News

BiH: Scientists warn Buk Bijela dam project poses grave threat to Upper Drina Basin

163 experts call for an immediate halt to the hydropower project, citing an extremely flawed Environmental Impact Assessment and widespread irreversible ecological damage.

SLAPP lawsuits target award-winning conservationist Andreja Slameršek

 23.03.2026

Despite her status as a "nature guardian," Andreja Slameršek has become the target of retaliatory litigation by the energy sector for exposing irregularities in environmental studies of the Mokrice Hydroelectric Power Plant in Slovenia. In response, activists and legal experts have launched a collective front to protect both the Stupčanica River's biodiversity and the right to public participation.

New study reveals massive water abstraction pressures on the Vjosa River Basin

 15.03.2026

As we celebrate the third anniversary of the Vjosa Wild River National Park, a study released today warns that the "Wild River" is facing an invisible crisis: massive water abstraction.

Application to construct the Nevačka SHPP has been rejected, kilometres of rivers saved

More river kilometres have been saved! The Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction, and Ecology of Republika Srpska has officially rejected the Environmental Impact Study for the proposed Nevačka small hydropower plant in the Bosna Basin in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

International Day of Action for Rivers: Spotlight on Montenegro’s threatened Komarnica Canyon

 09.03.2026

On 14 March, International Day of Action for Rivers, the documentary "Komarnica: The Wild That Remains" will premiere. An exclusive pre-screening webinar on 12 March will offer an early look, while a growing petition continues to rally international support for the protection of the Komarnica River.

Europe’s last wild rivers under siege: Nearly 2,500 km of pristine Balkan rivers lost since 2012

The first comparable regional assessment in over a decade documents the deterioration of Europe's last wild rivers, with pristine stretches dropping from 30% to 23% since 2012 - a staggering loss of 2,450 river kilometres. Albania’s rivers have deteriorated faster than those of any other Balkan country, largely due to hydropower and river regulation. 

Bern Convention reports no progress on key river protection cases in the Balkans

In December 2025, the Bern Convention Standing Committee met in Strasbourg to address critical conservation disputes across the Balkans. Key reviews focused on hydropower developments in Mavrovo National Park (North Macedonia) and along the Neretva River (Bosnia and Herzegovina), alongside the construction of Vlora airport in Albania’s Vjosa Delta.

Webinar: Rights of Nature in Europe – Should our rivers have rights too?

 16.12.2025

Join us for this critical conversation about the potential and challenges of granting legal rights to rivers in Europe.

Remembering Toni Vorauer

 10.12.2025

There are things one cannot believe because they are so incomprehensible, so beyond words. Toni Vorauer is dead; he passed away completely unexpectedly after a short illness on November 25. We mourn a friend, a colleague. Toni was a conservationist, someone who dedicated himself especially to rivers and bats.

Ecological catastrophe on the Neretva: Deadly fish kill caused by Ulog hydropower operations

A coalition of international and Bosnian scientists, together with leading environmental NGOs, reveal evidence linking the mass mortality of fish and other aquatic life on the affected stretch of the upper Neretva on September 12, 2025, to operational practices at the Ulog Hydropower Plant.

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