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Central Asia: environmental groups and scientists call on international financial institutions to preserve key freshwater bodies and stop supporting destructive hydropower projects

On the International Day of Action for Rivers, the organisations stress that the rapid development of hydropower projects in the region threatens to fragment its unique river basins, disrupt critical natural habitats and lead to human rights abuses. Despite existing safeguards for UNESCO World Heritage sites and other protected areas, increasing international finance for large- and small-scale hydropower plants could severely damage the region’s rivers.

If all planned hydropower projects are implemented, the vast river basins of Central Asia will hardly retain any unfragmented natural river habitat.  

In December 2024, the World Bank and AIIB approved financing for the Rogun mega-dam project in Tajikistan – dubbed the ‘largest dam in the world’ – which would displace 60,000 people and affect the unique floodplain ecosystems of the Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kyrgyzstan recently declared an ‘energy emergency’ to enable the construction of hydropower projects throughout the country, including within the Western Tien–Shan World Heritage Site. 

In 2025, a renewables auction scheme in Kazakhstan supported by the EBRD will be misused to support 500 MW of new hydropower projects. While the EBRD, ADB and IFC are supporting a strategic environmental and social assessment of renewable projects in Uzbekistan, a presidential decree plans for 21 new large hydropower plants. And state-owned company UzbekHydroEnergo has identified 250 prospective sites for small hydropower plants under public-private partnerships in a country with 85 per cent desert or semi-desert.  

A map of key freshwater bodies of Central Asia published this month highlights the most threatened rivers. They were identified during more than two years of research involving some of the region’s top biodiversity and hydrology experts. 

With more than 300 existing sizeable dams in the region and more than 200 new ones planned or under construction, there is an urgent need to protect the key rivers left untouched during the Soviet era. 

Andrey Ralev, Biodiversity Campaigner at CEE Bankwatch Network – ‘While the middle and lower stretches of Central Asia’s Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers are seriously disrupted, leading to the Aral Sea crisis, their mountain tributaries still hold unique biodiversity. Development banks should endorse their protection, rather than financing destructive hydropower plants’, says Andrey Ralev, Biodiversity Campaigner at CEE Bankwatch.  

Evgeny Simonov, international coordinator of the environmental coalition Rivers without Boundaries – ‘Often in Central Asia, the construction of dams and reservoirs is presented as inevitable, a kind of forced measure to preserve water resources. However, global experience tells us that such an approach is extremely ineffective from an economic point of view and often has the most destructive consequences from an environmental point of view.’

Katharine Lu, senior manager at Friends of the Earth US – ‘Our research indicates an immense toll on riparian communities and ecosystems amidst the climate and biodiversity crisis. International banks therefore need to step away from blindly supporting hydropower build out and consider lower impact, decentralized energy options.’

Contacts:

Andrey Ralev, Biodiversity Campaigner | CEE Bankwatch Network
andrey.ralev@bankwatch.org

Eugene Simonov
International Coordinator |  Rivers Without Boundaries
simonov@riverswithoutboundaries.org

Katharine Lu
Senior Manager | Friends of the Earth US

Tanya L. Roberts-Davis
Senior Energy Campaign Manager (SEA Program) | International Rivers

Dustin Schaefer
Team Lead – Multilateral Financial Institutions | Urgewald e.V.

Notes for editors

More information about the need to protect Central Asian rivers: https://bankwatch.org/project/central-asian-rivers 

The map of key freshwater bodies in Central Asia can be found at: https://arcg.is/0fDfGP0

Rivers without Boundaries and CEE Bankwatch Network have also published a toolkit for activists entitled How to interact with development banks lending to hydropower projects in Central Asia.  This toolkit provides local NGOs and community leaders with detailed instructions and real-life examples on how to use accountability mechanisms of international finance institutions to defend their environmental rights and develop meaningful dialogue on infrastructure projects being considered for financing. The toolkit can be found in English or Russian.

