Yesterday, September 24 2025, the Austrian freshwater ecologist Prof. Dr. Fritz Schiemer, Chair of Riverwatch, has been awarded the Wolfgang Staab Nature Conservation Award 2025, endowed with €20,000, by the Schweisfurth Stiftung. The prize recognizes his exceptional scientific and political commitment to protecting the Vjosa River in Albania
Prof. Schiemer has been a leading figure in defending rivers for decades. Since 2012, he has focused his efforts on the Vjosa River in Albania, Europe’s last free-flowing river outside Russia. Thanks to his work, the construction of two hydropower plants was prevented, culminating in 2023 with the declaration of the Vjosa Wild River National Park, the first of its kind in Europe.
"It is thanks to Friedrich Schiemer that a large research movement of Albanian and international scientists has formed around the Vjosa, making their voices heard in political decision-making. His central goal is to ensure scientific insights are considered on an equal footing in political processes. As a bridge-builder, he brings together actors with diverse interests to find common ground," said Prof. Dr. Klement Tockner, Director General of the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research.
The award ceremony took place on 23 September 2025 during the “Bundesprogramm Blaues Band Deutschland” conference in Bonn, hosted by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). Dr. Alfred Herberg from BfN highlighted that the Vjosa is one of the last major unregulated wild rivers in Europe, supporting an ecosystem of national and global significance, and praised Schiemer’s tireless efforts in securing its protection.
Prof. Schiemer remarked: “River landscapes deserve special protection as central elements of our environment. The Vjosa continues to require the combined efforts of science and civil society. Industrial use, infrastructure expansion, and mismanagement threaten the park’s ecological integrity and its global conservation value.”
With this award, the Schweisfurth Stiftung emphasizes the importance of river protection and celebrates those whose work safeguards vital ecosystems for future generations.
