site.btaEnvironmental Protests in Croatia Stop Construction of Hydroelectric Power Plant

Citizens and environmental activists protested for about a month with signs that read "Let the Una flow freely", "Save the Una" and "Stop the excavators" against the construction of a hydropower plant near the source of the river Una in Croatia. On Monday, HINA reported that Croatia's environmental protection division under the State Inspectorate has initiated an administrative procedure against the investor in the 160 kW "Una-Mlin" hydropower plant on the river, prohibiting it from continuing construction works.

The Inspectorate's announcement specifies that the construction of the hydropower plant was being carried out in the absence of an Environmental Impact Assessment.

From Croatia the river flows into Bosnia. It is not just economically important, but also symbolically significant for both countries, to which it also serves as a natural border. In Croatia, the river is part of the Natura 2000 network, an EU initiative to protect habitats and species of great importance for Europe.

The State Inspectorate reported on Monday that activities carried out so far at the hydropower plant have had a detrimental impact on nature, and that further negative effects on the protection and integrity of the ecological network and on biodiversity in general cannot be ruled out.

The threat over the Una River united Croats and Bosnians, who worried that the new facility will irrevocably destroy the unique waterway, which home to various animals and plants. The protestors were joined by musicians Darko Rundek and Mile Kekin who also showed support for the cause.

Bosnian biologist Dunja Delic told CNN International's local broadcast partner N1: "From a professional standpoint this area has a variety of fish, crabs and sediment rock barriers. The spring itself must not be affected by such a project within a 100-metre radius."

Vladimir Topic of the Center for Environment in Banja Luka told Deutsche Welle that the Zadar County Territorial Plan envisages several small hydropower plants in the area of the Una and Krk rivers in Croatia with a source near Bosnia. He added: "The start of construction of this hydroelectric power plant on the Una could pave the way for everything else."

Head of the Una Association Tanja Rastovic told Dnevnik.hr: "We are pleased, but we wish it had all happened earlier, so that the damage would have been as little as possible, and construction would not have started at all."