Environmentalists hope that the GIS model they have developed – while not a substitute for individual biodiversity assessments – will be in demand not only by specialists, but will also be used by potential investors to select projects with the least impact on the environment.’

EU budget gap holding back municipal waste reform and decarbonisation in central and eastern Europe

The report, released today, analyses the utilisation of EU waste management funding in nine central and eastern European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Poland. It finds that many of these countries are lagging far behind optimal waste management practices, especially in biowaste separation and recycling, largely due to a lack of targeted funding for higher-tier waste management solutions, such as waste prevention, reduction and recycling.

While the 2014–2020 investment period saw improvements in recycling and landfill reduction, progress in reducing methane emissions from landfills has been slow and remains a challenge due to inefficient diversion of biowaste from mixed waste streams [1]. In 2020, 27 per cent of the EU’s total methane emissions came from the waste management sector, with landfills being a major contributor. Decarbonising the waste sector will require more targeted investment in biowaste treatment, methane-capture technologies and the circular economy, including targeted support for local authorities for improving biowaste collection and recycling systems, including funding for local communication and human resources.

The 2021–2027 budget for waste management and the circular economy is 39 per cent higher than in the 2014–2020 period and more progressive, prioritising prevention, minimisation, sorting, reuse and recycling. Notably, 60 per cent of the total allocation is dedicated to household and industrial waste management, primarily in recycling. This shift towards more sustainable and resource-efficient practices is reinforced by the new cohesion policy funding rules and the ‘do no significant harm’ principle under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, which restrict funding for incineration and landfill projects, steering investments towards higher-tier waste management solutions.

Saša Jovanović, Cities for People Campaign Leader at Bankwatch: ‘While a 39 per cent increase in planned budgets for waste management and the circular economy across nine central and eastern European countries for the current funding period sounds encouraging, real results will depend on how timely and efficiently the countries use them. Case studies from the 2014-2020 funding cycle, such as the new biodegradable waste management infrastructure in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, or biowaste management on the island of Krk, Croatia show that proactive municipalities and regions can find the way to manage their waste sustainably, with special emphasis on diversion from landfills and proper treatment of biowaste, the largest single component of municipal solid waste.’

Iva Dimitrova, Economic Justice Campaigner at Za Zemiata: ‘Biowaste management remains a major challenge across central and eastern Europe, with only 10 per cent of municipal waste separately collected as biowaste in 2020. In Bulgaria, the situation is even more alarming, with just 3 per cent collected, leaving the vast majority to decompose in landfills and release methane. Urgent investments are needed in separate collection infrastructure, combined with economic incentives like increased taxation on landfilling and incineration and the implementation of pay-as-you-throw systems to reduce landfilling and encourage waste prevention.’

Marko Košak, Zero Waste Cities Programme Coordinator at Zelena Akcija: ‘Progressive cities in Europe are showing that efficient biowaste management is possible, and that EU-funded projects can play a valuable role. Unfortunately, ministries in EU countries responsible for this financing could be much more effective in distributing funds and helping municipalities achieve their goals for reducing landfill biowaste.’

Janek Vahk, Zero Waste Europe’s Zero Pollution Policy Manager: ‘Landfill methane is one of the most potent climate threats, yet EU funding for waste management is still falling short. With landfills responsible for 27 per cent of Europe’s methane emissions, urgent investment is needed to scale up biowaste collection, composting, and pre-treatment technologies like biological treatment to stop methane generation at source. Without decisive action, we risk missing our climate targets and allowing waste to accelerate the climate crisis.’

Contacts:

Michaela Kožmínová, Communications Officer, CEE Bankwatch Network

michaela.kozminova@bankwatch.org

 

Janek Vahk, Zero Pollution Policy Manager, Zero Waste Europe

janek@zerowasteeurope.eu 

Mob: +32493553779

 

Iva Dimitrova, Economic Justice campaigner, EA Za Zemiata, Friends of the Earth Bulgaria

iva.dimitrova@zazemiata.org

Mob: +359 896 62 88 08

 

Seán Flynn, Media Outreach Officer, Zero Waste Europe

sean@zerowasteeurope.eu  

Mob: +32 471 96 55 93

 

Notes for editors:

[1] The total landfilled waste in the countries analysed still amounted to almost 19 million tonnes in 2020, meaning the reduction in CO2e represents less than 6 per cent compared to 2014.

