Bern Convention: Western Balkan countries need to propose new protected natural areas
December 9, 2024
The Bern Convention on Friday set a new target and agreed on a roadmap for the expansion of the Emerald Network of protected areas. The aim of the Network is to preserve endangered species and habitats throughout Europe.
Emerald Network in the Western Balkans
November 27, 2024
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia are required to establish a sufficient number of Emerald Network sites as signatories to the Bern Convention. However, since 2011, not a single new site has been proposed and many stunning rivers remain unprotected. The #EmeraldForRivers campaign aims to support governments in expanding the Emerald Network.
European Parliament fails to halt disastrous hydropower project jeopardising local livelihoods and endangered species
September 27, 2024
WWF and CEE Bankwatch Network question the EU Commission’s reasons for putting this decades-old project on the Danube river on its priority investment list.
Turnu Măgurele – Nikopol Hydraulic Structures Assembly on the Danube river, Romania and Bulgaria
September 20, 2024
The project, if built, would not only devastate critical habitats, leading to the potential extinction of species such as the Danube sturgeons, but also displace local communities, disrupt existing investments, and violate several EU environmental directives.
Activists say Bosnian dam threatens river life and rafters
June 26, 2024
KONJIC, Bosnia, June 25 (Reuters) – Environmental activist Lejla Kusturica stood on the banks of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Neretva river, …
Battling Rapids and Regulation: Neretva River’s Eco-Warrior Stands Tall
June 25, 2024
Lejla Kusturica, a Bosnian environmental activist, is concerned about the impact of a new hydro-power dam on the Neretva river’s ecosystem …
Court annuls environmental permit for Drina hydropower project
May 2, 2024
Photo: fotos1992 from Pixabay
The Upper Horizons complex, Bosnia and Herzegovina
December 18, 2023
The Upper Horizons hydropower complex has been planned since the mid-20th century, and is planned to consist of three plants — Dabar, Nevesinje and Bileća — linked by a series of tunnels and channels. If completed, it would have a devastating impact on the karst ecosystems of eastern Herzegovina and beyond.
The Ulog hydropower plant on the river Neretva, Bosnia and Herzegovina
December 18, 2023
The Ulog plant, with a 53-metre high dam, is currently being built on the upper Neretva in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the middle of a nominated candidate Emerald site – an area which should be protected under the Bern Convention.
Skavica mega dam: Albanian court to scrutinise special law for U.S. contractor Bechtel
September 21, 2023
Nature conservation and human rights organisations have secured an important first milestone in the fight against the planned 210 MW Skavica hydropower plant in the Albanian municipalities of Kukës and Dibër.
