Save the Blue Heart of Europe - A campaign for the protection of Balkan Rivers
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!
For all river lovers: Between January 22 and 24, the first “River Film Festival Berlin” takes place in the Moviemento Cinema in the Kreuzberg district. Look forward to over 30 movies featuring breathtaking river landscapes as well as discussion forums with environmental activists who fight for the preservation of these valuable habitats. Dive in and discover the wonderful world of rivers!
On January 22, the documentary “The Vjosa Story” by our river ambassadors from Leeway Collective will be screened in Tirana, Albania. It is an incredible documentary about kayaking the Vjosa - one of the last wild rivers in Europe - from its source in Greece to its mouth into the Adriatic Sea in Albania. Don’t miss this opportunity to watch this amazing film on a big screen!
++ Other financiers must follow suit ++ The World Bank withdrew its funding for one of the two big hydropower projects inside MavrovoNational Park in Macedonia.
The December issue of the GEO magazine features an article about the Vjosa in Albania and the price of electricity. Here an online teaser. Sorry, as yet in German only!
A new study that Bankwatch published on December 11 deals with European public funding and EU companies, which are fuelling a wave of hydropower development and endangering pristine river environments in the Balkans. It shows who is involved in financing hydropower projects in the region, both overall and inside of protected areas. Bankwatch produced a series of info graphics:
The interactive map to explore the region in detail based on different criteria.
The Eco-Masterplan for Balkan Rivers is a comprehensive study which, for the first time, combines knowledge about biodiversity (fish, mussels, caddisflies), integrity of rivers and floodplains (hydromorphology), as well as the location of protected areas.
We are a coalition of NGOs who have launched the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” in order to raise awareness about the imminent dam craze on the Balkan peninsula and to spare the most valuable rivers and river stretches from destruction.