Nature campaigners urge Albania to stop hydropower plants

By LLAZAR SEMINI
Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Wildlife campaigners have called on the Albanian government to stop the construction of two hydropower plants in a protected nature area in the north of the country. The World Wide Fund for Nature Adria, on Sunday said that the investor has not respected a Supreme Court ruling that said work must halt while the Administrative Court decides on a lawsuit brought by local residents and a non-governmental organization who want to stop the project. The power plants are planned for the Valbona Valley National Park, in the Albanian Alps, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) north of the capital, Tirana.