July 28, 2022

Bosnian activists oppose hydropower to save ecosystems

topic:	Renewables
located:	Bosnia and Herzegovina
editor:	Katarina Panić

This month in Bosnia and Herzegovina, lawmakers banned the planning and construction of new small hydropower plants (HPPs) in the federation, the major of the three constituent parts of the country. This legislation passed due to the pressure and ten-year struggle of activists in numerous local communities who have firmly opposed the construction of ecocidal HPPs and lobbied for climate and environmental justice.

The new law on electricity allows no new small HPPs at all, while those with concession contracts have three years to meet the new requirements. According to environmentalists, the law will instantly prevent the construction of 111 small HPPs on 60 rivers. It will also increase the chance of stopping the construction of 62 plants on 39 rivers (ones with concession contracts but no other documents needed).

The Coalition for the Protection of Rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which gathers some thirty environmental CSOs, estimated that less than three percent of all electricity in the country is being produced by about 120 existing small HPPs. At the same time, the harm they cause to rivers’ ecosystems is irremediable. The damage to flora and fauna is catastrophic.

Environmentalists warn that the citizens do not need new plants; only investors benefit since the state guarantees high electricity prices for up to 15 years, so investors take no risk at all. The state also provides subsidies from public funds for renewable energy and citizens themselves pay fees for renewable energy on their electricity bills every month. 

The activists also oppose the statement that renewable energy only includes hydropower. They stress that only one percent of solar energy potential is being used. Earlier this year in Republika Srpska, another administrative part of the country, lawmakers banned subsidies for small HPPs, but not their construction. 

“The politicians and the authorities favour investors, not nature. The system does not protect the environment; ordinary citizens do,” activist Anes Podić warned. “The investors never give up, so our fight must not end. People are welcome to any existing CSO or may register their own. Every resistance has sense. Unless you are OK with the gas station in front of your house instead of the green trees."

Photo by Dan Meyers

Call to Action

GivePower provides solar energy and clean water to developing communities worldwide

Support now