Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika led the fight against new hydroelectric power plants on the Vjosa river in Albania. They won, and have now been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize.

On 21 April, the winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize 2025 — the "Nobel Prize for the environment" — were announced. From Semia Gharbi, who exposed the illegal trafficking of waste between Italy and Tunisia, to Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari, who led a campaign in Peru for the recognition of the Marañón river as a legal entity. From Batmunkh Luvsandash, whose activism in Mongolia hindered mining projects, to Laurene Allen and her findings on water well contamination in the United States, through to Carlos Mallo Molina, whose campaign prevented the construction of the port of Fonsalía in the Canary Islands.

The prize also went to Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika, two Albanian activists who, in recent years, together with other local and international associations, have waged an unrelenting battle to defend Europe's last wild river, the Vjosa. The waterway had become the focus of a series of projects to build hydroelectric power plants that would have compromised biodiversity and upended the lives of local communities. Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika, through the organisation EcoAlbania, not only succeeded in preventing this, but also established a productive dialogue with the authorities that led to the creation of the Vjosa Wild River National Park.

The Vjosa rises in the Pindus mountain range in Greece and flows for 268 kilometres to the Adriatic coast in Albania. It is a unique waterway, considered the last free-flowing river in Europe. Its course has never been subject to human intervention, which has preserved its remarkable biodiversity, comprising 1,175 plant and animal species, of which 119 are protected under Albanian law and 39 are threatened.

In the early 2010s, however, things threatened to change. The Albanian government approved a plan to build a series of hydroelectric power plants along the Vjosa. A total of 45 dams, eight on the river itself and 27 on its tributaries. The plan was presented as an opportunity for local communities, thanks to the jobs it would create, and for the entire nation, given the energy surplus that the new dam system would generate.

Implementing the project would, however, require drastically altering the river's course, flooding entire areas and putting biodiversity at risk. Moreover, local communities were never consulted during the planning phase, and the high production costs implied greater taxation for the Albanian people. This is where the battle of several Albanian environmental associations against the project began.

Among the activists at the forefront of defending the Vjosa were Besjana Guri, a social worker now aged 37, and Olsi Nika, a biologist aged 39. Nika founded the environmental NGO EcoAlbania in 2014, with Besi as his right hand.

In 2014 they launched an initial campaign to protect the river, and the following year they founded the initiative "Friends of the Vjosa", bringing together national and international NGOs, activists, artists, scientists and citizens. A major communications and mobilisation campaign — including protests by kayak on the river and intense pressure on the Albanian government — also drew in international stars such as actor Leonardo DiCaprio, musician Manu Chao and outdoor clothing brand Patagonia. At that point, the ambition grew: no longer just preventing the construction of the hydroelectric plants, but securing the long-term protection of the Vjosa by establishing a National Park along the waterway.

EcoAlbania's negotiations with the government were lengthy and marked by moments of tension that required the mediation of international actors. In the end, however, Besjana Guri and Olsi Nika achieved a historic victory. In 2023, the Albanian government established the Wild River National Park, the first of its kind in Europe. This prevents the construction of dams along the river and its tributaries, while commercial activities are banned in 75 per cent of the park and traditional grazing is permitted in the remaining 25 per cent. Albanian authorities have since opened a dialogue with their Greek counterparts to expand the park and make it transboundary.

This is the third time in just a few years that the Goldman Environmental Prize has been awarded to activists who have fought battles in the Balkans against hydroelectric projects — a sign of both the urgency of these struggles in a region at risk of being scarred by human intervention, and of the power of grassroots mobilisation to change the state of things.

"Over the last 12 years we have climbed a mountain and travelled a wild river. The challenge was enormous, but thanks to the commitment and dedication of so many people, we have made a difference. Not only in Albania, but also by inspiring others around the world," said Besjana Guri at the Goldman Environmental Prize 2025 awards ceremony. "Our victory proves that change is possible even where it seems impossible to make your voice heard." Olsi Nika, for his part, stressed that the victory is "a testament to persistence and resilience. Free-flowing rivers are disappearing at an incredible rate and more and more rivers are being dammed, diverted and polluted. The Vjosa story is one of hope, especially because it concerns a country like Albania where, for decades, environmental issues went unheard. The Wild River National Park is a new model for nature conservation."

The battle to protect Albania's rivers is not over, however. A new project threatens to alter the course of the Shushica river in order to channel water towards the Adriatic coast, which is increasingly besieged by tourists. Local environmental organisations, including EcoAlbania itself, are on the front line to stop it.