Mirusha, beauty filled with waste and infrastructure

It is estimated as one of the greatest natural beautys Kosovo possesses, but the Mirusha Falls and the park they belong to continue to have inadequate infrastructure.

The area is in the protected “Pezage category”, while the Mirusha River flow belongs to the “Natural MATION”.

This monument has been blocked from developing despite the government's decision in 2012, that it had been declared to be the special nature zone.

This rare beauty with very good natural conditions, which is not being exploited by the country's tourism development institutions, is estimated to be a major loss for the country. This, in the absence of investments there.

Disgusted with the current state of the monument are visitors attending the area.

They complain about lack of recreation, lack of stairs, and asphalt.

Thus exile Hysni Ibrahim says that Mirusha Falls is nothing like waterfalls in other lands.

There's no infrastructure here, there's no way out, for example, any ladders that we can get when we come by and see. And what's worse about why people left me here, you have no place to take a picture, for me that's too much. I don't know who should control this, the state or municipality”, he says.

Even Enver Sadiku, who lives in London, is disappointed with the country's institutions, which he says have not invested in.

Very good natural conditions, but no investments. It means even this space here is exhausted, I don't know, but as a state no investment”, he says.

And the conditions in Mirusha Falls had also been discussed by the German ambassador during the launch of the three-month Environment and Week Campaign in Diplomacy for Climate organised by the European Union's Office in Kosovo.

His attention falls on cleanliness, since he said that he encountered many refuse during a walk there.

Awakened in this situation, Heldt has said there is still work on raising awareness of the environment.

I'm shocked when we go to the mountains, like, yesterday in Mirushe Falls and there's a bottle of plastic on the way there. People take bottles with them and leave them in the wild. What's the problem if they take them with them to throw away. So we think citizens' awareness is essential to making it clear that plastic waste in nature does not disappear”, Heldt said.

And the responsibility for lack of infrastructure for one of Kosovo's most beautiful countries falls on the respective institutions.

Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Kujtim Gashi has expressed readiness to help in this regard. But he adds that this falls more responsible for the Ministry of Environment.

If municipalities address us with a request to support us as the minister, then we will surely examine it with the highest priority and we are more helpful in this direction” despite the fate that this rare natural beauty falls slightly more under the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment”, he says.

On the other hand, he is head of the Agency for Environmental Protection, Ilir Morina, who says Mirusha Falls has remained in this condition because of financial inefficiency.

Right now we're managing this monument. And a monument that would bring us much more tourists, very attractive, such as Mirusha Falls, we couldn't get it into operation because of the lack of financial support. No large means have been sought to begin because this monument of the particular importance of cultural heritage would reveal itself, employ people”, he declares.

Morina says that because of the inefficiency of public management, they can't even afford private-public concessions.

We just couldn't start because we didn't have 100 grand to start with. We're sure we'll have 200-300 thousand visitors within the year because it's a monument that can be visited over 365 days. Every season we have visitors... 3H due to the inefficiency of public management, we can't afford private-public concessions. We also had the backing of the Swiss government. We've been trying to convince the government's major actors to start with a PPP process or something else, but there are also certain limits that can't be contributed to specific areas of nature”, he claims.

He expressed confidence that the Government of Kosovo could begin gradually to improve the situation in which Mirusha Falls are present. This, according to him, has modalities that enable investors to attract.

In the absence of improving infrastructure over the years, even tourism-field connoisseurs have not been silent in the face of such a situation, causing the latter to draft projects on what the monument should look like.

Thus, with the idea that the Mirusha Falls will be transformed into a Kosovo Plitvica and wider, tourism field expert Hysen Sogojevo has drafted a project that regulates such spaces within and outside waterfalls, offering a sustainable development.

He tells Kosovo Press that tourism has not been a priority of the Government, which, according to him, shows that it has not even become enough for Mirusha. As you point out, it's time to stimulate tourism.

When it's not the government's priority, there are no tourism simulations as required activity, especially in recent times, it shows that both central and local governance is not doing enough for Mirusha because they don't know this is a kind of industry. If we had invested in Mirusha, this is a factory, it's an industry. That would have bound all the people through sales, cheese, milk, plasters. Then there's 61 species of cosmic that no one has around. Therefore, this made it special for the state, the government and municipalities respectively to invest in this area”, he says.

Although the Government had announced the special nature zone by its decision in 2012, the condition of the Mirusha Falls monument has not been adjusted.

By contrast, the Mirusha Falls monument is known for a very wealthy biodiversity, with waterfalls, canyons, and beautiful landscapes, caves, creational possibilities, and many opportunities. The Mirusha River in its course passes through a mouth known as the Mirusha River Canon, where it creates 12 waterfalls and 16 lakes that represent a rare morfoljudology phenomenon. /N. Jakupi.