Post extract from the web site of Riverwatch

++ 80,000 kilometers of rivers in the Balkans scientifically assessed ++ 76 percent thereof identified as no-go zones for hydropower development ++ Switch in energy policy is necessary and possible ++

Vienna, Radolfzell, November 27, 2018 – Three quarters of the rivers in the Balkans are ecologically so valuable, that they should be completely off limits for hydropower development. This is the conclusion of the Eco-Masterplan, which was published today by the NGOs Riverwatch and EuroNatur within the context of the “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” campaign. The Eco-Master Plan is a kind of spatial plan for the watercourses between Slovenia and Greece, indicating No-go zones for new hydropower plants. For this purpose, a river network of over 80,000 kilometers in length was scientifically assessed. The result: about 61,000 kilometers of river (76 percent) are of high ecological quality and therefore designated as No-go zones for hydropower expansion (click here for visual story-map). “We call upon investors and decision-makers in the Balkans and in the EU to refrain from approving hydropower plants in these No-go areas in the future. The protection of Balkan Rivers is a pan-European task and the Eco-Masterplan is a tool for all those in charge in order to preserve this treasure,”… read the complet Pressrelease and download the report