The Drin at a glance
The Drin: One Basin, Five Riparians
From dialogue to action, this is the Drin story.
Where the water goes
Not one river, but a system
Water leaves Lake Prespa underground, through karst, and surfaces again in Lake Ohrid. From there it flows north as the Black Drin and meets the White Drin from Kosovo* near Kukes.
Together they run west to Lake Skadar/Shkodra, then through the Buna/Bojana to the Adriatic.
Riparians share the basin
Settlements across the basin
Agreed actions in the Strategic Action Programme
Stakeholders who helped draft it
01
Water knows no borders
Pollution, falling lake levels, floods and silt do not stop at a frontier. What happens in one part of the basin is felt in another.
02
A lake in retreat
Lake Prespa's level has fallen by more than 9 metres in 60 years. Change on that scale is hard to reverse.
03
The cost of floods
Expected annual flood losses are about USD 3 million in Albania alone. Across the basin, the figure is around USD 10 million.
04
Deep and slow
Lake Ohrid is 289 metres deep and keeps its water for 70 to 85 years. What reaches it stays for a lifetime.
05
Shallow and restless
Lake Skadar/Shkodra is 9 metres deep at most, and it floods. In 2010 its level reached 10.31 metres.
Three pathways
From dialogue to action
The work of the Drin Coordinated Action follows three pathways. Each builds on the others: shared institutions, shared knowledge and shared proof that it can be done.
01
Institutions that endure
The Drin Memorandum of Understanding and the Drin Core Group give the riparians a place to agree. After the 2019 request for a Drin Commission, a study is looking at a lasting legal and institutional home.
Pathway one
02
Knowing the water together
A Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis set out the shared problems. The Drin Monitoring Programme and one Drin Basin Management Plan help everyone read and plan the water in the same way.
Pathway two
03
Proof on the ground
Demonstration measures show what works in practice. They include nature-based wastewater treatment and precision agriculture.
Pathway three
Lake Skadar/Shkodra, shared water
With 475 km² of surface, the largest lake in South-East Europe is shared by Albania and Montenegro. The Moraca brings 60% of its water, and the Buna/Bojana drains it to the Adriatic, its last 23 km forming the border.
A long road, step by step
2009
Dialogue and a shared vision
The Drin Dialogue begins, and the riparians agree a Shared Vision for the basin.
2011
Five signatures in Tirana
On 25 November 2011, the ministers of the five riparians sign the Drin Memorandum of Understanding.
2012
Joint bodies set up
The bodies that carry the shared work are established.
2019
A Drin Commission requested
The riparians ask for a Drin Commission to give the cooperation a lasting home.
2020
A programme for the basin
On 24 April 2020, the Strategic Action Programme is endorsed.
2021
Drin I completes
GEF Drin I closes with six demonstrated solutions.
2025
Drin II under way
GEF Drin II is under way and runs to 2029.
2029
Looking ahead to 2029
The work continues
The 27th Drin Core Group meeting in Skopje on 26 November 2025 and the 10th Drin Stakeholders Conference in Struga, 2 to 4 June 2026, set the priorities: stronger protection of rivers, lakes and ecosystems, and closer alignment with European water and environment policy.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, in line with UN rules.
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