. 24/7 Space News .
WATER WORLD
Let me flow: Bosnians wage war on mini hydro plants
By Rusmir SMAJILHODZIC
Parsovici, Bosnia And Herzegovina (AFP) July 3, 2020

Looking out over the clear cascades of the Neretvica river in the heart of Bosnia, Safet Sarajlic says he is ready to spill his blood to defend the waterway from a hydropower project threatening its vital ecosystem.

In a country criss-crossed by hundreds of rivers and their tributaries, the hydro sector is booming in Bosnia but so is resistance against it: locals have declared war on the industry, leading to the abandonment of several projects.

The latest flashpoint is the Neretvica, which springs from a source 1,800 metres high in central Bosnia before threading through dozens of hamlets for some 27 kilometres (17 miles).

"For us, this river is life. It's the artery of the valley," says 50-year-old Sarajlic, one of the leaders of the "Pusti me da tecem" ("Let me flow") protest movement.

Clean enough to drink, the river is also hailed for its biodiversity, hosting eight types of fish, including two endangered species, plus the protected white-clawed crayfish, according to a 2017 study by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Ecologists say the planned construction -- which would see 15 small plants installed across the Neretvica and its tributaries -- would threaten this delicate ecosystem and the livelihoods of villagers.

In June, protests by locals prevented the building of the first two plants by blocking the road to their village and forcing representatives from the state-owned company behind the project into talks.

"There are 20 young men here ready to give their lives for the Neretvica," Sead Hakalovic, another protest leader, said before the company agreed to retreat.

- Tomatoes and raspberries -

Home to some 2,000 people, the Neretvica valley is known for its top quality tomatoes. Bountiful raspberry plantations also line the river banks.

"Agriculture provides a living for most of the people here. If the power stations are built, there will be an exodus," warns Hakalovic.

Over the past 15 years or so, 106 mini plants have been built in Bosnia and "at least 340 more are planned, under preparation or under construction," Anes Podic, head of the environmental campaign group "Eko akcija" ("Ecological action"), told AFP.

Faced with the resistance, regional authorities have announced a three-month moratorium on the construction of new plants and new legislation to "protect the rivers".

But activists are calling for the projects to be scrapped entirely, arguing that the environmental damage far outweighs the "tiny" quantities of electricity produced by plants with a capacity of 10 MW.

According to Anes Podic, the small hydro plants accounted for only three percent of Bosnia's total electricity production last year, while some 60 percent was drawn from coal.

And yet some of the stations, which divert water through a pipe into a turbine two or three kilometres downstream, are drying out the rivers to dangerous levels, according to Podic.

The "biological minimum" needed to sustain the rivers is often not respected, says Podic.

"They redirect the last drop of water to produce electricity and increase their profits."

- 'Exaggerated accusations' -

"These accusations are greatly exaggerated," responds Senad Husnic, whose company Amitea is part of the Neretvica project and has been operating two other power plants in the same region since 2016.

Campaign groups have circulated photos of the dry riverbed left in those sites.

"It's true that the bed was dry when they photographed it, but the power station was then shut down because there was no water," he tells AFP, stressing that environmental regulations are respected.

Yet construction permits are often issued based on water level studies dating back to the 1960s or 1970s, according to Amir Variscic, from the NGO Zeleni-Neretva.

"The climate has changed. Droughts now lasts more than half the year and rainfall is rare and torrential."

Some campaigners also criticise legislation that is "favourable" to investors, leading to a gold rush atmosphere as firms seek easy cash.

The conditions are "attractive," admits Edhem Bicakcic, a former political leader whose company has become a leader in the sector.

Since 2005, he has built 45 small power plants in Bosnia and Albania for various investors, "without protests, in accordance with the highest ecological standards.".

But on the left bank of the Neretvica, 70-year-old Hatidza Salcinovic knows where she stands.

She refuses to sell a strip of her land to the builders, which will force them to run their pipes through the other bank of the river.

"I'm ready to fight for this piece of land," she told AFP. "If everyone does what I do, they'll never build."


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


WATER WORLD
'It's my dam': Ethiopians unite around Nile River mega-project
Addis Ababa (AFP) June 29, 2020
Last week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's press secretary took a break from official statements to post something different to her Twitter feed: a 37-line poem defending her country's massive dam on the Blue Nile River. "My mothers seek respite/From years of abject poverty/Their sons a bright future/And the right to pursue prosperity," Billene Seyoum wrote in her poem, entitled "Ethiopia Speaks". As the lines indicate, Ethiopia sees the $4.6 billion (four-billion-euro) Grand Ethiopian R ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

WATER WORLD
NASA concludes second spacewalk on historic mission

Russian cosmonaut votes on Putin's reforms from ISS

Orion's 'Twin' Completes Structural Testing for Artemis I Mission

Iconic '2001: A Space Odyssey' suit to hit auction block

WATER WORLD
NASA Plans for More SLS Rocket Boosters to Launch Artemis Moon Missions

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Completes Second Flight from Spaceport America

NASA completes Artemis SLS structural testing campaign

The rocket fired by Scrum

WATER WORLD
SwRI scientists demonstrate speed, precision of in situ planetary dating device

Mud downpours might have formed some of Mars's ancient highlands

NASA takes first step to allow computers to decide what to tell us in search for life on Mars

How NASA's Mars Helicopter Will Reach the Red Planet's Surface

WATER WORLD
China's tracking ship wraps up satellite launch monitoring

Final Beidou launch marks major milestone in China's space effort

Satellite launch center Wenchang eyes boosting homestay, catering sectors

Private investment fuels China commercial space sector growth

WATER WORLD
SpaceX launch Friday would boost Starlink network to nearly 600

India ends monopoly of ISRO with new entity to facilitate private players

NOAA funds ASTRA study to define future weather satellite constellation

UK space hub gets go ahead

WATER WORLD
Europe radioactivity likely linked to nuclear reactor: UN watchdog

Precise measurement of liquid iron density under extreme conditions

ThinKom demonstrates IFC antenna interoperability with LEO, MEO and GEO satellites

Rocket Lab to launch Kleos Space data collecting payload

WATER WORLD
First measurement of spin-orbit alignment on planet Beta Pictoris b

Astronomers measure spin-orbit alignment of a distant super-Jupiter

Space Team Theorizes Rare Exomoon Discovery

Super-Earths discovered orbiting nearby red dwarf

WATER WORLD
Ocean in Jupiter's moon Europa "could be habitable"

Evidence supports 'hot start' scenario and early ocean formation on Pluto

Proposed NASA Mission Would Visit Neptune's Curious Moon Triton

SOFIA finds clues hidden in Pluto's haze









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.