Experts: Heavy metals and dangerous pesticides are present in the lake of Shkodra

Experts from Albania and Montenegro published in Shkodra the results of the 2-year study on the level of water pollution in the common Lake of Shkodra, a study which was financed by the IPA II Program of the European Union. According to the study, some of the monitored points show serious problems with the presence of heavy metals and dangerous pesticides. The study highlights the need for continuous monitoring of the waters of this lake.

The study on the situation of chemical pollution in Lake Shkodra, the largest in the Balkans, was carried out by the Ecotoxicological Research Center in Podgorica in collaboration with the University of Tirana and the association Green Center Albania.

The study is part of the IPA II Program, the Albania-Montenegro cross-border cooperation, financed by the European Union. The pedagogy of the University of Tirana, Alma Shehu, says that the water situation in Lake Shkodra was monitored for a period of two years both on the Albanian side of the lake and that of Montenegro.

"The main problem is the sediments, where metals have appeared in all the stations. There are about 14 stations, monitored in both areas, the Albanian part and the Montenegrin part. I mean that the Montenegrin part is characterized by higher contents. However, after the indexes of the toxic effects of these metals were calculated, it was found that some points show serious problems and serious risks related to the content of heavy metals", she said.

For a period of two years, says teacher Shehu, water samples were analyzed at 14 stations, 4 of which in the Albanian territory of the lake and ten in the Montenegrin part.

"In the EU's "Water Framework Directive" (WFD), substances that pose a risk to humans and the environment are classified as priority substances, and this also includes some types of pesticides, which continue to be used by farmers in the lakeshore area," says the representative of the Ecotoxicological Research Center in Podgorica, Danijela Sukovic.

" We know that many farmers, who deal with agriculture, use pesticides banned 20 years ago in the EU. In some of the samples we took, both in the waters of Montenegro and Albania, we observed elements of these banned pesticides. Therefore, it is very important to make the public aware of the harm these pesticides, banned by the EU, bring to both people and the environment. For this, there must be good relations of cooperation between scientific institutions, universities, civil society organizations, the media and the residents themselves who live in this territory where tourism is also developed"

The study "Lake of Shkodra without chemical pollution - Solutions" is the first of its kind to be carried out in the last 30 years. Professor Julian Shehu says that Lake Shkodra is an important natural and tourist asset for the entire Balkan region, so continuous monitoring of water quality is necessary.

"With as many expeditions as we do, or within projects or mini-projects, you cannot monitor a lake, a river or a coastline. We must have stations for their monitoring throughout the period of time, which other European countries around us do, especially before such beach periods as we are now", he says .

The project "Shkodra Lake without chemical pollution - Solutions" aims to help monitor the presence of priority substances and sediments in the waters of the shared lake, in accordance with the requirements of the EU "Water Framework Directive". VOA