The resistance against the construction of the hydropower plant “Medna” persists. On the 5th of June, the World Environment Day and the Day of the River Sana, the Coalition for Sana organized its seventh annual protest trip to the springs of this beautiful river. The Coalition again calls for the preservation of the tributaries of Sana River despite the construction of the “Medna” hydropower plant.
The Coalition for Sana gathers 23 associations of nature and sports lovers that have been trying for years to stop this crime against nature and citizens at the Municipality of Ribnik.
“We will not give up on this river. Although the construction of the hydropower plant is in progress, we have not given up on the people living alongside Sana River or the natural attributes that are of European and world significance. Today, the protesters from Prijedor, Sanski Most, Kljuc, Fojnica, Mostar, Banjaluka, Prnjavor, and other places were amazed with the beauty of the Sana river, but also, they were disappointed and angry because of the construction of the hydropower plant," said Goran Krivic, the coordinator of the Coalition for Sana.
A reminder: The investor “LSB Elektrane” from Banjaluka, under the auspices of “Interenergo Inc. Ljubljana" owned by Austrian-German company Kelag International, is building a small hydropower plant, “Medna,” on the springs of the River Sana. Following the arguments we have been emphasizing for over eight years, in 2016 Coalition for Sana conducted a feasibility study. The study indicated the lack of economic profitability for this project and the negative financial effects for the budgets of the Municipality and Republika Srpska which totalled over one million bosnian marks.
Activists from The Coalition for the protection of rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have also joined this year’s protest. “Plans for the construction of over 300 hydropower plants and giving away our most vital natural resources as concessions means robbing the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” concluded Viktor Bjelic on behalf of the Coalition for the Protection of Rivers in BiH.
Even though the construction of the hydropower plant is in progress, there is still time left to save Sana river. Today, we are sending a message to all competent institutions and investors in Austria and Germany stating that the "Medna" hydropower plant will be remembered as one of the biggest failures and crimes against nature and people.
