Tirana – After a year of campaigning the environmental NGO EcoAlbania together with other civil activists and organisations managed to reach a historical success in protecting the country’s longest wild river, Vjosa. A recent decision by the Administrative Court of the First Degree halted the construction of a dam and hydropower plant in Poçem by a Turkish company.

This is the first time an environmental cause wins a favorable decision in Albania’s courts and succeeds in bringing local people’s concerns to the attention of authorities. A programme funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) supported the campaign over the last year.

“Congratulations for pioneering a new type of civil action in Albania. You have succeeded in promoting a just cause, and have set in motion a process of institutional functioning that is new and rare”, said Debora Kern, Head Governance at the Embassy of Switzerland. She also congratulated EcoAlbania for pulling institutions together to work in solving a big concern for people living alongside the Vjosa river in the Mallakastër area. “I am happy to hear that this electoral campaign has brought back the discussion of declaring the Vjosa valley a protected national park”, said the Swiss representative.

Swiss support to the campaign came through LëvizAlbania, a programme designed to promote democratic action at local level. EcoAlbania managed to partner with the communities in the Mallakastër area, lobbied with local government representatives, and won the support of MP’s,European parliament and scientists. After this, they sent their request to the Administrative Court of the First Degree that decided in favour of the citizens and declared the construction of a HEC in Poçem as illegal.

However, Olsi Nika, EcoAlbania’s Executive Director warned the security of the Vjosa is still in danger: the state agencies responsible for issuing the construction permit and the Turkish company that planned to build the HEC are taking the issue to the Court of Appeal. In addition, the government of Albania is currently tendering the construction of a hydropower plant in Kalivaç, further upstream. “Our battle is far from over and we need to work together to ensure that Vjosa remains a natural, free-flowing river”, said Mr. Nika.

Engagement of local communities was particularly high in this campaign including village elders, youth and mayors.