++ Day 8 of the Balkan Rivers Tour: 200 people protest against the dam construction at the Sana river in Bosnia and Herzegovina ++ Today, an international alliance of 200 kayakers, anglers, residents and nature conservationists protested on the river Sana in Bosnia and Herzegovina against the hydropower plant “Medna”, which is currently under construction. The Sana is one of the last remaining rivers in Europe that host healthy populations of the Huchen.

While 2700 dams are projected to be built between Slovenia and Albania, dams are being torn down one after another in the US in order to restore their rivers.  Now, the removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River has been approved, rendering it the biggest dam removal project in history.

The starting event of the Balkan Rivers Tour was a big success! Find the latest impressions in the Balkan Rivers Tour galleries: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4! The galleries will be constantly updated with the latest photos.

++ Grand kayak tour to save the Balkan Rivers starts today ++  Today, about 150 paddler are opening the Balkan Rivers Tour on the Sava river in Slovenia. Led by former Slovenian Olympic athlete Rok Rozman, kayakers from all over Europe will paddle the most stunning and most threatened rivers in the Balkans over the next 35 days. This is without par in Europe. With this tour, they are taking a clear stance against the imminent dam tsunami.

Tirana, Vienna, Radolfzell, April 15, 2016 Today, the European Parliament criticized the Albanian government for the planning of hydropower projects and called upon them to be more considerate of protected areas and other sensitive nature areas, especially national parks. In the current Enlargement Report that was adopted by the parliament in Brussel yesterday, the Vjosa river is specifically mentioned.

We are happy to invite you to the opening event of an unusual international protest action: the opening event of the BALKAN RIVERS TOUR, April 16th 10:00 to 12:00, Bohinj Lake, Slovenia. For the first time, a group of kayakers from all over Europe will paddle rivers from Slovenia to Albania. With this tour they want to protest against the dam tsunami that is threatening Balkan rivers and to raise awareness about their beauty.

We would like to invite to you to a very unusual protest action: led by former Slovenian Olympic athlete Rok Rozman, kayakers from all over Europe will paddle the most stunning Balkan rivers between April 16 and May 20. The so-called “Balkan Rivers Tour” is an activity against the dam tsunami which is threatening to destroy the unique river landscape on the Balkan Peninsula.

The famous outdoor outfitter Patagonia has just published an article about the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign on their global blog “The Cleanest Line”:  Save the Blue Heart of Europe: The Balkan Rivers story

Europe’s biggest hydropower corporation, the Austrian Verbund AG, is complaining about too much electricity on the European market. Verbund Chairman Anzengruber says: “It is not the time for extensive new projects in the power plant sector over the next few years. That would not be clever in a time with too much energy”

Another Albanian river at risk: the beautiful Valbona river is facing the construction of several planned hydropower plants along its course, not stopping at national parks and other strictly protected area - as so often the case. Local communities are protesting and need your help: please sign and share the petition addressed to Prime Minister Edi Rama!