The Albanian government declared the river Vojuša (Vjosa) in the southern part of the country a national park. It's a victory for environmentalists who have been fighting plans to build hydroelectric plants along the waterway for years.
Ecologists and scientists have called the Vojuša the last big "wild" river in Europe, because it flows continuously for 270 kilometers from Greece through southern Albania to the Adriatic Sea, without dams or hydropower plants.
They say the river is home to about a thousand species, including the critically endangered European eel and endangered endemic plant species. Declaring Vojuša and its tributaries a national park will prevent construction.
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Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said that from the initial budget of 80 million dollars, new factories will be built to prevent waste water from spilling into the river, reports Reuters.
"Today we have protected the last wild river in Europe forever," Rama said at a ceremony in the town of Tepelena, about 215 kilometers from Tirana.
"Let's not forget that this park will have 12.700 hectares of land and that it is a huge park that crosses the entire country."
Albania generates most of its electricity from hydropower and had planned to build 30 power plants along the river to meet the growing need for electricity.
"This is a historic moment for the Vojuša... The Vojuša will finally flow freely forever," the non-governmental organization EcoAlbania, which has been at the forefront of the 10-year struggle to save the river, announced on its Facebook account.
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