Western Balkans: Environmental groups challenge Commission’s breach of Reform and Growth Facility safeguards

On 23 October, the European Commission approved the Reform Agendas of Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia (2). These include lists of reforms to be undertaken by the countries in order to access funds from the Facility, as well as proposed investment projects to be financed through the Western Balkans Investment Framework.

According to the Regulation governing the Facility (3), the Reform Agendas were to be developed ‘in an inclusive and transparent manner, in consultation with social partners and civil society organisations’. Both the reforms and investment projects have to comply with various principles such as ‘do no significant harm’ (4) to the environment and exclusion of fossil fuels.

Yet Serbia and North Macedonia’s Reform Agendas include fossil gas pipelines and power/heat plants among their proposed investment projects. And all the countries include other projects likely to cause serious environmental damage, such as the Kruševo hydropower plant in Montenegro and motorways in sensitive locations. None of the Reform Agendas included any ‘do no significant harm’ assessments, and the lists of projects were not available to civil society organisations or the wider public to comment on.  

Although CAN Europe and Bankwatch raised concerns in July about a lack of transparency and consultation on the Reform Agendas, the Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement (DG NEAR) failed to take corrective action or to pick up the issue in its country assessments.

Pippa Gallop, CEE Bankwatch Network – ‘The Reform and Growth Facility has the potential to contribute to a sustainable future in the Western Balkans, but only if its safeguards are applied. Too often in recent years, the Commission has taken hurried, non-transparent and ineffective action and sidelined civil society in the region. The new Enlargement Commissioner, Marta Kos, must urgently turn this around. Public scrutiny and proper environmental screening of EU funds are a must.’ 

Frosina Antonovska, CAN Europe – ‘The Western Balkan countries have been more successful in developing plans and committing to climate and energy goals, than delivering them in reality, with a lack of funding as a common excuse. The Reform Agendas could be a transformative tool, but so far, the absence of transparency, inclusiveness and consistency, are hindering this opportunity. The national agendas’ priorities and related investments must adhere to environmental safeguards and public participation principles, otherwise what “reformative” approach is being promoted for the region?’

Contacts:

Pippa Gallop, Southeast Europe Energy Policy Officer, CEE Bankwatch Network

pippa.gallop@bankwatch.org
Mob: +385 99 755 9787
Skype: pippa.gallop

Frosina Antonovska, Climate and Energy Policy Coordinator for the Western Balkans, CAN Europe

frosina.antonovska@caneurope.org
Mob: +389 70 913 193

Notes for editors:

  1. The groups have initiated a legal procedure through a request for internal review – a mechanism that allows NGOs and the public to challenge certain EU decisions that breach environmental law. The Council now has sixteen weeks to respond. The request can be found here
  2. The Commission implementing decision of 23 October 2024 and its country assessments can be found here.
  3. Regulation (EU) 2024/1449 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on establishing the Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans
  4. ‘Do no significant harm’ means not supporting or carrying out economic activities that do significant harm to any environmental objective under Article 17 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852, also known as the Taxonomy Regulation. The principle was introduced as part of the European Green Deal and has been applied to various EU funds, including the Recovery and Resilience Facility.

EU’s Modernisation Fund continues to fund fossil fuels and waste incineration projects, undermining climate and environmental goals

While some of the 39 announced projects approved by the Commission in this disbursement cycle are essential for the EU’s energy transition, such as investments in electricity grids, energy storage, building renovation and transport electrification, a significant share of the funding is again going to new gas power plants and waste incinerators, most notably in the Czech Republic and Romania.   

