Tirana, January 27, 2022. Yesterday, the Albanian government declared the Vjosa River a Nature Park (a category IV protected area) instead of declaring it a National Park, as requested by activists for years. A Nature Park is not the same as a National Park. The category of Nature Park does not protect the Vjosa River and its tributaries from destruction and does not offer the same opportunities for the development of eco-tourism in the area as the category of National Park (a category II protected area).