Welcome to riverwatch.eu

1+++ POSTPONED+++ We invite you to the public event “Right to Rivers”, a meeting of activists, experts and everyone else who works for rivers and nature in Serbia. The event will take place in Belgrade on May 26th.

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.

Balkanrivers

New study on the forest situation in the Vjosa basin

This pilot study provides a general overview of the forest situation in the Vjosa basin, discusses problems and defines areas where pilot reforestation projects are to be implemented soon.

The Narta Lagoon is an important breeding and resting area for several bird species, including flamingos and Caspian terns. They are threatened by the airport construction. © PPNEA

Balkanrivers

Continued opposition to Albanian airport construction in Vjosa Delta

European governments request that the Albanian government suspends the construction of the airport in the Vjosa-Narta Protected Area due to non-compliance with national and international laws. The Government is urged to start a comprehensive Wildlife Monitoring Programme.

The unique upper reaches of the Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here, 7 hydroelectric power plants are planned, which would not only destroy the river, but also the ancient beech forests. © Vladimir Tadic

Balkanrivers

Bern Convention demands Bosnia-Herzegovina to stop all dam projects on Neretva River

On Friday, December 2, the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention decided to open a case-file against Bosnia-Herzegovina demanding to stop all hydropower plants in the Neretva River system and to establish protected areas, instead.

Well attended Freedom for Rivers concert in Banja Luka © Vedran Ševčuk Alf

Balkanrivers

3000 at the Freedom of Rivers Concert in BiH!

On November 11th, about 3000 people enjoyed a great concert, great atmosphere and strong messages for the freedom of rivers by musicians Darko Rundek & Ekipa and Cane and Partibrejkers in Banja Luka.

Balkanrivers

Hydropower projects on Balkan Rivers: 2022 Update

Every two years, we analyse the situation of hydropower development in the Balkans. Since the last update of this kind in 2020, another 246 HPPs came into operation, leaving hundreds of kilometres of rivers and streams devastated. The good news: some positive signals have recently come from Bosnia and Hercegovina and Albania.

Balkanrivers

"Freedom to the Rivers" concert on 11.11. in Banja Luka

The "Freedom to the Rivers" concert for the preservation of the rivers of the Balkans, featuring Partibrejkers and Darko Rundek & Team will take place on November 11, 20:00, in the Borik Sports Hall in Banja Luka. Free admission! The concert, which was postponed in September due to bad weather, is organized by Bosnian Blue Heart partner Center for the Environment within the framework of the campaign.

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.