prijava
SARAJEVO, October 22 (FENA) - Environmental organizations - Environmental Center, Aarhus Center Sarajevo, Riverwatch, Euronatur, ClientEarth and CEE Bankwatch Network filed a complaint against Bosnia and Herzegovina today with the Secretariat of the Bern Convention on the Protection of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats due to the failure to protect the upper course of the Neretva River from the planned eight hydropower facilities.
The planned projects in the area are the 35 MW Ulog hydropower plant and a system of seven smaller hydropower plants, which would make up the Gornja Neretva hydropower system (HES).
These hydropower plants will turn much of the upper reaches of the river - a section of about 30km - into a series of dams, pipes and reservoirs that continue one after another.
The complaint to that secretariat followed after a previous complaint filed by that group of organizations earlier this year to the Energy Community Secretariat, highlighting serious shortcomings in the licensing procedures for those projects.
Environmental impact assessments made for these projects have identified several significant species present near the locations of planned hydropower plants, but it was still decided that the projects should be implemented. Although the area has been inadequately explored, it is known that rare species are present, including bears, wolves, otters and crabs, as well as a certain species of trout.
The Environment Center initiated an administrative dispute in May this year against the decision of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and Ecology of the entity of Republika Srpska due to the decision that the first phase of the HES Upper Neretva River project does not require an environmental impact assessment.
The decision, as they say, was made despite the fact that the RS Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage expressed opposition to the planned project of the Upper Neretva HES and emphasized that hydropower plants will have a detrimental impact on rare, endemic and relict species.
"According to the research done so far, the area around the source and upper course of the Neretva River has been confirmed as an extremely well-preserved ecosystem. These projects should be stopped because of the exceptional value of the area. There are no mitigating measures that could save the area if the project continues," said Jelena Ivanić, coordinator of the campaign "Let's save the Blue Heart of Europe" from the Environmental Center.
The campaign "Let's Save the Blue Heart of Europe" (https://balkanrivers.net/) aims to protect the most valuable rivers in the Balkans, from the construction of hydropower plants. The campaign is coordinated by the NGOs Riverwatch and EuroNatur, and is being run jointly with partner organizations from the Balkans. Local partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina are the Environmental Center and the Aarhus Center Sarajevo.
"The upper course of the Neretva River is a natural gem of the Balkans. With the surrounding untouched forests, it forms an area of wilderness that is unrivaled anywhere in Europe. Hydropower projects would not only destroy that ecosystem, but Bosnia and Herzegovina would also violate ratified international agreements. That is why we are filing this complaint," said Ulrich Eichelmann from Riverwatch, a coordinator of the campaign 'Let's save the Blue Heart of Europe'.
(FENA) S. R.
