“Comment is free, but facts are sacred.” — C. P. Scott, 1921.
Pollution, its consequences and efforts to save the Drin in Albania
Erblin Vukaj · Originally published: 29 January 2025
In July 2022, the Koçeku family from the Dukagjin Highlands opened their home on the shores of Lake Koman to tourists. The guesthouse proved successful thanks to the initiative of their daughter, Marjana, who had returned from living abroad with a passion and love for her birthplace.
The key to its success proved to be Marjana’s blog, “Neomalsore.” There she promoted the area’s traditions and beauty, drawing the attention of foreign visitors.
Three tourist seasons later, more than 200 reviews on tourism platforms and numerous media features show that the guesthouse is now one of the lake’s most attractive destinations.
But while Marjana’s business draws hundreds of tourists, plastic waste brought by spring and autumn floods leaves an unpleasant impression. Marjana says that despite the community’s efforts to clean the shores, the waste returns.
She says urgent measures are needed because, besides harming the environment, the situation could tarnish the area’s growing reputation.
“We have received negative feedback because of the rubbish. Foreign tourists cannot understand how we can do something like this to such a wonderful place,” Marjana says.
Lake Koman is fed by the Drin and rivers from the Albanian Alps, but pollution mainly arrives from the Kukës area, carried by the White Drin and Black Drin tributaries.
Alben Kola, an activist and tour guide, recalls that the problem is longstanding. He attributes the influx of waste to urbanisation around the Drin in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, and blames the lack of a culture of waste management and planning for it.
The National Environment Agency (AKM) monitors the Drin’s water quality through 6 sampling stations in Peshkopi, Kukës, Shkodër and Lezhë. Measurements are taken four times a year.
Monitoring reports show that water quality fell from “moderate status” in 2018 to “poor status” in 2023, with the stretch beyond Vau i Dejës considered the most polluted: a “dead river.”
Alongside pollution from rubbish, AKM’s latest report notes the presence of cadmium and lead. These heavy metals are found in two villages in Dibra and in the waters of the Kir and Buna.
“These waters are in the first category under Albanian standards, but are of poorer quality under the EU Water Framework Directive,” AKM says.
The report does not specify the sources of these heavy metals, which may also come from industrial or mining activity.
Lead and cadmium are classified as toxic metals that the human body does not metabolise. Long-term exposure to this pollution, even at levels subject to debate, can cause health problems.
A branch of the Drin has died
Energy and infrastructure projects have changed the course of the Drin in Albania.
The Fierza (1970–1978), Koman (1980–1985), Vau i Dejës (1967–1970) and Ashta (2008–2012) dams slow the Drin’s flow, forming a cascade and a chain of environmental problems, particularly in the lower reaches, where the river splits in two directions: one towards the Kir and Buna in Shkodër, the other towards Lezhë.
Jak Gjini, a biologist and environmental expert, calls the Drin in the Lezhë area “a dead river,” because pollution there from urban, industrial and agricultural wastewater is critical.
“In this area, the Drin is a river that comes to life for only 20% of the year, when it rains. This means that urban wastewater and industrial and agricultural discharges dominate this stretch,” Gjini explains.
According to Gjini, low flows and urban discharges encourage anthropogenic eutrophication, a condition in which human activity saturates the water with nutrients. It is most noticeable in summer through foul smells.
“The smell comes after the decomposition of organisms whose growth is stimulated by the excess nutrients,” explains Gjini, who also describes the reduced transport of sediment towards the Adriatic as a serious problem.
Reduced sediment flows have allowed the sea to advance inland in the Gulf of Drin. According to Gjini, the Kune-Vain Lagoon is the area most at risk. During droughts, seawater also surges into the Drin’s channel at high tide, further damaging the land.
“It is a phenomenon I have seen myself, and it shows the serious situation we are in: besides widespread pollution, we are also on the brink of a catastrophe in the quality and use of the land,” the expert stresses.
To ease the situation, Gjini suggests increasing the Drin’s flow from Vau i Dejës to 20–25 m3/s, cleaning the channels, raising residents’ awareness and investing in sewage treatment.
Efforts and challenges in saving the Drin
Pollution and poor management of the Drin’s flow have had environmental consequences in Albania. In a survey prepared by Citizens.al, 94% of respondents said they had noticed a decline in fish numbers and vegetation, while 73.7% recommended better waste management and greater involvement by local authorities.
But municipalities’ actions are obstructed by bureaucracy, political divisions and a lack of funding. Municipalities generally acknowledge that they have no plans or strategies for addressing pollution in the Drin, while the government appears to lack a clear will to tackle the issue.
Independent initiatives, however, such as environmental expert Lulzim Baumann’s work in Kukës, show the potential for practical solutions.
Baumann brought a clean-up boat to Kukës in 2024. He says he collected around 30 tonnes of plastic waste from the lake during the three-month operation, an amount that could double if the project also operates in autumn.
But the costs appear beyond the means of individual initiatives or environmental organisations. Bringing the boat from Germany to Albania and operating it for three months requires a budget of around 40 thousand euros.
Baumann hopes Kukës Municipality will continue to support him.
“If it is done twice a year for three or four years in a row, I am certain it will transform the situation,” says Baumann, according to whom 50% of the waste comes from the White Drin, 35% from the Black Drin and the rest from the three municipalities in Kukës County: Bajram Curri, Has and Kukës.
But Baumann also believes a lasting solution requires cooperation between Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia. He says a three-party agreement is needed to establish a shared budget and action plan.
For that action plan, Baumann mentions placing barriers or nets in the White Drin and Black Drin, alongside investment in sorting and treating waste.
* This article was reviewed and corrected on 8 October 2026.