Bern Convention to investigate hydropower damage to the upper Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The EFT Group’s 35 MW Ulog plant, with a 53-metre high dam, is already being built by China’s Sinohydro. Construction works were already halted once in 2013 after two fatal accidents caused by landslides (2), but resumed in 2020. A series of seven smaller plants is also planned further upstream by local company Marvel d.o.o. and will turn most of the upper course of the river – a section of about 38 kilometres – into a series of dams, pipes and reservoirs. 

The complaint, submitted by the Center for the Environment, Aarhus Center Sarajevo, Riverwatch, Euronatur, ClientEarth and CEE Bankwatch Network, alleges that the Bosnia and Herzegovina authorities failed to protect the upper Neretva – part of the Convention’s Emerald Network – by permitting hydropower development along its entire length. 

The Emerald Network is an ecological network consisting of natural areas of special interest for protection, located in the member states of the Bern Convention. Due to its uniqueness, the upper course of the Neretva River had already been put forward for protection within this network in 2005.

Although the environmental impact assessments for these projects identified several significant species such as otters and crayfish being present, the government of the Republika Srpska Entity concluded, without any evidence, that these projects would not have a negative impact on the environment and could be implemented. 

“Research confirms that the area around the source and upper course of the Neretva is an extremely well-preserved ecosystem. Muddy water due to the construction and operation of the Ulog hydropower plant would destroy the most important Balkan populations of marble trout, soft-mouthed trout, and the endemic Neretva loach downstream, while the seven plants upstream would threaten the survival of the only brown trout Adriatic haplotype. The upper Neretva would completely change from a river into a series of reservoirs and pipelines”, said Jelena Ivanic, coordinator of the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the Center for the Environment. 

“Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a signatory to the Bern Convention, is committed to preserving wild flora and fauna and their natural habitats, yet Republika Srpska is blundering ahead by allowing the destruction of the entire upper Neretva,” she added.

The Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign aims to protect the most valuable rivers in the Balkans from building hydropower plants. The campaign is coordinated by the NGOs Riverwatch and EuroNatur, and is being run jointly with partner organizations from the Balkans. 

Contacts

Jelena Ivanic, Center for Environment, jelena.ivanic@czzs.org +387 51 433 140

Andrey Ralev, CEE Bankwatch Network, andrey.ralev@bankwatch.org +359 884268552

Anja Arning, EuroNatur Foundation, anja.arning@euronatur.org, +49 7732927213

Bianca Vergnaud, ClientEarth, bvergnaud@clientearth.org, +32 471 88 70 95

Notes for editors

1. Bern Convention on the Protection of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats 
2. For more details see: https://bankwatch.org/press_release/complaint-on-bosnia-herzegovina-dams-on-neretva-river-submitted-to-the-bern-convention

This publication was produced in collaboration with EuroNatur and RiverWatch in the frame of the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign, with financial support from MAVA Foundation.