Environmental assessment of the Vjosa riverscape as the basis for an integrated water management and sustainable catchment development | VjoSusDev
Project Coordinator: Sajmir Beqiraj
Coordinating Institution: University of Tirana
Partner Institutions: Polytechnic University of Tirana, Agricultural University of Tirana, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, University of Vienna, University of Innsbruck
Partner Countries: Albania
Project Duration: 1 May 2022 – 30 April 2026 (48 months)
Project Overview
The project seeks to establish a long-term continued research cooperation of Albanian and Austrian scientists in the field of water governance. The specific topic is a cooperative and interdisciplinary study of the Vjosa river system in Southern Albania – as the basis for its sustainable development. Through the application of remote survey techniques and modelling of hydrology, geomorphology, vegetation pattern and land-use of the catchment; a series of joint field missions and the establishment of a continued monitoring program the knowledge base for decision making and public and institutional awareness on water governance will be raised.
Reporting
Environmental assessment of the Vjosa riverscape - VjoSusDev| Report on the first year
The first year of the VjoSusDev project was successful in starting the integrative process of a large interdisciplinary research group as well a dialogue between science and government. The project seeks to strengthen the research cooperation of Albanian and Austrian scientists in the field of water governance. It aims for a comprehensive understanding of the biodiversity and functional processes of the whole river system including its main tributaries as a basis for management. The project combines the research interests of three Albanian and three Austrian universities: it involves research teams on geomorphology, hydrochemistry, water quality assessment. vegetation ecology, groundwater ecology, macrobenthos, fish, terrestrial invertebrates and vertebrates.
PhD research on the Vjosa river
Meet APPEAR scholar Sonja Hoxha from Albania and learn about her research on last free-flowing, wild river in Europe. Read more
