Author: Merxhan Daci
The waste spill from copper enrichment is harming the residents and the environment of the areas crossed by the Fan i Madh river, including some villages of Fushë-Arrëz and Pukë municipalities.
The village of Gjegjan with 2800 inhabitants is one of the areas being penalized, although it has potential for tourism.
As soon as you enter the small town of Fushë-Arrëzi, to the north of it you can smell the heavy presence of metals in the air. The stones of the Fan i Madh river, which passes by the city, have taken on a coppery yellow color.
For years, the Fan i Madh river in the area of Puka and Fushë-Arrëzi has been polluted by the high presence of copper.
Its enrichment plant in Fushë-Arrëz, Beralb sh.a., was recently fined by the authorities, after discharging copper waste in an uncontrolled manner.
The National Inspectorate of Environment and Territory in cooperation with the State Police said that it has exercised control at the copper factory in Fushë-Arrëz. During this inspection, it was found that this factory was discharging industrial wastewater into the Fan River, resulting in its pollution.
On June 9, IKMT took an administrative measure against this entity with a fine of 2 million ALL for the violation committed.
Damage to the environment and people's lives
The Great Fan River originates in the village of Kryezi in the Qafë-Mali administrative unit, winds along the side of the town of Fushë Arrëzi and further in the Gjegjan administrative unit, until it flows into the Adriatic.
It has economic and climatic-environmental values, but it has been repeatedly polluted by the discharge of waste from the copper enrichment plant in Fushë Arrëz. Due to the nature of the waste, which contains heavy metals, the use of water presents problems, both for humans and flora and fauna.
It is widely accepted that one of the weak points of the new Municipality of Fushë-Arrëz is the mismanagement of copper mining resources by private companies and the environmental impact of the spills of the copper enrichment plant in the river.
This problem is also confirmed by the residents of the areas along the Fan i Madh river.
Ndue Zaja, resident of the village of Gjegjan in Fushë-Arrëz, told Check it out that the water of the Fan River is harmful to any type of vegetation in the area.
"Many living things have died, such as frogs, fish, snakes. Our cattle do not drink the river water. We cannot water the soil because the plants dry up", he says.
also Nanny Zaja, also a resident of the village of Gjegjan, says that the pollution of the river affects their community a lot.
"We don't use the river water at all, the water we drink, we get it from another source nearby", he says.
Tonin Ndoci says that the river that winds through the village of Gjegjan has changed a lot.
"We used to bathe in it, catch fish, now it is badly damaged", he affirms.
Residents also say that, sometimes, when village children cannot resist the summer heat and swim in the river, they develop skin infections.
At the beginning of June, some activists protested the pollution of the Fan River in Fushë-Arrëz.
They called on the citizens of the surrounding areas to unite and hung this banner in front of the municipality of Fushë-Arrëzi.
Sajmir Beqiraj, hydrobiologist, at the same time a professor at the University of Tirana, says that the increased presence of copper in rivers leads to the removal or death of some living things and damage to vegetation.
"The continuous and large amount of copper addition, usually from industrial activities, can affect the change in the ratio between the different chemical components of the water, thus affecting its quality. Only a limited number of species can tolerate this change, while most of them are ecologically and environmentally sensitive, which can move (if they can) to another part of the river or die. , as happens in most cases", he said.
Beqiraj, says that the pollution of the river can have a direct impact on human health, as well as on the socio-economic aspect for the residents of the area.
"If the river is used for drinking water or is connected to groundwater that can serve as sources of drinking water for local residents, the impact of pollution is direct on human health. In terms of socio-economic impact, widespread water pollution, in addition to natural wildlife habitats, can also damage agricultural lands, cultivated plants, fruit trees, livestock and other domestic animals that use the water and habitats. of the area", - Beqiraj said.
Among other things, he adds that in Albania, for most of the rivers, there is a possibility that the ecological and environmental situation will not degrade to the extreme, but, according to him, there is no more time to wait.
"If we don't act today to protect our rivers, tomorrow will be too late", he notes.
Repeated case
This is not the first time that the copper factory has polluted the water of the Fan River. It was also identified as problematic for pollution in 2014.
On sunny days, at that time, the company was dumping copper waste, causing residents to complain about the high level of pollution.
These are the pictures from 6 years ago REPORTED from local media, Puka TV.
Earlier, in 2013, residents protested to the factory, with the claim that locals were not being employed there and that "not one point of the agreement, not even that of land, water, air pollution, has been reviewed by the company".
The area has tourist potential
Residents have begun to understand the importance of tourism in these areas, even though they are mainly engaged in agriculture, enough to support their families.
They have started to build the first guesthouses, as they say that the number of foreign tourists is increasing.
Tourism, especially mountain and cultural tourism, is one of the greatest and underutilized values of the Municipality of Puka and Fushë-Arrëz.
Anisa Gjergjari, resident of the village of Gjegjan, told Check it out that the pollution of the river is negatively affecting the development of the tourist potential.
"This problem is very disturbing, even for the surrounding areas, because it is polluting the Fan River and of course spoiling the beautiful view of nature. A guesthouse, for example, is being opened in the village. Gjegjani is a very beautiful place and rich in nature", she told him Check it out.
However, the level of tourism still remains very low if you compare it with the potential of the area.
As environmental experts say, the river is not a flowing water line and should not be treated as such. The Big Fan is waiting to rise to the level of the name.
*Photo at the top of the article taken from Donjetazeqanews.wordpress.com
This article is published within the project "Facts and Environment" implemented by the Organization "Faktoje" and the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism, within the project "Toward the Improvement of Labor Relations and Professionalism in the Albanian Media" supported by the European Union, implemented by the Institute Albanian Media and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The sole responsibility for the content of this article is the author's and under no circumstances can it be considered to reflect the position of the European Union.
