Albania wakes up to green issues
By Nicholas Walton
BBC News, Tirana

The environment is starting to become a political issue in Albania
Albania does not at first sight seem to be fertile ground for environmental politics.

Rubbish bins on city streets and country roads overflow with refuse.

Plastic bags blow around the fields, catching on the branches of trees and on fences.

Dust, diesel and smog choke pedestrians braving the chaotic traffic of Tirana.

Albania is a very poor country, and many citizens seem to have too many other problems to worry about to concentrate on ecology.

Smouldering rubbish

But with fiercely contested mayoral and local elections due in February, environmental issues are firmly on the agenda.

"I think they have started to realise how important environmental issues are," explains Xhemal Mato, the executive director of Eko-Levizja, a grouping of NGOs.