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albaniaVjosa of Riveris celebrated as one of the EuropeThe last uninterrupted waterway in the world presents a stark paradox: a natural wonder simultaneously battling severe environmental degradation.
Although it flows through tree-lined valleys and lush green valleys, its waters are polluted by pieces of plastic flying in the open. Landfill And raw sewage flows directly into the stream.
Further upstream, diggers extract gravel for concrete, a practice experts warn is changing the river’s course and destabilizing its banks.
Despite these immediate threats, the Vjosa Valley received significant international recognition last month, being designated by UNESCO As one of 26 new biosphere reserves.
The initiative aims to “protect some of the planet’s richest and most fragile ecosystems”, a description fitting for a region home to otters, endangered Egyptian vultures and rare plant species.
The river was declared a national park by the Albanian government in 2023.
The designations represent a considerable boost for Albania, a Balkan nation of 2.4 million people. The country is currently experiencing growth in tourism on its coastline and mountains and is actively striving to join the European Union by the end of the decade.
The challenge now is to ensure that these protections deliver tangible improvements to the health of the river.
But amid this broader scenario, environmentalists are worried about the future.
“International recognition like UNESCO does not solve the problems,” Besjana Guri of the non-governmental environmental organization Lumi (River) said during a visit to the valley last week.
UNESCO did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. In previous reports, it had said it would follow stringent criteria before granting Vjosa Biosphere Reserve status.
Albania’s environment minister, Sofjan Djupaj, who keeps a framed copy of the UNESCO designation in his office, acknowledged the problems during an interview reuters,
He said his ministry planned to spend more than 150 million euros to treat sewage water and close all landfills.
For many the damage has already been done. He says that there are oil wells and bitumen pits in the river, due to which the risk of pollution is increasing.
Agron Zia, 55, had taken sheep and goats to the river bank for grazing last week. He pointed to landfills where plastic bounces from the air and gets caught on the branches of nearby trees.
“When I was little, we swam here all summer long. It’s sad when your kids can’t go because of the sewage and trash,” he said.