Climate change in recent years, coupled with temperature fluctuations, precipitation during flood periods, droughts, erosion, and human interventions in the environment, according to REC Albania representative Mihallaq Qirjo are also having their impact on the situation of rivers in Albania and the Balkan region.
“In recent years, there has been an unsustainable exploitation of rivers, making them more vulnerable and threatened in terms of their values.”
The latest assessments on the state of rivers, according to the environmental report, show that the water quality in the upper reaches of rivers is very good, but it begins to deteriorate in the lower reaches due to pollution caused by waste disposal, discharge of wastewater, and water exploitation from dam construction or extraction of inert materials from riverbeds, says Mihallaq Qirjo.
“The situation is concerning, I would say, because we should not only refer to pollution from plastic waste, which we see more in the media and with our own eyes, but also to the chemical quality of the water and the available water quantity. We should also be concerned about the behavior of rivers during extreme droughts or floods that lead to economic and social damage to the communities living nearby.”
For biologist Aurora Piroviq, the case of the Buna River, where the waters of the Drin, Kir, and Lake Shkodra are discharged, is indicative of the problematic situation of rivers and the damage being caused to them by human interventions in the environment.
“All the wastewater is collected and discharged directly into the Buna River, which violates Albanian legislation for protected areas, as the Buna River is part of protected areas and, based on international conventions, is also a Ramsar site.”
In the Buna River, all the waste from the largest catchment basin in the region is discharged, says biologist Piroviq, making it one of the most polluted rivers with an impact on the ecosystem of the cross-border area between Albania and Montenegro.
Supported by the U.S. Forest Service, a river monitoring program has been launched in Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia, aiming to prevent further damage and pollution to rivers by monitoring their situation and water quality.
