How a scheme to boost economic development in Albania’s mountainous north could end up enriching a few, harming the environment and angering its neighbours.

There are few true mountain wildernesses left in Europe. In Switzerland, Austria, France and Italy tunnels have been bored through solid rock to connect railways and roads through the Alps. Once-remote landscapes have become more accessible. But the process has generally been slow – spread out over many decades, allowing for change which now feels organic rather than forced.

The Albanian Alps are an awe-inspiring range of soaring peaks along the Albanian and Montenegrin border, long considered of marginal economic value but now viewed as a source of tourism income. According to an article from the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), change may be coming quickly, disruptively and controversially.