Chairman of the Vetëvendosje Movement Albin Kurti has appealed publically to the Albanian government to declare the Vjosa River basin a National Park and withdraw from projects of building new hydropower plants.

Kurti wrote on his Facebook page the river that connects Albania to Europe is not only and Albanian national asset but an European one too.

"Today, on World Water Day, I join the call of the citizens of the Republic of Albania, local and international activists, candidates for MPs of the Vetevendosje Movement in the elections of April 25 and the institutions of the European Union that the Government of Albania declares the river Vjosa a National Park and gives up all plans for the construction of new hydropower plants.

The Vjosa, the river that connects Albania with Europe, is a heritage not only national but also European. Wonderful canyons, rapid and unobstructed streams, a unique ecosystem, and 1,100 species that take refuge in it make the Vjosa the most unique river in Europe.

Despite the demands of the residents, the commitment of the activists and the resolution of the European Parliament to declare Vjosa a national park, nothing has been done yet. The Vjosa remains the last "wild" river on the continent of Europe which is untouched by human hand and must remain so.

As in Albania, so in Kosovo, governments, despite public opposition and protests from residents, have put constant pressure on the construction of hydropower plants. In complete violation of the legislation in force, the governments in Kosovo have enabled the construction of small hydropower plants by destroying the source of existing rivers. Such short-term investments for rapid individual material benefits, without taking into account the long-term ecological damage and negative impacts on the well-being of communities, will no longer be made.

Now is the time for us together in Kosovo and Albania to protect those natural resources that have remained untouched and damaged and to restore those that have already degraded us," Kurti wrote.