The Vjosa River in Albania teems with more than 1,000 species, while rare vultures and Balkan lynx visit its banks. It has seen off the threat of a surge in barriers, but the shadow of development persists
. A collaboration between the government, international experts, STBHE, NGOs, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Patagonia, the outdoor clothing company and environmental organisation, will help ensure the Vjosa and its unique ecosystems across the 12,727-hectare park are safeguarded. The park has been given an IUCN category II designation aimed at protecting it from dams, gravel extraction and other damaging activities.
While the Vjosa supports a myriad of wildlife, including otters, critically endangered Balkan lynx and endangered Egyptian vultures, the key to its biodiversity lies under the water. In the gravel, mussels work away in the dark, filtering the river water, allowing fish to spawn and breed. Ulrika Åberg, a project officer at the IUCN, says: “When people talk about hydropower as renewable, they say: ‘It’s just water, it’s the same water in the system.’ But what it does to a river is not renewable. It destroys habitats that have built up for years.”
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