Leonardo DiCaprio backs campaign to protect Bosnian rivers
Conservationist groups from the region and the world urged the Federation of BiH to pass a law that would forbid the construction of new small hydropower plants, and Leonardo DiCaprio backed the initiative to protect the country’s rivers. They called for the implementation of an initiative that the entity’s parliament adopted three months ago. If […]
40 artists back Blue Heart campaign to protect Balkan Rivers on occasion of World Music Day
Forty well-known artists from around the Balkan region are seeking to shake people up and help avert the looming destruction of nature in their home countries. On the occasion of World Music Day, which is celebrated annually on June 21, the artists take a stand in short video testimonies. Among them are Darko Rundek from […]
Investors taking advantage of corona crisis to build five small HPPs in BiH
Despite the lockdowns in the region caused by the coronavirus, the construction of five small hydropower plants (SHPPs) has begun or is being pushed in the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capital Sarajevo, according to a joint press release by the Coalition for the Protection of Rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Riverwatch and EuroNatur. In […]
Damage from small hydropower is much larger than gains, study finds
The Balkans and Turkey are examples of how quickly free-flowing rivers and river stretches “can be degraded by being turned into impoundments,” World Wide Fund for Nature warned after publishing a study it commissioned together with RiverWatch, Geota and EuroNatur. Environmentalists said hydropower puts “tremendous pressure on Europe’s biodiversity, and for specific projects a disregard […]
Run-of-river hydropower: Two years on, the struggle continues
More than two years on, the public and citizens across the Balkans fighting for the right to water and against run-of-river small hydropower plants are not giving up on their struggle. Protests and actions were organized from July 6 to 16 across the region, with a conference titled “Rakita – the rule of law crushed” […]
Protests against hydropower planned across Balkans from July 6-16
Environmental activists and civil society organizations (CSOs) from across the Balkans are organizing protests under the slogan “Our rivers – No DAMage!” in July over hydropower projects threatening to leave local populations without homes, arable lands, drinking water, and irrigation supply, or the landscape they have enjoyed for generations. The protests against hydropower plants (HPPs) […]
NGOs call for designation of no-go zones for construction of hydropower plants
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government representatives, experts, hydropower developers, and the local community gathered at an international conference in North Macedonia to discuss challenges and solutions concerning nature protection and hydropower projects in the country, according to a joint press release from NGOs Front 21/42, Riverwatch, and EuroNatur. At the conference, the first ever national approach […]
Energy Community receives complaint against Albania over Kalivac, Pocem hydropower plants
EcoAlbania, Riverwatch and EuroNatur have sent a complaint to the Energy Community (EnC) against the Albanian Government over procedures for the Kalivac and Pocem hydropower projects. The three civil society organizations behind the campaign for the protection of the Vjosa River have raised concerns that the procedures for the two hydropower plants (HPPs) are not […]