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The Vjosa (; indefinite form: Vjosë) or Aoös () is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its average discharge is . The main tributaries are Voidomatis, Sarantaporos, Drino and Shushicë.
The river arises in the Pindus mountains of Epirus, Greece, and generally flows northwest. It enters Albania near Çarshovë, and empties into the Adriatic Sea just north of Vlorë. Generally wild and unpolluted, the river is surrounded by the Vikos–Aoös National Park in Greece, and the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape near its mouth. In December 2020, the Albanian portion of the river was designated a "Managed Nature Reserve" by the government. A campaign by the environmentalist groups to designate the whole Albanian part of the course a national park, to guard against the prospective hydroelectric projects, ultimately resulted in the creation of the Vjosa Wild River National Park on 15 March 2023.
Vjosa is also a common female Albanian given name. From Aboutnames babynames website Albanian names website
The main tributaries of Vjosa are the Sarantaporos and Voidomatis in Greece, and the Drino and Shushicë in Albania.
The main cities and towns along the river are, in downstream order, Vovousa and Konitsa in Greece; and Çarshovë, Përmet, Këlcyrë, Tepelenë, Memaliaj, Selenicë and Novoselë in Albania.
In ancient times the upper course of the river was situated in Epirus, and the lower course in Illyria. Together with the Ceraunian Mountains the first part of the river up to around Tepelenë marked the boundary between the classical regions of Illyria and Epirus, and between the Roman Empire provinces of Illyris and Epirus Vetus. ( Map) The lower valley was inhabited by the indigenous tribes of Bylliones on the right shore and Amantes on the left shore. p.88. p. 59. p. 89. Starting from mid-7th century BCE the southern Illyrian area of the lower Aoos experienced the emergence of proto-urban centers, including the fortifications of Kutë, Klos, Mashkjezë, Margëlliç and Strum on the right shore, and those of Amantia, Mavrovë and Treport on the left shore. p. 116.
Apollonia in Illyria was founded on the right bank near the mouth of the river around 600 BC by Greek colonists from Corinth and possibly Corcyra, who established a trading settlement on a largely abandoned coastal site by invitation of the local Illyrians. p. 80. p. 2. It developed into an independent polis, and thrived throughout classical antiquity becoming one of the most important urban centres in the wider region, perhaps representing the most important of the several classical towns of the same name. The Thesprotian tribe of Parauaioi received their name from the river, as those living beside it. Pausanias writes of "sharks"Paus. 4.34,"But the rivers of Greece contain no terrors from wild beasts, for the sharks of the Aous, which flows through Thesprotia, are not river beasts but migrants from the sea." () in the river, as it flows through Thesprotia. It is mentioned as Avos () by Stephanus of Byzantium Ethnica Epitome,"Παρά τον Αύον ποταμόν" in the sixth century AD.
In 274 BC Pyrrhus of Epirus defeated Antigonus II Gonatas near the river's banks. In 198 BC, Philip V of Macedon and the Roman Titus Quinctius Flamininus, clashed in the Battle of the Aous. In 170 BC a plot to kidnap Aulus Hostilius Mancinus was foiled by by mistake. A History of Macedonia: 336-167 B.C, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond, Frank William Walbank, 1988, , p. 520
The Vjosa's potential for hydropower has attracted developers to submit proposal to planning authorities for dam projects along the river and its tributaries. By 2017, over 2000 dam projects had gained governmental approval on stretches of river throughout the Balkans, including the Vjosa's channel. Developers have met with opposition from European nature organisations including RiverWatch, EuroNatur, and EcoAlbania.
A 2012 study assessed the hydromorphology of the Balkan's rivers, taking into account the structural status of 35,000 river kilometres. The study showed that the region's rivers are largely intact, with 30% deemed pristine and 50% slightly modified.
In February 2020, a campaign to elevate the status of the Vjosa watershed to Vjosa National Park gained approval from 20 environmental groups under the leadership of EcoAlbania. The effort to create Europe's first wild river park and save 300 km of rivers and streams targeted several projects identified in a February 2021 proposal.
In September 2020, Albanian prime minister Edi Rama announced that a protected area will be created around the Vjosa. In December 2020, the Albanian government designated the Vjosa River as a "Managed Nature Reserve" or nature park. Environmental groups are skeptical of the level of protection afforded by "protected" status. A national park designation would prohibit hydroelectric projects, airports, and other development; a protected area designation would not.
In April 2021 a petition signed by Vjosa River scientists was delivered to Albanian president Ilir Meta. The scientists immediate concern is a plan by a Turkish-Albanian venture, Ayen ALB, to build a 50-metre high hydroelectric dam. It would be the first development to change the course of Albania's 200 kilometre portion of the river. The dam would flood areas populated with the 1,175 animal and plant species—some endangered. It would inundate farmland, destroy the river's fishery, and force thousands from their homes. Activists maintain that the government should focus on other less damaging renewable energy sources.
On 15 March 2023, the Vjosa River became a protected national park under the name of the Vjosa Wild River National Park.
Conservation
Greece
The Vikos–Aoös National Park ( Ethnikós Drymós Víkou–Aóou), created in 1973, is a national park in Epirus in northwestern Greece and UNESCO Geopark. The national park encompasses of mountainous terrain, with numerous rivers, lakes, caves, canyons, and coniferous and deciduous forest. The core of the 3,400 hectare parkTrakolis: p. 3 is the Vikos Gorge, carved by the Voidomatis River, while the Aoos Gorge, Mount Tymfi, with its highest peak, Gamila, at , and a number of settlements forming the park's peripheral zone.
Albania
In February 2005, the Albanian government made the Vjose-Narte wetlands a protected area. This legislation followed Albania's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in December 2004. The river contributes water to the Vjosë-Levan-Fier irrigation canal, a canal that was built in the 1950s to irrigate the Myzeqe. In December 2020, the Albanian portion of the river was designated a "Managed Nature Reserve" by the Albanian government.
See also
External links
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