Croatian civil society groups ask new government to withdraw from Ombla hydro project
December 16, 2011
Croatian environmental groups today held a protest action outside of the Croatian parliament calling on the country’s new government not to go ahead with the controversial EBRD-financed EUR 150 million Ombla HPP project.
EBRD to suspend Ombla loan disbursement until further eco studies are completed
November 28, 2011
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has said it would not disburse the recently-approved 123.2 million Euro loan for construction of the Ombla hydropower plant near Dubrovnik before the environmental impacts of the project are assessed.
NGOs condemn EBRD financing of biodiversity destruction in Croatia
November 23, 2011
Zagreb — Croatian environmental organisations Zelena akcija/Friends of the Earth Croatia, the Croatian Biospeleological Society, Transparency International Hrvatska, Srđ je naš, Baobab, Eko Zeleno Sunce, Brodsko ekološko društvo-BED, Center for Environment (B&H), Eko-Zadar, WWF MedPO and regional organisation CEE Bankwatch Network have described as “extremely irresponsible” the approval yesterday by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development of a EUR 123 million loan for the construction of the Ombla underground hydropower plant near Dubrovnik. [1]
Official complaint to EBRD: Ombla hydropower project, Croatia
November 17, 2011
More information on the project is available here.
An EBRD interpretation of biodiversity protection in the western Balkans
November 14, 2011
With potentially devastating impacts on natural habitats, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has so far offered no real commitment to environmental protection in its ambiguous decisions on two hydropower plants in Croatia and Macedonia.
Ombla hydropower plant: public money down the sinkhole
November 14, 2011
Today Bankwatch member group Zelena akcija/Friends of the Earth – Croatia held an action today outside the offices of the EBRD in Zagreb, calling on the bank not to approve a planned loan of up to EUR 123 million for the Ombla hydropower plant project. You can see some images from the demo here.
Questionable transition impact of the Ombla and Boskov Most hydropower plants
November 4, 2011
The EBRD has a specific mandate to promote transition to a market economy and to ensure environmental sustainability in all its operations. Additionally to the unacceptable environmental impacts of the hydropower plant projects Ombla (Croatia) and Boskov Most (Macedonia), both projects do not comply with the EBRD’s mission. We believe the bank should not support them.
Hydropower vs. nature in southeast Europe: EBRD complicity in environmental crime?
October 31, 2011
Why is it that when we advocate for something to the international financial institutions (IFIs) they often manage to give it a peculiar twist of their own?
Open letter requesting EBRD to withdraw from the Ombla hydroelectric plant project
October 26, 2011
The Ombla hydropower plant is planned to be built in a cave in Croatia that is part of a proposed Natura 2000 site, but the environmental, economic and social impacts have only insufficiently been assessed by the project promoters. More than 30 Croatian and international civil society organisations therefore urged the EBRD to not approve a loan for the project.
NGOs call on the EBRD not to finance “high risk” underground HPP in Croatia
October 26, 2011
Zagreb — Croatian and international environmental organisations have today called on the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) not to go ahead with a planned EUR 123 million loan for the Ombla hydropower plant near Dubrovnik in Croatia, due to be approved by the bank’s Board of Directors on November 8. In an open letter to the bank, the organisations point to ecological, economic, and procedural problems with the plans, which even the consultants hired by the EBRD to assess the project have described as “high risk”.
