Expedition 2022: Walking the Vjosa
We are three students, passionate about human-nature interaction and science communciation. Katy Ellis studies Conservation Biology & Ecology and Will Christie studies Marine Biology. We have worked together previously on a UK-based project in Summer 2021 to connect coastal communities with marine scientists, individually walking over 500km. We will be joined by Skyler Kim, an Environmental Sciences student from the University of Connecticut and talented photographer.
Why are we doing this?
We are very excited about European nature and feel that we, as a continent, have a huge amount of biodiversity to both celebrate and protect. We have found that the Blue Heart is mostly unknown in the West of Europe, especially in the UK, so we would like to raise awareness about the fight to prevent dam construction along it.
The Vjosa is unique: it is the final major free-flowing river in Europe in a regional biodiversity hotspot. In February 2021, a case was put forward to make the river a national park. This would prevent all damming and safeguard its ecosystems. However it was only granted the status of a nature park, not giving the same protection.
We will therefore complete an expedition to walk the length of the Vjosa River from source to sea in summer 2022. We will be starting from the much less explored tributary of the Drino, beginning in Greece then crossing the border into Albania and following the course of the Vjosa to the Adriatic Sea.
This river is special to the people of Albania; in 2017 they voted for a President who promised he would grant the Vjosa national park status. This has still not happened. Tourism Minister Mirela Kumbaro said that, despite the government's intentions to make the river a national park, they first need to assess the impacts this would have on locals. So, along the way we will talk to the people who live alongside the Vjosa, recording their stories and voices. It is vital to show the rest of Europe the ecological and cultural values the river holds and continue to campaign for its protection.
But we need your help.
This expedition will take place in August 2022. We need your help to spread the word as much as possible; please share this blog and the petition to make the Vjosa a national park to make sure this campaign has maximum impact. We will fill this blog with our research on the history, culture and ecology of Albania for you to enjoy.
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