By the ruling of the Banja Luka District Court on April 9, 2025, the renewed environmental permit for the small hydroelectric plant “Sutjeska 2B” on the Sutjeska River was annulled, following a lawsuit filed by the Center for Environment. The lawsuit was initiated due to a series of irregularities during the process of renewing the permit, which was overseen by the Ministry of Spatial Planning, Construction, and Ecology of the Republic of Srpska.
The court found grounds for annulment in the lack of procedural actions that would establish the change of ownership of the hydroelectric plant, since the owner and the authorized representative were changed several times during the validity of the environmental permit. The court deemed that the current owner, HIDROENERGY d.o.o. Laktaši, should have followed the proper procedure of notifying the Ministry about the ownership change — which was not done correctly or legally during the process.
Pilipović: The Ministry handles cases based on unfounded facts
“This ruling is one of many the Center for Environment has won, and it serves as yet another proof that the responsible Ministry resolves cases based on incorrect and incomplete facts, which often results in such decisions being overturned by the courts. We call on the competent ministry to, when deciding on Environmental Impact Assessments and permits, take into account all relevant facts and circumstances that could lead to a different, more appropriate decision,” emphasized Ratko Pilipović, legal advisor at the Center for Environment.
Center for Environment has been campaigning for years to protect Sutjeska National Park and stop the construction of planned small hydroelectric plants within the park. After years of legal battles, field research, and proving the area’s ecological value — in cooperation with citizens and researchers — the construction of the five initially planned hydroelectric plants within the park was halted.
However, that was not the end of the struggle, as plans for other energy projects soon followed on the boundaries of the national park.
Regarding the small hydroelectric plant “Sutjeska 2B,” the first legal victory for the Center came when the Banja Luka District Court annulled the public interest status for its construction — a status granted by the Government of RS in 2019.
Currently, three small hydroelectric plants are being built on the Sutjeska River and its tributary Jabušnica, and construction of two more is planned — one of which is the now legally challenged Sutjeska 2B, for which the environmental permit was revoked and the public interest decision annulled. These five plants are located very close to the national park, and some are right on its border — such as the ones on the Jabušnica River, whose course separates the protected national park area from the non-protected zone.
Topić: Sutjeska is under threat of devastation and destruction
Vladimir Topić, energy and climate change program coordinator at the Center for Environment, stated that the upper course of the Sutjeska River and the Jabušnica stream are currently being heavily devastated.
“Sutjeska, one of the last untouched first-class rivers, is currently facing tremendous pressure through destruction and degradation,” Topić said.
Sutjeska National Park is the oldest and largest national park in the Republic of Srpska and is home to one of the last remaining primeval forests in Europe. It is the most significant and oldest national park in the region, where the canyons of the Sutjeska and Hrčavka rivers, along with the Perućica rainforest, provide habitats for many endangered and endemic species, including species of European and international importance.