The Balkan Rivers: Save the Blue Heart of Europe

Pristine streams and rivers, untouched nature and thriving biodiversity: there are not many regions left in Europe like the "Blue Heart" in the Balkans. Did you know that the Vjosa river in Albania is the last wild river in the continent?

A total of 3,431 hydropower plants are now projected to be built along these rivers, some of which are located within national parks and other protected areas. These plants and their dams are destroying ecosystems, causing irreversible damage to wildlife and people alike.

For years now, the NGOs EuroNatur and Riverwatch have been successfully campaigning for the protection of the Balkan rivers. With their Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign their mission is clear: damming must be regulated and the valuable ecosystems must be protected.

Their main goals are:

• to  raise public awareness about Balkan Rivers, their ecological values and vulnerability
• to stop dam projects in the 4 key areas
• to coordinate the development of a masterplan with no-go areas for dam construction for all Balkan rivers
• to improve knowledge about the biodiversity of those rivers playing a crucial role in terms of biological connectivity and endemism in the region.

- from the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign page

We are proud to announce that we are now involved in this campaign. Ulrich Eichelmann from Riverwatch will use our river basin maps in his presentations around the world. We are also collaborating on various visualisations for specific river basins to help achieve their goals for the Neretva River. Following their success with the Vjosa river, we are feeling optimistic!

This photo was taken at the Freedom for the Rivers press conference, where Ulrich Eichelmann handed out our maps as thank-you gifts to the musician Darko Rundek and his band, Partibrejkers. Photo credit: Vedran Ševčuk.