The declaration “Dam Free Municilaities” was signed by Draško Stanivuković, the mayor of Banjaluka today, after a meeting with the representatives of Center for Environment, which is a member of the Coalition for the Protection of Rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, committing himself that the city of Banjaluka will not issue any concession, permit or recommendation for construction of dams or hydropower plants on the territory of Banjaluka without consultation with citizens.
With this signature, the city government expressed a clear political will to put itself at the service of protecting current and future generations and their rights to water and a quality environment.
“Signing of this declaration is a confirmation of the strategic commitment of the City of Banja Luka to preserve its nature and its natural resources, and above all to preserve Vrbas as a symbol of our city. Every construction of a dam disrupts the natural flow of the river, which can destroy the flora and fauna, therefore it is our duty to show responsibility and in this way protect what we have, especially in the era of general irresponsible treatment of nature”, said Stanivuković.
Jelena Ivanić from Center for Environment reminded that the City of Banjaluka had already declared twice in the previous period that it was against the construction of planned large hydropower plants on the Vrbas River.
“By signing this Declaration, Banjaluka has once again shown its determination to protect its rivers from harmful projects, in this case from the construction of small hydropower plants. According to the Spatial Plan of Republic of Srpska, Vrbasa canyon and gorge are planned to be a protected area and the Center for the Environment plans to launch an initiative for this type of formal protection, and I hope that we will again receive the support of the city in the implementation of these plans. By declaring a protected area, we would permanently protect this river”.
Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have seen through previous examples and research that small hydropower plants (SHPPs) have a negative impact on the environment, i.e. they cause damage to nature, the economy and local communities, and that the benefits arising from their construction are little or none for the state and society. .
The total number of small hydropower plants in operation in B&H is 120, RS (51) and FBiH (69), while the total number of small hydropower plants planned or under construction in B&H is 353, RS (146) and FBiH (207).
Earlier, in the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament and the RS National Assembly, by adopting the Declaration for the Protection of B&H Rivers, the deputies confirmed what the environmental activist community has been warning about for decades: Small hydropower plants are harmful projects and their implementation must be stopped.
A step towards stopping these projects was also made by the new Law on Renewable Energy Sources of the RS, which no longer provides incentives for hydropower plants with a capacity of more than 150 kW, and which was adopted in February this year.
At the beginning of August this year in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Law on Amendments to the Law on Electricity in FBiH entered into force, which suspends the issuance of energy permits for SHPPs up to and including 10 MW, without which these facilities cannot legally be built.
Both laws are certainly the result of the previous efforts and struggle of environmental activists, experts and local communities who have felt the damage from these hydropower projects through their own experiences.
With the city of Banjaluka, a total of 12 municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina signed the Declaration “Municipalities without dams” and supported this initiative of the Coalition for the Protection of the Rivers of BiH, which is part of the activities jointly implemented by Arnika (Czech Republic), Coalition for the Protection of Rivers of BiH and Center for Environment with the support of the Program for the Promotion of Transition of the Czech Republic. It is based on the “Declaration for the Protection of the Rivers of the Western Balkans”, which was adopted in 2019 at an international conference held in Sarajevo. More information can be found on the website: