Bosnia-Herzegovina

++ NGOs submit a complaint to the Bern Convention against Bosnia and Herzegovina for permitting dam-building on the pristine upper Neretva ++ A related complaint was submitted to the Energy Community Secretariat in August for failure to protect the pristine upper stretches of the river Neretva from eight planned hydropower projects. ++

++ Parliament imposes construction freeze for hydropower projects ++ Tuesday night, the Parliament of the Federation of BiH decided on a moratorium on all new small hydropower projects in the country. This means that no more new plants will be approved, and projects that have already been approved will be audited to see whether or not their approval was legally admissible.

++ Investors exploit the corona crisis for illegal construction of hydropower plants ++ Unique rivers in the Balkans at risk! ++ While Europe is in lockdown, investors are increasingly taking advantage of the unusual situation to build controversial hydropower projects in secret.

With the halting of the incentive scheme for wind farms in March, the destructive technology of small hydropower is now the only renewable source of energy receiving significant support in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While providing a minimal contribution to overall electricity generation, small hydropower causes enormous damage to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s communities, economy and unique biodiversity.

In late May, the Banja Luka District Court cancelled the environmental permit for the planned Buk Bijela hydropower plant on the river Drina in Bosnia-Herzegovina on the basis of a complaint submitted by the Aarhus Centar in 2018. The Drina is the most important habitat of the endangered Danube Salmon, found only in some of the cleanest rivers in the Danube basin of southeast Europe.

The Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and Ecology of the Republic of Srpska has authorized initiatives on declaration of protected areas on the River Sana. The notion was submitted by environmentalists based on previous biological research. Regrettably, a hydropower plant was launched on the river last year. The new regulation will protect river’s springs and canyon.

The Doljanka River in Bosnia and Herzegovina needs your help! The former NBA Player Mirza Teletović is financing the destruction of the river in his home town in Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite the local resistance. Public consultation of the local community was not carried out adequately, nor was there a proper environmental impact study. Please sign this petition to protect the Doljanka River from these destructive hydropower projects.

 ++ The women left the bridge after more than 500 days and nights ++ Good news close to Christmas: on December 14^th, the people of Kruščica in Bosnia and Herzegovina won a crucial court case against two hydropower projects that were planned on their little river. The court stopped all dam plans.

++ Rambo Amadeus, Eda Zari, Damir Imamovic and Tamara Obrovac sing to stop the hydropower tsunami on the Balkans ++ Hundreds of people raised their voices at the open-air Concert for Balkan Rivers at Sarajevo’s BBI centre on Saturday, September 29th. They were singing along with the popular musicians and thus raising awareness for the massive destruction of rivers which is going on all over the Balkan peninsula.

++ Women block bridge in Bosnia-Herzegovina for over a year to protect their river ++ New attempt by the investor to vacate the bridge has been successfully fended off ++ Documentary on resistance against dams in the Balkans now available on iTunes ++