Representative Image of a vibrant river with diverse wildlife flowing freely after the removal of an old dam in Kosovo (AI Generated Image)
Kosovo is preparing to remove the obsolete Mirusha Dam, opening up 35 kilometres of river habitat and restoring free-flowing conditions along a river that ecological surveys have identified as a biodiversity hotspot. Which is funding the demolition project with local organisation Ecopana, surveys recorded 157 animal species in the river, including 83 aquatic species, according to the Open Rivers Programme. The project is expected to reconnect approximately 113 kilometres of river habitat in total when tributaries are included, consisting of 35 kilometres upstream of the dam and 78 kilometres downstream. The removal is scheduled to take place between September 2026 and January 2027 and is intended to restore natural flow and sediment transport, improve water quality and allow fish to move through habitat currently blocked by the dam. The Mirusha Dam is an approximately 9-metre-high reinforced-concrete structure built by the Municipality of Malisheva in 2009 without the required environmental and water-management permits, according to the Open Rivers Programme. In a study published in Zootaxa titled Description of a new Eratigena Bolzern, Burckhardt & Hänggi, 2013 (Arachnida: Araneae: Agelenidae) from the Balkans based on an integrative approach , researchers formally described Eratigena mirusha, a spider from Kosovo, using morphological and molecular evidence.
Because it does not generate hydropower, provide drinking-water supplies or deliver essential irrigation services, while its current recreational use is limited, the organisation describes the barrier as obsolete. Because of increased water pressure, which the project documentation identifies as highlighting safety risks associated with the deteriorating dam, during flooding in January 2026, the structure had to be partially opened. Monitoring will therefore be carried out before, during and after removal to record changes in water quality, macroinvertebrate communities, fish communities, sediment dynamics and the physical form of the river. Because the project’s ecological benefits are projections based on the planned restoration intervention, not measurements of conditions after the dam has already been removed, the distinction is important.
Stagnant conditions upstream have allowed untreated wastewater and organic pollution to accumulate, contributing to the river’s poor ecological condition, according to the project documentation. The Open Rivers Programme identifies Eratigena mirusha among the species associated with the Mirusha biodiversity hotspot and says the species was identified with support from an earlier Open Rivers Programme grant. The removal is expected to restore natural flow and sediment transport, enable fish movement, improve water quality and support the recovery of aquatic biodiversity and river morphology, according to the Open Rivers Programme. The organisation also says that the dam currently contributes to stagnant conditions in which untreated wastewater and organic pollution accumulate upstream.
The Mirusha River flows through an area of high ecological and landscape value and is connected downstream to the Mirusha Waterfalls Nature Monument, a nationally protected area that depends on the river’s natural flow regime. Technical investigations identified cracks, damaged spillway elements and other structural deficiencies. The structure also fragments river habitat and alters the natural movement of water and sediment. Complete removal is intended to address both the ecological fragmentation and the risks associated with the ageing structure. The species is now recognised as endemic to Kosovo, with the World Spider Catalogue listing its distribution as Kosovo. The dam-removal project lists Chondrostoma ochridanum, Pachychilon pictum, Rodeus amarus, Rhyacophila macedonica and Eratigena mirusha as focal species. The Albanian roach, Pachychilon pictum, is classified as Near Threatened, while Rodeus amarus is the species currently listed by the project for the European bitterling. The project is designed to remove the entire vertical extent of the Mirusha Dam rather than modify the existing structure. These changes are intended outcomes of the project rather than results that have already been observed, since demolition has not yet taken place.
The biodiversity surveys carried out around the Mirusha River also contributed to the discovery of a spider species that was previously unknown to science.
The demolition timeline is September 2026 to January 2027, meaning the project is still forthcoming rather than completed. In an August 2026 announcement, the programme said it was supporting 33 new projects across Europe and that its overall portfolio had reached 243 projects in 35 European countries. It also reported that projects supported by the programme had removed 141 barriers and reconnected 1,820 kilometres of river.
The Mirusha project therefore represents both a local restoration effort and part of a broader attempt to reconnect fragmented river systems across Europe, with its results to be assessed through the monitoring programme once removal begins.
The organisation describes the current project as Kosovo’s first dam-removal demonstration project and says it is intended to strengthen institutional knowledge and provide a practical model for future river-restoration initiatives in the country. It forms part of a wider European river-restoration effort by the Open Rivers Programme. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
The demolition follows an earlier Open Rivers Programme pre-demolition grant that funded preparatory work for removing the barrier.