 2021. On Wednesday evening (16.00 local time), 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. The group of women from the village of Kruščica in Bosnia and Herzegovina had occupied a bridge over their river for over 500 days and nights – despite violent eviction attempts by the police and even during the long, cold winter – and thereby prevented the construction of two hydropower plants.

The international foundation EuroNatur had already recognised their extraordinary courage and persistence with the 2019 EuroNatur Prize. Gabriel Schwaderer, Executive Director of EuroNatur, has welcomed the decision of the jury: “The commitment of these courageous women to their natural livelihoods is exemplary. I am delighted that the EuroNatur laureates will attract international attention with the awarding of the Goldman Prize, the so-called ‘Green Nobel Prize’”

This is the second time in the last three years that this award has gone to activists fighting against the construction of hydropower in the Balkans. In 2019, Ana Colovic Lesoska from North Macedonia was honoured for campaigning against dam projects in her country. “This is, as far as I know, a novelty and an extraordinary motivation for all those who stand up for the Blue Heart of Europe. It is also a political signal to the governments of the region as well as to the EU, financial institutions and banks to keep their hands off Balkan rivers.” said Ulrich Eichelmann, CEO of Riverwatch.

Background information

  • The Goldman Environmental Prize is a conservation prize that has been awarded annually since 1990 to six “environmental heroes” in the grassroots movements. A prize is awarded to people from each of the regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, islands and island states, North America and South and Central America.
  • The recording of the awards ceremony can be watched on demand HERE
  • This is a joint press release by EuroNatur and Riverwatch
  • The “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” campaign aims to protect rivers of high natural value in the Balkans, which are threatened by over 3,500 hydropower projects. The campaign is coordinated by the international NGOs Riverwatch and EuroNatur and is implemented jointly with partner organizations in the Balkan countries. The campaign is coordinated by the NGOs Riverwatch and EuroNatur and carried out in conjunction with partner organisations from the Balkan countries. The partner organisation in Bosnia-Herzegovina is made up of the Center for Environment (CZZS) and ACT.
  • The campaign, “Save the Blue Heart of Europe”, is supported amongst others by the Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung.

Further information

Christian Stielow – EuroNatur, christian.stielow@euronatur.org, Tel.: +49 (0)7732 – 92 72 15
Cornelia Wieser – Riverwatch, cornelia.wieser@riverwatch.eu, Tel.: +43 (0)6504544784

 

VJOSA FOREVER: Support the National Park Project

THE FUTURE OF EUROPE’S LARGEST UNSPOILT RIVER IS AT STAKE

The Vjosa, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, is in danger. Patagonia is launching a campaign to support the project to create a national park on the Vjosa, which could protect the entire river and its tributaries.

On this occasion, a 6′ short film has been released to explain the issues at stake and to mobilise the citizens of Europe to preserve this magnificent valley.

>> See the film (6′)