According to Bankwatch’s calculations, almost EUR 500 million from this disbursement cycle has been allocated to gas and waste incineration projects in the Czech Republic and Romania, and these projects may receive an additional EUR 776 million support in the later stage of their implementation. This raises concerns that the Modernisation Fund is being used to lock in fossil fuel and other unsustainable infrastructure rather than to supporting real modernisation of the region’s energy systems.  

Czech Republic: Over EUR 130 million for gas and waste incineration in this round, with more to come  

Several projects in the Czech Republic stand out for receiving substantial funding despite their climate and environmental impact: 

  • Teplárna Power Plant (EUR 50 million): replacement of lignite burning with gas and biomass combustion. 
  • ZEVO Vráto (EUR 5 million in this round, EUR 187 million in total from the Modernisation Fund): replacement of two lignite-fired boilers with waste incineration in a combined heat and power (CHP) plant. 
  • ZEVO Opatovice (EUR 5 million in this round, EUR 161 million in total): replacement of lignite-based energy with waste incineration.  
  • ‘Replacement of a coal block with a gas source – STAGE III’ (EUR 62 million): Replacement of a coal fired unit with a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) system. 
  • ‘Replacement of a coal block with a gas source – STAGE IV’ (EUR 5 million in this round, EUR 78 million total): Replacement of a coal fired unit with a combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) system. 
  • Energetika Power Plant (EUR 5 million in this round, EUR 77 million total): replacement of a lignite-fired heat and power plant with a fossil gas-based one. 

Romania: EUR 362 million for gas power plants that will replace gas power plants 

  •  ‘Support for development of high-efficiency cogeneration capacities – in the district heating sector’ (EUR 362 million): replacement of old fossil gas plants with new ones in Bucharest’s district heating sector.  

While the Modernisation Fund has disbursed significant amounts to much needed investments since 2021, at least EUR 1.45 billion have already been directed to fossil gas, at least EUR 584 million to waste incineration, at least EUR 228 million to biomass plants, mainly in its largest beneficiaries, such as Czechia, Poland and Romania. 

Gligor Radečić, CEE Bankwatch Network — ‘The never-ending push for fossil gas and waste incineration under the Modernisation Fund diverts funds away from truly sustainable solutions.  

‘Romania remains trapped in a heating model based on burning fossil fuels. Government programs fail to integrate renewable heating sources, even as our cities suffer from pollution’, adds Raluca Petcu, campaigner for Bankwatch Romania.  

Such investments risk locking countries into high-emission infrastructure for decades to come, and crowding out renewables, heat pumps, waste prevention, reduction, reuse and recycling. The Commission must ensure that the Modernisation Fund prioritises truly future-proof projects, such as sustainable renewable energy, energy efficiency, and grid investments, while rejecting proposals that rely on fossil fuels and burning waste.

Contact  

Gligor Radečić, Gas campaigner, CEE Bankwatch Network 

gligor.radecic@bankwatch.org 

Bern Convention: Western Balkan countries need to propose new protected natural areas

The Western Balkan countries have currently designated Emerald sites to protect only a small percentage of the species and habitats covered by the Convention – 0.7 per cent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 13.5 per cent in Serbia, 16 per cent in North Macedonia, 16.3 per cent in Montenegro and 28.3 per cent in Albania. By 2030, they will have to increase this share to 35 percent.

The situation is particularly difficult in Albania, where a new law allows even highly destructive major infrastructure projects in supposedly protected areas and no new Emerald sites are expected to be proposed soon.

In its decision from 6 December, the Convention’s Standing Committee ‘endorsed the proposed targets for the Emerald Network for the period to 2030 consisting in (sic) the submission of updated and improved Emerald Network databases resulting in biogeographical evaluations, the improvement of the sufficiency index and the adoption and management of sites.’ Besides the 35 percent sufficiency target, by 2030 each country will have to report its progress at two evaluation meetings called ‘biogeographical seminars’ and 40 percent of the Emerald sites will need to have management plans.

