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Activist gathering in Strpce in August 2023, National Park Sharr Mountains © Ulrich Eichelmann

Save the Blue Heart has has established a new partnership with an organization in Kosovo, Gaia Kosovo! In August, an activist gathering took place in Strpce, within the Sharr Mountains National Park. Residents, local government representatives, citizen associations, NGOs, the National Park "Sharr Mountain," lawyers, and

The Narta lagoon is a hotspot for Europe's migratory birds and an important resting area © Xhemal Xherri/PPNEA

Balkanrivers

Growing opposition to Albanian airport

Bern Convention calls on Albania to stop airport construction near Narta Lagoon. Project in Vjosa Delta endangers thousands of migratory birds. Conservation organisations filed lawsuits against destructive and illegal construction.

Balkanrivers

River Summit "Right to Rivers" in Belgrade on August 25th

The river summit "Right to Rivers” organized by our Serbian partner "POLEKOL", the "Right to Water” initiative and the "Save the Blue Heart of Europe" will take place on August 25th in Belgrade. The event is among others, a gathering of experts and activists working to protect the rivers and nature of Serbia.

"We won't give Neretvica" © Pusti me da tecem

Balkanrivers

Great victory for the citizens of the Neretvica Valley

The concession contract for small hydroelectric power plants in the Neretvica River basin has been terminated! 15 small hydroelectric power plants, which would have irreversibly destroyed the river ecosystem will not be built. The local population has been mighty fighting these plans for

"Prijepolje doesn't want small hydro power plants" © Aida Paljevac

Balkanrivers

BIG WIN in Serbia: Ratajska river remains free flowing

The Ratajska river in southern Serbia will remain free flowing and the whole river basin of may be protected in the future. This is a great success for local and national activists. Following wide protest of the local population, supported by the Serbian Blue Heart Team „Pravo na Vodu“, the Ministry of Mining and Energy stopped

General

70 scientists from 17 countries at Neretva Science Week 2023

Neretva Science Week 2023 took place from May 30th to June 7th. A diverse team of 70 scientists from 17 countries gathered in small town Ulog, to contribute to the conservation of the Neretva river system. They were accompanied by photographers, activists, and artists.

Balkanrivers

River Summit in Belgrade POSTPONED

River Summit in Belgrade postponed | Due to the large scale protests in Belgrade, the river summit "Right to Rivers” was postponed.

Prime Minister Edi Rama, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert, and Minister for Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro signed official declaration of Vjosa Wild River National Park © Anika Konsek

Balkanrivers

Major success: River Vjosa becomes National Park

At a formal ceremony in Tepelena this morning, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama and his Minister of the Environment and Tourism Mirela Kumbaro declared the River Vjosa a Wild River National Park. As from today, the entire River Vjosa in Albania from its border with Greece to the Adriatic sea and its free flowing tributaries – a river system totalling more than 400 kilometres in length – have the very high level of protection.

Vjosa near Tepelene © Christian Baumgartner

Balkanrivers

Vjosa Wild River National Park: vision, roadmap, and feasibility study

The feasibility study is the result of six months of extensive fieldwork and in-depth analysis by a team of over 30 experts in areas such as eco-tourism, geomorphology, ecology, planning and management of protected areas, sustainable financing of national parks, legislation, and social and environmental impact assessment.

Balkanrivers

Next Webinar: Neretva Science Week Results

We invite you to join our next webinar on January 31st (6pm MET) to learn about the results of the 50 scientists that joined the Neretva Science Week in summer 2022 and how their science contributes to the protection of this highly intact river system. Please REGISTER HERE to join this webinar.

What we do

Balkanrivers

Since 2012, we have been working on protecting Europe’s last free-flowing river jewels – the Balkan Rivers – from a massive dam craze. About 2700 dams are projected to be built between Slovenia and Greece, putting pretty much every river and creek at risk. In cooperation with the German foundation EuroNatur and together with local partners in the Balkans countries, we have been running the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” in order to prevent this scheme of destruction.

DeDamming

The campaign for the removal of old weirs and dams is a joint initiative of Riverwatch and the Manfred-Hermsen-Stiftung. Hydropower plants and weirs are not built forever. Many of them are old and not serving their intended purpose while destroying our rivers. The removal of particularly harmful dams is an integral part of river restoration, but has been neglected for too long in our regions. For this reason, we want to initiate a dam removal movement in Europe with a focus on the Alpine region and the Balkans.