Private investor's dam project on Una River triggers global outcry
5:19 PM EDT, August 8, 2024
A private investor has started building a dam on the protected Una River in Croatia, sparking protests that have reached an international scale.
On August 5, a Croatian private investor began constructing a hydroelectric power plant on the Una River. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has listed the upper course of this river in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a World Heritage site. The country has declared it a national park. Meanwhile, the area in the Gračac municipality in Croatia is part of the European Union's Natura 2000 network of protected areas. Activists from both countries are protesting against the construction of the power plant.
Protests against the construction of the dam on the protected Una River
The local community is also protesting against the construction. According to Tanja Rastović, head of the Una association from the nearby town of Srb, the investor, Pipra, caused a water supply interruption during the heatwave. In a statement to the Novosti portal, she said that the water became silted due to the works, making it unsafe to drink. The group is collecting signatures for a petition to halt the project.
Una is a unique river not only in the Balkans but globally. Its source is one of the deepest karst sources on Earth, where water flows from channels in the rocky substrate. Flowing from Croatia to Bosnia and serving as a natural border, it holds significant cultural importance and represents the shared heritage of both countries. The river is also home to 17 endangered species. Environmental experts say the construction work risks causing severe ecological damage to the protected waterway's entire course.
Appeals to Croatian authorities to prevent the river's destruction
According to the environmental organization Zelena Akcija, the Croatian company Pipra does not have the required permissions, such as an ecological network area intervention assessment or even a valid construction permit, which was supposed to expire in 2022. The ongoing protests aim to pressure Croatian authorities to suspend construction while the documents are reviewed. Protesters are also calling on Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to intervene.
The outdoor brand Patagonia has launched an international petition to the Prime Minister of Croatia. In the appeal for signatures, it wrote, among other things: "Besides the direct threats posed by this construction, it creates a dangerous precedent, undermining regulations on environmental protection and preserving our natural heritage." Patagonia urges: "Let's stop this crime against nature."