Andrey Ralev, CEE Bankwatch Network: ‘This is a crucial decision and brings hope that the aims of the Emerald for Rivers campaign will be achieved. Rivers like the Vjosa, Black Drin, Neretva, Bosna, Morača, Vardar, Danube and their tributaries support numerous endangered and endemic species and are vital for the livelihoods of local communities. They should be the backbone of the European network of protected sites.’ 

In the Emerald for Rivers campaign, scientists and NGOs are asking the Western Balkan governments to commit to expanding the Emerald Network and protecting the most important rivers. A proposed list of priority rivers was drawn up at a seminar organised by CEE Bankwatch Network in December 2022, where participants provided scientific data on fish species and their habitats. 

At the Standing Committee meeting, the representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia admitted that there is sufficient information to propose new Emerald sites, but for political and administrative reasons no new sites have been proposed since 2011. Nevertheless, they expressed their readiness to work on improving the situation in the next year. In earlier meetings with civil society groups, experts from the environmental ministry of North Macedonia also expressed their willingness to expand the Emerald Network.  

Andrey Ralev, andrey.ralev@bankwatch.org, +359 884 268552 

Notes for editors:

#EmeraldForRivers campaign and video: https://bankwatch.org/project/emerald 

List of decisions of the 44th Standing Committee meeting of the Bern Convention, Strasbourg, France (Emerald Network is Agenda Item 5.6.1): https://www.coe.int/en/web/bern-convention/-/44th-standing-committee 

List of rivers to be added to the Emerald Network and the fish species of European importance that inhabit them: https://bankwatch.org/publication/shadow-list-of-rivers  

 

Western Balkans: Civil society groups call on European Commission to strengthen support for just transition

In a new briefing (1), they outline concrete steps that the Commission, international financial institutions and national governments should take to accelerate a just transition and enable local economic diversification, ensuring they respond to people’s needs and leave no-one behind. 

An EU platform aimed at supporting carbon-intensive regions to prepare for the energy transition and exchange experiences with EU communities in a similar situation, called the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition for the Western Balkans and Ukraine (2) ran from late 2020 to late 2023, but has not yet been replaced, leaving local authorities uncertain about what further support they can expect for this complex process. 

Nevena Smilevska, Just Transition Coordinator for the Western Balkans, CEE Bankwatch Network — ‘There is an urgent need for the EU to renew and expand support for coal-dependent communities, to enable a just transition towards a decarbonised economy. Our recommendations aim to ensure that local authorities are empowered and have the necessary resources to plan a process that will allow their communities to thrive, instead of being left behind as the energy transition inevitably advances.’ 

The recommendations emphasize the need for targeted financing for municipal level projects, as local authorities often lack the resources and expertise to create and implement redevelopment plans for just transition on their own. Dedicated financial tools to facilitate economic diversification and create small-scale pilot projects can help to showcase the possibilities a decarbonised future offers. To ensure accountability and impact, funding must depend on strong local governance and transparent monitoring.  

Similar recommendations were put forward last week in a manifesto signed by six mayors from coal-dependent municipalities in the Western Balkans (3). The mayors are calling on the European Commission to support their efforts to decarbonize their local economies by increasing technical assistance, promoting success stories, and facilitating stronger partnerships with carbon-intensive regions in the EU. 

Davor Pehchevski, Balkan Energy Coordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network — ‘The new European Commission must seize the opportunity to make a positive impact by addressing these urgent needs and helping the Western Balkans set a course toward a just and sustainable future. We urge the Commission to reaffirm its commitment to our coal-dependent regions and provide the necessary support for a fair and effective energy transition.’ 

Contact information 

Nevena Smilevska, Just Transition Coordinator for the Western Balkans nevena.smilevska@bankwatch.org  

Notes for editors 

  1. The briefing can be found here. 
  1. More about the EU’s Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition for Western Balkans and Ukraine can be found here. 
  1. The manifesto can be found here.