TIRANA, Feb. 6, 2023 – The Albanian and Greek ministers in charge of environmental issues have agreed to work together to create the first cross-border park on the path of the Vjosa River, which crosses from Greece into Albania to reach the sea.
Greece’s Kostas Skrekas and Albania’s Mirela Kumbaro announced the move during a meeting in Athens.
The Regional Office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced in October of last year the preparation on the Greek side of four studies on the best protection of the watershed of the Vjosa River, known as Aoos in Greece, and the promotion of cross-border cooperation for a cross-border park in Greece and Albania.
Greece already has a national park on its side of the border. The Albanian government recently committed to declare a national park within this year for the entire Vjosa River and its branches in Albanian territory.
The decision will legally protect the river from development and comes after strong pressure from domestic and international environmental bodies — including high power Hollywood stars like Leonardo DeCaprio — who see Vjosa as one of the last rivers on the continent that was still unspoiled by development and hydro-electric dams.
Both the Greek and Albanian sides had seen proposals for diverting the river and building dams to produce electricity.
Vjosa runs for about 272 km, 80 km of which are in northern Greece and 192 km in southern Albania.
