Off the wire
• New Zealand mulling tax crackdown on overseas investors  • 90,000 wealthy Australian retirees to lose pension after budget overhaul  • China treasury bond futures open lower Thursday  • Top Russian lawmaker pays tribute to fallen soviet soldiers in Cuba  • China Hushen 300 index futures open mixed Thursday  • Market exchange rates in China -- May 7  • China stocks open lower Thursday  • Argentina spotlights Chinese-funded cargo rail renovation project  • Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.1113 against USD Thursday  • Melbourne motorists waiting hours in traffic for peak hour trains: study  
You are here: 　 Home

European Parliament urges Albania to rethink hydropower plan along Vjosa river

Xinhua, May 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Parliament urged the Albanian authorities to rethink plans to build hydropower plants along the Vjosa River and its tributaries, the Albanian Telegraphic Agency reported on Wednesday.

"These projects would harm one of Europe's last extensive, intact and near-natural river ecosystems," said the European Parliament.

European and Balkan environmentalists demanded the Albanian government develop comprehensive management plans for existing national parks in accordance with the quality and management guidelines for protected area category II of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission of Protected Areas.

They also urged the authorities to abandon any development plans that may undermine the country's protected area network, and to scrap small- and large-scale hydropower construction plans, particularly inside all national parks.

To this end, the "EuroNatur" environmental association in Germany and "Riverwatch" in Austria, in collaboration with environmental organizations in various Balkan countries, have launched the international campaign "Save the blue heart of Europe". Endi