![albania vjosa hydropower plant Leonardo DiCaprio Supports Preservation of Vjosa River in Albania](https://exit.al/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/08/albania-vjosa-hydropower-plant.jpeg)
In an Instagram post, DiCaprio writes that as far as Albania is concerned, there may be positive developments, because Prime Minister Edi Rama stated on September 25 that the Kalivaç hydropower project was rejected and that the area will become a national park.
DiCaprio writes:
“The Vjosa River National Park would become Europe’s largest conservation site, covering several hundred kilometres of rivers and streams and protecting hundreds or even thousands of species such as the European eel, endangered globally, and the Vjosa butterfly which was recently discovered.
This would be a great achievement for Albania and the rest of Europe and the park could become a model for the Biodiversity Strategy within the framework of the Green Agreement. ”
He also appeals to the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to withdraw from plans to build hydropower plants on ‘Blue Heart’ rivers.
A year ago, when hundreds of citizens and activists launched protests against the construction of hydropower plants in Vjosa, actor DiCaprio supported the protests and called for an end to the destruction of the Vjosa River.
The Secretariat of the Energy Community sent a letter to the authorities earlier in the week to raise the issue. An investigation into the contract found that the administrative procedures followed for the project were not in line with EU directives, particularly in terms of the environmental report and public participation provisions.
Albania had two months to react to the accusation of non-compliance with the Energy Community law. This is required so the Secretariat can understand the entire situation and the background of the case.
The plant in question was built by a Turkish company, Cinar-San Hafriyat Nakliyat Insaat Turizm Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi. The proposal from the company was unsolicited.