Public Project
Rivers Unite, Dams Divide
Bosnia & Herzegovina is remembered for its civil war, which cost the lives of over 100,000 people in the early 1990s. While tensions between Bosnia’s ethnic groups have flared over the centuries, there have also been many things they shared, and that united them. One of these is rivers, which have long been vital to trade, agriculture, cultural heritage and everyday life for many people.
Today, Bosnia is home to some of the last pristine rivers in Europe, hosting massive amounts of biodiversity, much of which has never been properly documented. Recent expeditions on a small stretch of the Neretva River alone resulted in 2100 species being identified, including the critically endangered Soft Mouth Trout and Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat. As countries in the Balkans move towards greener forms of energy production, a boom in hydropower development is taking place, with over 3000 dams planned across the region, with little regard for the negative environmental or social consequences.
Many rivers in Bosnia are slated to be carved up by these dams, the majority of which are small hydropower projects, producing under 10 megawatts of electricity while diverting large stretches of rivers into pipes. Over 100 small hydropower plants are operating on rivers around Bosnia, but account for only 2.5% of the country’s energy production.
As Bosnia approaches 30 years since the end of the war, and divisions continue to run deep, a grassroots environmental movement has been growing across the country. Taking inspiration from the partisan fighters that helped liberate Yugoslavia during WWII, communities are staging protests, blocking roads, and taking legal action to stop the onslaught of threats to their rivers. This activism is bringing communities together across ethnic lines, in a way unseen since before the war, and providing hope to many, that rivers will once again unite the people of Bosnia & Herzegovina.
This project was funded by the National Geographic Society.
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