Serbia’s struggle for rivers — and survival
Citizens say hydropower battle is just getting started.
|20.09.2018
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Activists in the Western Balkans say that their rivers are increasingly being channelled through pipes, with more than 800 hydropower plants planned in Serbia alone. Photo: Jovana Georgievski.
"A mistake was made when small hydropower plants were permitted to be built in protected areas.”
"There are about 200 projects planned or already under construction solely in protected areas.”
Ulrich Eichelmann, Riverwatch
Activists have been opposing construction on the River Lim since 2012, but say they have been hampered by irregularities in official processes. Photo: Saša Bjelić.
“I don’t know what should be done to change something. The one who accuses you is the one who adjudicates you.”
Saša Bjelić, activist“We’re on the lookout, because we never know when the next hydropower plant might crop up.”
Saša Bjelić, activist“Young people tend to leave this place. The rest may not be enchanted by what is being built, but they were mainly only silent observers.”
Jelena Drmanac, activist
Construction vehicles have been a regular sight for citizens living around the Stara Planina Nature Park, as they attempt to prevent the loss of their rivers. Photo: Jovana Georgievski.
Despite opposition from citizens, environmental groups and the words of authorities, hydropower construction continues in the Stara Planina Nature Park. Photo: Jovana Georgievski.
Jovana Georgievski
Jovana Georgievski is a Belgrade-based journalist at Vreme Weekly. Her areas of interest are migration, and Balkan narratives and their reflection on culture and everyday life. She is a Belgrade Open School alumna and speaks Russian and English.
This story was originally written in Serbian.
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