a view of a river surrounded by tall mountains in Albania

How a wild river became a national park—and sparked a movement

What will it take the save the world’s rivers? Experts say we need only look to the Vjosa River in Albania for a model of conservation.

Albania's Vjosa River recently became the world's first "wild-river national park," a status that bans dams or mining, but allows tourism. Now, conservationists are turning their attention to other rivers in the world that could be granted the same status. 
Photograph by Jonas Kako

On its journey to the Adriatic Sea, the Vjosa River’s turquoise waters, threatened for decades by dams and mining operations, shimmer and shine uninterrupted through southern Albania’s dramatic mountainscapes. The river, newly protected by its unique status as a “wild river national park,” is fueling a movement to save other pristine rivers by giving them that designation.

The problem of how to best protect rivers has long vexed conservationists. Historically, rivers have been treated as part of land protections. But studies show that rivers do not benefit from this approach, in part because they may flow in and out of protected areas and sometimes cross borders. What happens at

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