Bern Convention

Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats

This complaint was submitted in 2016 by EcoAlbania and concerns the construction of hydropower plants on the Vjosa River in Poçem and Kalivaç as well as an airport within the boundaries of the Protected Area Vjosë-Nartë in Albania.

The Vjosa river encompasses different habitats including narrow sediment bars, vegetated islands, alluvial floodplains, freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, reed beds, woodlands, and sandy beaches. Many of the river sections qualify as Candidate Emerald Network sites.

The complainant stated that the construction of hydropower plants would destroy these unique ecosystems, prevent the migration of many fish species and the operation of the hydropower plants includes hydropeaking which would have negative effects on biodiversity. According to the complainant, the construction of the airport encroaches on the natural breeding habitats of many bird species of international importance and is expected to affect the respective segment of the coastline which is used by rare and endangered water mammals, such as the Mediterranean Monk Seal.

According to the on-the-spot appraisal (OSA) carried out in 2018 and its resulting Recommendation no. 202 (2018), the precautionary approach should be applied by suspending the two hydropower projects until the necessary additional assessments including an integrated River Basin Management Plan, and a strategic environmental impact assessment including social aspects, particularly the potential for ecotourism, has been carried out. To date, the efforts of the have Convention worked, as no hydropower plants have been built, and the river remains wild.

At its 41st meeting in 2021, a further OSA was recommended by the Standing Committee, following the information of the complainant that construction of Vlora Airport was about to begin despite the previous recommendations of the Standing Committee and concerns of other international organisations such as AEWA and CMS. The OSA took place in 2022 and Recommendation 219 (2023) on the possible impacts of infrastructure and urbanisation developments particularly Vlora International Airport, on the Vjosa-Narta Protected Area was adopted by written procedure on 5th September 2023 urging the Albanian authorities to halt construction of the airport, and supplemented during the 43rd Standing Committee with additional operational recommendations.

During 2023, the Vjosa was proclaimed as Europe’s first wild river national park. This was considered a great success for the region and the contribution of the Bern Convention, though the ongoing threat of the airport in the delta somewhat offset this positive news.

 Key Timeline

• 2016 - Case registration
• 2018 - OSA and Recommendation No. 202
• 2018 - Opening of Case
• 2022 - OSA
• 2023 - Recommendation No. 219

 Other countries possibly concerned

• Greece

 Other international organisations involved

• AEWA
• CMS
• IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia

 Documents

Complaint form

OSA report and recommendation

Regular reports to the Bureau and/or Standing Committee

Please note that all reports received by a Party during one calendar year are included in one single report for that year. Some older reports are not available in digital form.

Other information / documents