Besjana Guri & Olsi Nika

Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika’s campaign to protect the Vjosa River from a hydropower dam development boom resulted in its historic designation as the Vjosa Wild River National Park by the Albanian government in March 2023. This precedent-setting action safeguards not only the entirety of the Vjosa’s 167 miles—which flow freely across Albania—but also its free-flowing tributaries, totaling 250 miles of undisturbed river corridors. The Vjosa ecosystem is a significant bastion of freshwater biodiversity that provides critical habitat for several endangered species. The new national park is both Albania and Europe’s first to protect a wild river.

Unspoiled Waterways

Often called “the Blue Heart of Europe,” the Balkans contain 22,000 miles of the last remaining free-flowing rivers in Europe. Ignored throughout decades of civil strife and war, the region was once relatively untouched by industrial development. As such, Balkan rivers are important freshwater biodiversity hotspots that support critical ecosystems. In contrast, most of Western Europe’s rivers have been significantly degraded by dam construction, urbanization, and pollution: Europe has more than 1.2 million dams and other barriers that impact river systems. As a result, freshwater migratory fish species have shrunk by 94% across the continent since the 1970s.

Running intact and undammed within Albania (there is a large dam at the headwaters on the Greek side), the Vjosa River travels 167 miles from the Pindus Mountains of Greece before emptying into the Adriatic Sea on the Albanian coast. It is one of Europe’s only remaining wild rivers—undammed and free-flowing—as well as a place of important cultural and economic value for nearby communities. The Vjosa contains significant biodiversity, hosting 1,175 plant and animal species, including 119 protected under Albanian law and 39 threatened species. Notably, the river supports habitat for critically endangered European eels, endangered Egyptian vultures, and otters. It also contains a complex system of freshwater aquatic life that enables fish spawning and breeding.  

However, the river development boom has descended on Albania and the wider region in recent years. Today, 99% of Albania’s energy is generated from hydropower, and, at one time, the Albanian government had planned to construct 45 dams along the Vjosa and its equally pristine tributaries, threatening to strangle some of the last unspoiled rivers in Europe. The Vjosa’s fate hung in the balance. 

Two Gifted Advocates 

Besjana Guri, 37, and Olsi Nika, 39, care deeply about Albania’s wilderness. Besjana (“Besi”) was trained as a social worker and has always had a strong connection with nature. Olsi is a biologist and aquatic ecologist. He founded the environmental NGO EcoAlbania in 2014, with Besi playing a key role from the start. The small organization set out to protect Albania’s natural ecosystems and habitats while strengthening the coexistence of humans and nature. As a team, the two are quite complementary—Olsi is expert at science and Besi at communications.

The Future of the Vjosa

Concerned about the onslaught of hydropower projects in Albania, Besi and Olsi sought to act before it was too late. In collaboration with their international partner organizations EuroNatur and RiverWatch, they publicly launched the “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” campaign in Albania in 2014. In 2015, they deepened their focus on the Vjosa and founded the “Friends of Vjosa” initiative in order to broaden their network of advocates, inviting NGOs, activists, artists, scientists, and citizens to join in promoting the beauty and value of the Vjosa.  

What began as a call to protect the river evolved into the broader concept of creating a national park—specifically a wild river national park—to permanently protect the Vjosa from development. Besi and Olsi initiated a multi-faceted, awareness-raising campaign among Albanians, engaging the international scientific community, applying pressure on the Albanian government, and drawing global attention to the efforts to keep the Vjosa running freely. The campaign was creative and varied in its approach—even attracting a flotilla of protesting kayakers who began their journey in Slovenia and ended 33 days later on the Vjosa. 

While Olsi coordinated efforts by scientists, local communities, activists, and NGOs, Besi communicated the group’s work to the public and media in order to raise awareness of the river and build a case for its preservation. They were particularly upset to learn that local communities that had lived in symbiosis with the river for centuries had not been informed about the multiple development projects that threatened it. 

Scientists, lawyers, EU parliamentarians, and celebrities—including Leonardo DiCaprio—all lent their support to the idea of a wild river national park. Despite overwhelming public support, the relationship between the government and NGOs had hit an impasse. In November 2021, Besi and Olsi invited Patagonia, which had supported the campaign since 2016, to serve as a trusted intermediary between the government and EcoAlbania. This provided a crucial bridge during negotiations, helping to ensure that the Vjosa was protected in reality and not just on paper. 

In March 2023, after a decade of efforts to protect the Vjosa River from being dammed, Besi and Olsi secured a remarkable victory when the Albanian government declared it Wild River National Park—the first such park in Europe—protecting more than 31,000 acres of the Vjosa and its three tributaries. Commercial activity will be prohibited in 75% of the park, while traditional grazing is permitted in the remaining 25%. No dams are permitted on the Vjosa within Albanian territory. Olsi and Besi worked closely with the government to finalize the park’s management plan. Additionally, the Albanian government has begun working with the Greek government to create a transboundary park with the highest level of protection for the entire Vjosa from source to sea. 

While the details are being worked out, there are some obstacles to protecting the entirety of the park. Operations have begun in Albania to divert water from the Shushica River—an important tributary to the Vjosa—to the Adriatic coast for large-scale tourism demands. The water diversion plan is currently being challenged in court. If appeals are unsuccessful, approximately six miles of the river would be excluded from the park’s official boundaries. Both Besi and Olsi are actively opposing the project. Additionally, the duo continues to push to protect the nascent park from encroachment by gravel extraction, extractive industry, urbanization, and intensive agriculture.