Save the Blue Heart of Europe - A campaign for the protection of Balkan Rivers
On the occasion of the International Day of Rivers, Riverwatch CEO Ulrich Eichelmann was interviewed by the Austrian radio station Ö1. The ecologist and conservationist shares his thoughts on the threatened river lifeline. He tells us about the state of rivers in Austria and in Europe and reports on
We joined together with 300 organizations from around the world to call on our global leaders to protect rivers and stop funding hydropower projects as false solutions to the climate crisis. Hydropower is neither green nor climate-neutral and has led to an alarming loss of freshwater biodiversity.
From September 27 to 29, we will hold a first European Rivers Summit, which will take place in Sarajevo. Goal of the meeting is to bring together river lovers and initiatives from all over Europe in order to exchange experience, develop ideas and network. The summit ends with a public Balkan Rivers open-air concert featuring artists from the Balkan region. Please share and save the date!
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Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard has written an article about hydropower that is meant to rip the green-bandage off this outdated and harmful technology. It has already been covered by several media, such as Huffington Post or Focus and is featured on Patagonia’s blog The Cleanest Line. Enjoy!
Tell the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) they must halt their Balkan hydropower investments before the these river jewels are irreversibly destroyed. SIGN THIS PETITION!
The outdoor outfitter Patagonia is not only supporting our anti-dam campaign, but is also helping to demystify hydro as green and renewable source of energy in general. For this purpose, they have just launched the new website "The dam truth".
+++ Multilateral development banks have supported no fewer than 82 hydropower projects across southeast Europe, including in protected areas, according to a study by CEE Bankwatch Network released today +++
Hydropower is not green, it is not even carbon neutral, as Washington State University researchers now confirm. “In their paper to be published next week in BioScience, the researchers reported that reservoirs of all sorts are important sources of the potent greenhouse-gas methane. The gas is produced by decomposing organic material underwater,” so the Seattle Times report...
On the occasion of the World Rivers Day, the ZDF will air a documentary about the Balkan Rivers and the dam craze that puts them at risk on Sunday, September 25 at 16:30. This episode of the ZDF “planet e” series will depict the beauty of these rivers as well as the opposition against the imminent river regulations and damming.
Hydropower is a phase-out model. Wind and solar – environmentally, socially as well as economically much sounder – are the energy sources of the present and future. Why is then, that the World Bank seems to ignore the global shift in the renewable energy sector and instead continues to advocate for multi-billion dollar dam projects...
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.