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