“No news is a bad news”: HPPs environmental impact and media coverage in Albania
Session
Journalism, Media and Communication
Description
In the daily life, “no news is a good news” usually is used in the context that “a lack of information about a situation suggests that nothing bad has happened”. That might be true in many situation but sometimes “no news can be a bad news”. Focusing on Hydroelectric Power Plants, we use the data from National Environment Agency (NEA) and the traditional media, to argue why “no news is a bad news” and shed light on the media coverage of environmental impacts of HPP in Albania. While more than 260 licenses have been issued for energy production from HPP, more licenses are in the pipeline. Only in the first 7 months of 2019, Albanian National Environmental Agency has issued the Environmental Permit for 28 HPP while the environmental assessment reports have been submitted for 11 others, which most likely will soon get the environmental permit. Despite a number of advantages they offer as a clean source of energy, hydroelectric power facilities can have large environmental impacts by changing the environment and affecting land use, homes, and natural habitats in the dam area. However, with few exceptions such in the case of Valbona National Park and Osumi Canyons, traditional media coverage is missing, a trend which should change.
Keywords:
Clean Energy, habitat, land use, public, river
Session Chair
Gjylije Rexha
Session Co-Chair
Musa Sabedini
Proceedings Editor
Edmond Hajrizi
ISBN
978-9951-550-19-2
Location
Pristina, Kosovo
Start Date
26-10-2019 11:00 AM
End Date
26-10-2019 12:30 PM
DOI
10.33107/ubt-ic.2019.126
Recommended Citation
Zeneli, Gazmend; Loca, Semi; Lila, Albana; and Cavo, Zamira, "“No news is a bad news”: HPPs environmental impact and media coverage in Albania" (2019). UBT International Conference. 126.
https://knowledgecenter.ubt-uni.net/conference/2019/events/126
“No news is a bad news”: HPPs environmental impact and media coverage in Albania
Pristina, Kosovo
In the daily life, “no news is a good news” usually is used in the context that “a lack of information about a situation suggests that nothing bad has happened”. That might be true in many situation but sometimes “no news can be a bad news”. Focusing on Hydroelectric Power Plants, we use the data from National Environment Agency (NEA) and the traditional media, to argue why “no news is a bad news” and shed light on the media coverage of environmental impacts of HPP in Albania. While more than 260 licenses have been issued for energy production from HPP, more licenses are in the pipeline. Only in the first 7 months of 2019, Albanian National Environmental Agency has issued the Environmental Permit for 28 HPP while the environmental assessment reports have been submitted for 11 others, which most likely will soon get the environmental permit. Despite a number of advantages they offer as a clean source of energy, hydroelectric power facilities can have large environmental impacts by changing the environment and affecting land use, homes, and natural habitats in the dam area. However, with few exceptions such in the case of Valbona National Park and Osumi Canyons, traditional media coverage is missing, a trend which should change.