April 25, SARAJEVO/PRAGUE - Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina decided to use the opportunity of Earth Day 2022 to remind their representatives of the necessary protection of Bosnian and Herzegovinian rivers. In 6 communities throughout the country, local people challenged their mayors to join the initiative “Dams-Free Municipalities”. Its signatories make the commitment of not approving the construction of small hydropower plants on their territory without consulting the citizens. Such a commitment can significantly decrease the risk of clashes between a political representation and local citizens in the future. By joining the initiative, the representatives show their respect for the people’s will and the natural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mayors are the ones who are in touch with the local people on a daily basis. Therefore, it is them who usually face the consequences of a decision to build small hydropower plants on their territory. Rallies, protests, and even physical blockades are more and more common when people are not sufficiently involved in the decision-making about the use of their rivers.
Experience in recent years has shown that for municipalities the losses of construction of small hydropower plants are higher than profits. While most of the profits go to the state budget or the owners, it is the local community that bears the negative impact of the construction and operation of a hydropower plant such as a threat of a shortage of drinking and service water or declining fish stocks. Moreover, the potential for sustainable development like ecotourism or organic farming is lost.
Twelve municipalities from Bosnia and Herzegovina have already joined the initiative. “With this signature, the local government has expressed a clear political will to put itself in the service of protecting current and future generations and their rights to clean water and a quality environment,” said Dragan Vođević, the mayor of Mrkonjic Grad. You can find the full text of the initiative and the list of municipalities that joined here.
Experts also argue that there is no reason for building other hydropower plants in the situation when a third of the country’s produced electricity is exported. Rather, they see a potential to reduce its energy consumption which is the highest in the whole region of Western Balkans. Furthermore, the Bosnian economy is four times more energy-intensive than the EU average.
“All municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina are most welcome to join the declaration expressing their commitment to the idea of dam-free rivers. It shall persuade the state representatives that local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina care about their rivers,” concludes Zuzana Vachunova from the Czech NGO Arnika.
