Vjosa campaign declares victory against small hydropower plants on Shushica river

A court in Albania annulled the water use concession and environmental permit for a cascade of small hydropower plants on the Shushica. It is a major tributary of the Vjosa, Europe’s last big free-flowing river and a national park. Shushica is also under jeopardy from a project to abstract its spring water for the needs of tourism on the sea coast.

The Administrative Court of First Instance of Tirana scrapped a project for four small hydropower plants of 14.9 MW in estimated capacity on the Shushica river, also known as Vlora. It determined that the complaint of 28 residents of the village of Brataj and environmentalist organizations EcoAlbania and Impetus was founded.

Activists declared victory because the ruling annulls a 35-year water use concession from 2017 and the environmental permit. Shushica in south Albania is a major tributary of Europe’s only last big free-flowing river outside of Russia.

Shushica is major tributary of Vjosa, Europe’s first wild river national park

The environmentalists earlier fought off hydropower investors on the Vjosa (Aoös in Greek). Then, last year, it became the first wild river national park in Europe together with its basin.

The court found that the residents had a legitimate interest due to the project’s impact as well as a moral and spiritual connection to the area, EcoAlbania said. The legitimate interest of the two environmental organizations was recognized based on their involvement in such issues, the announcement adds. The organization is a partner within the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign.

“Our work and dedication was rewarded after almost three years as a campaign team for the protection of the Vjosa and the lawyers, in the continuous effort to protect the Vjosa and its tributaries from destructive projects. We believe that the authorities will reflect on this decision, which comes at a time when the Vjosa has been declared a national park, by not appealing it, ” said Besjana Guri from EcoAlbania.

Public can challenge government decisions on investments

Shushica Hydropower, the firm that developed the project, is a joint venture of Alb Star, Trema Engineering 2 and GR Albania. The small hydropower sites were named Brataj, Gjormi, Kota and Drashkovica.

“From the point of view of judicial practice, this is a qualitative step forward because it paves the way for the possibility for an administrative contract to be challenged in court by the public, without being a contracting party. From the point of view of environmental protection, this decision definitively protects the Shushica river from the construction of hydroelectric power plants,” lawyer Irena Dule from the Res Publica center said after the ruling.

Opponents to Himara project fighting for right to water

However, the Shushica is jeopardized also by the Himara project. The idea is to abstract its spring water and divert it through pipes toward the Adriatic coast for the needs of tourism.

Locals and activists have turned to the Administrative Court of First Instance of Lushnja to stop the works.

The Standing Committee to the Bern Convention commended the Albanian government “for suspending work on the water supply project in the municipality of Himara” and involving local communities in the decision-making processes, Politiko reported.

Germany’s KfW Development Bank and the European Union’s Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) are financing the water diversion project. Austria-based Strabag is the contractor.