Visit of the Albanian Working Group to Austria: Project “Measurements of Macroplastic Transport in the Ishëm River”

November 11-November 14, 2024: Visit of the Albanian working group to Austria

The project is funded by OeAD @oead.worldwide 🇦🇹 and AKKSHI-NASRI @akkshi_nasri 🇦🇱 "Measurements of macroplastic transport in the Ishëm River, the most polluted river in Europe", #MaPIshëm, with coordinators BOKU-University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences and UAMD-University "Aleksandër Moisiu", Durrës, with partners UBT-Agricultural University of Tirana and UT-University of Tirana.

Dr. Ing. Marcel Liedermann, project leader #MaPIshëm for the Austrian side, deputy/director of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and River Research, project member Ing.Dipl. Sebastian Pessenlehner, project member Ing. Dipl. Elisabeth Mayerhofer from the Austrian side, engineers at the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory, BOKU in Vienna, newly built 2 years ago near the Danube River; welcomed the Albanian working group:

Dr. Fundime Miri, lecturer of FShN, UT, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jerina Kolitari from UBT, student Sara Selamaj, FShN, UT, project members and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Laura Gjyli, lecturer of UAMD, project leader of #MaPIshëm for the Albanian side. Likewise, the Albanian working group of the #MaPIshëm project, was welcomed by the entire team of engineers, specialists, students at the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory, BOKU, Vienna.

On the first day, a visit was made to the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory and a workshop "Plastics in Rivers", regarding the collection and analysis of macro and microplastic samples in rivers.

On the second day, we were introduced to the methodology - isokinetic pump, for measuring microplastic transport along the river, built by Dr. Ing. Marcel Liedermann and demonstrated by Dipl.-Ing. Elisabeth Mayerhofer, with Danube river water, water that was directly introduced for analysis within the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory, BOKU, Vienna.

On the third day, information was exchanged regarding the preparation and analysis of macroplastic and microplastic samples at the Austrian working group's laboratory, as well as the comparison of methods with the Albanian working group.

We emphasize that this is the first project that brings together 4 (four) universities to carry out measurements of macroplastic transport for the Ishmi River, while UAMD students have been urging for 4.5 years, together with the schools of Durrës, to take concrete actions regarding environmental education and the circular economy, to mitigate plastic pollution in cooperation with many public institutions, especially the Municipality of Durrës, the NGO River Cleanup and private companies, artists, actors at home and abroad, etc.

Let us hope to accelerate and further lobby for the cleaning of the Ishmi from plastic with scientific studies and environmental education, among the most polluted rivers in Europe, a river that flows through 6 municipalities: the municipalities of Tirana, Kamëz, Vorë, Krujë, Kurbin and Durrës, where the latter receives all the pollution in the protected area, the Gulf of Rodon, and flows into the Adriatic Sea!