Coalition for the Protection of Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Center for Environment and Arnika (Czech Republic) in collaboration with ACT Foundation (BiH) organized “Free The Rivers 2022” conference from November 3 to November 5, 2022. The event was realized with the financial support of the Transition Promotion Program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Foundation.
The Western Balkans are unique with their number of natural watercourses that are true hotspots of European freshwater biodiversity. The boom of hydropower plant construction threatens the last pristine European rivers and negatively affects the environment and local communities. In recent years, local communities have stood up to protect their rights and stopped many harmful projects. Politicians also realized that hydropower is not always a sustainable solution; more and more municipalities commit to being “dams-free”, and policies on the national level started to restrict the construction of small hydropower plants. The conference reflects on the development of the last three years and discusses further steps to protect the rivers of the Western Balkans and the people dependent on them and to secure enough clean and sustainable energy.
Photo credits go to Majda Slámová (@majda foto on Facebook, @majdafoto on Instagram). Please, do not forget to mention the author when sharing the photos.
