L’UICN a publi\u00e9 un rapport d’\u00e9valuation sur le projet controvers\u00e9 de captage d’eau de la rivi\u00e8re Shushica, un affluent de la rivi\u00e8re Vjosa dans le parc national albanais de la Vjosa (VWRNP). Avec ce projet, le gouvernement albanais vise \u00e0 d\u00e9tourner l’eau vers la c\u00f4te m\u00e9diterran\u00e9enne pour soutenir le tourisme \u00e0 grande \u00e9chelle. Le rapport, \u00e9labor\u00e9 par de grands experts internationaux et albanais, conclut que le projet propos\u00e9 aurait un impact grave sur la biodiversit\u00e9 du parc national et ne respecterait pas les normes de l’UICN relatives aux parcs nationaux. Il recommande d’\u00e9viter compl\u00e8tement le projet et d’utiliser d’autres ressources en eau \u00e0 la place. \u00ab L’\u00e9vitement est obligatoire pour parvenir \u00e0 une perte nette nulle de la biodiversit\u00e9 et \u00e9viter des impacts n\u00e9gatifs significatifs sur l’int\u00e9grit\u00e9 du PNRVW et ses objectifs \u00bb, indique le rapport (UICN, 2025, p. 59).<\/p>\n
EcoAlbania, Riverwatch et EuroNatur se f\u00e9licitent des r\u00e9sultats du rapport et invitent le gouvernement albanais \u00e0 agir de mani\u00e8re d\u00e9cisive sur la base des conclusions du rapport et \u00e0 prot\u00e9ger le PNRV en donnant la priorit\u00e9 au sc\u00e9nario d’\u00e9vitement. Ce sc\u00e9nario interdit le pr\u00e9l\u00e8vement d’eau dans la rivi\u00e8re Shushica et recommande d’autres sources d’eau \u00e0 l’ext\u00e9rieur du parc, garantissant ainsi le respect des objectifs du parc national.<\/p>\n
Lire le communiqu\u00e9 de presse\u00a0 :<\/p>\n
Joint press release by EcoAlbania, Riverwatch and EuroNatur<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tirana, January 29, 2025<\/strong> \u00a0\u2013\u00a0 This Monday, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released an assessment report<\/a> about the controversial water abstraction project from the Shushica River, a vital tributary of the Vjosa River within Albania\u2019s Vjosa Wild River National Park (VWRNP). With the project, the Albanian government aims to divert water to the Mediterranean coast to support large-scale tourism. The report, developed by leading international and Albanian experts, concluded that the proposed project would have a severe impact on the national park\u2019s biodiversity and fail to comply with IUCN national park standards. It recommends avoiding the project altogether and using alternative water resources instead. \u201cAvoidance is mandatory to achieve No Net-Loss of biodiversity and avoid significant adverse impacts on the integrity of the VWRNP and its objectives.\u201d <\/em>so the report states (IUCN, 2025, p. 59).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n EcoAlbania, Riverwatch and EuroNatur welcome the results of the report and urge the Albanian government to act decisively on the report\u2019s findings and protect the VWRNP by prioritizing the Avoidance Scenario. This scenario prohibits water abstraction from the Shushica River and recommends alternative water sources outside the park, ensuring that the national park\u2019s objectives are upheld. WATCH OUR VIDEO<\/a><\/p>\n Key Findings of the Assessment<\/strong><\/p>\n As a result of the above, the project is in violation of IUCN guidelines for Category II National Parks, to which the Albanian government has committed itself. It \u201cis expected to have implications for the objectives of the VWRNP. As planned, the project water abstraction will not comply with IUCN guidelines for Category II National Parks, potentially affecting the park’s integrity and conservation objectives as well as ecosystem services.\u201d<\/em> (IUCN, 2025 Executive Summary)<\/p>\n The Austrian company STRABAG has been laying these pipes to divert the spring water of the Shushica to the Mediterranean coast \u00a9 Adrian Guri<\/p>\n <\/p>\n NGOs and Local Communities Call for Immediate Action<\/strong> \u201cThis report reinforces the stance we\u2019ve held since the start of this fight: the project would cause significant damage to vast areas of the Wild River National Park, and with alternative water sources available, it is completely unnecessary,\u201d <\/em>said Olsi Nika from EcoAlbania<\/strong>. \u201cThe Avoidance Scenario is the only path forward to protect one of Europe\u2019s last wild river ecosystems and preserve the integrity of the VWRNP.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cFor generations, the Shushica River has been the lifeline of our valley\u2014providing water for our fields, supporting our livelihoods, and offering a place of natural beauty,\u201d<\/em> said\u00a0,\u201d said Astrit Balilaj, mayor of the village Ku\u00e7 <\/strong>in the Shushica Valley .\u201cWe will not stand by and let this project destroy our river and our way of life. The government must listen to science and choose the Avoidance Scenario to protect our future.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n NGOs echo the call to abandon plans that threaten the national park, urging project developers, including the Albanian Development Fund, to embrace sustainable alternatives that respect the park\u2019s integrity and long-term ecological health.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Over 30 villages face an uncertain future due to the water abstraction project, but resilient local communities continue to stand united in opposition. \u00a9 Adrian Guri<\/p>\n Contact<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" L’UICN a publi\u00e9 un rapport d’\u00e9valuation sur le projet controvers\u00e9 de captage d’eau de la rivi\u00e8re Shushica, un affluent de la rivi\u00e8re Vjosa dans le parc national albanais de la Vjosa (VWRNP). Avec ce projet, le gouvernement albanais vise \u00e0 d\u00e9tourner l’eau vers la c\u00f4te m\u00e9diterran\u00e9enne pour soutenir le tourisme \u00e0 grande \u00e9chelle. Le rapport, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":13831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,21,25,35,52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accueil-fr","category-living-rivers-europe","category-menaces","category-proteger","category-wild-rivers-europe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23950","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23950\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ern.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nThe NGOs of the Blue Heart campaign and local residents of the Shushica Valley are united in their opposition to the planned project.<\/p>\n
\nBackground information<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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\nBesjana Guri \u2013 EcoAlbania b.guri@ecoalbania.org<\/a> \u00a0 0035\/692954214
\nUlrich Eichelmann – Riverwatch ulrich.eichelmann@riverwatch.eu<\/a> 0043\/6766621512
\nChristian Stielow \u2013 EuroNatur christian.stielow@euronatur.org<\/a> 0049\/7732 9272 15<\/p>\n