The “Upper Horizons” project threatens to cause great environmental damage, which includes the disruption of sources that are part of the Neretva river basin to the mixing of salt water, experts warn.
The project “Upper Horizons” in Trebišnjica can be called historical not only because of the date it was started, which dates back to the 20th century, but also because of the changes it will bring if it is completed, he writes Clicks.
Those changes will forever change the ecosystem of a good part of Herzegovina. Officials persistently ignore the facts and repeat several sentences about the “grandiose benefit” of the project.
What is the “Upper Horizons” project?
“Upper horizons” is a hydropower megaproject of complex and large-scale operations in the Trebišnjica river basin, and the system consists of seven hydroelectric power plants, six reservoirs and canals and tunnels which collect water from the catchment area of the Trebišnjica River for energy purposes.
The implementation of the project began in the former Yugoslaviaand in 1956and by the beginning of the war, the first phase, which was called “Lower Horizons”. Then hydroelectric power plants were built Trebinje I, Trebinje II, PHE (pumped hydropower plant) Čapljina and hydropower plant Plat. The first two hydropower plants are now part of Elektroprivreda Republika Srpska, HE Čapljina is part of Elektroprivreda HZ Herceg Bosne in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and HE Plat is part of Hrvatske Elektroprivreda.
After the construction of those hydroelectric plants, they also planned the “Upper Horizons” project, but everything stopped. However, the idea reawakened about 20 years ago in today’s government systems.
What is the megaproject for?
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First, such benefits of the project as irrigation of certain areas, water supply and strengthening of tourism were presented. Now there is no talk of tourism, nor of irrigation in Eastern Herzegovina. Today, it is reduced exclusively to the production of electricity. More precisely, electricity, which in Bosnia and Herzegovina is about 30 to 40 percent more than the needs of the population.
Environmental hazards
Vladimir Topić from the citizens’ association “Center for the Environment” explained the dangers this project poses for the ecosystem of the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“What is problematic is that data that is 50 years old is used. In the 1970s, some tests were carried out on how to realize that project, and today that data is used for the realization of that project. After restarting, the project broke the deadlines several times, that it should have been finished, but it still hasn’t. Work is still being done on it, especially on the construction of the Dabar hydroelectric power plant and the large tunnel from Nevesinjsko to Dabarsko polje. The project is expensive, it costs us a lot, investments are borrowed, public institutions of the Republika Srpska charge that it be realized”, said Topić for Kliks.
The price of the project changed several times, and according to the latest information, it was planned to allocate only one hydroelectric power plant “Dabar” 382 million KM. This price was discussed in 2016, and in 2020, the price suddenly increased by more than 100 million to 488 million KM.
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Topić emphasizes that the authorities do not look at that side of the ecological impact, that is, the impact on the environment.
“The water of the Zalomka river, which is a sinkhole and whose water appears at the sources of the Buna river in Blagaj, the Bunica and Bregava rivers, should be diverted, and in essence, separating the water from the river would practically damage the sources of these rivers as well. These are all rivers that are part of the Neretva basin. And by reducing the amount of water at the sources of these rivers, an entire wetland area such as Hutovo Blato, which is already drying up, would be damaged. The third key thing is that the level of the Neretva River itself would drop and the Republic of Croatia, the southwestern parts of Herzegovina up to Čapljina where we would have inflow of salt water that will change an entire ecosystem“, he said.
Salt water is already a problem today, and those who are engaged in agriculture or the cultivation of some fruit crops know this best. This project will only make those environmental problems much bigger.
“The project is currently being implemented, some parts, such as a pair of tunnels, were built back in the former Yugoslavia. Today, work is being done on the construction of the tunnel from Nevesinjsko polje, and the project is currently under construction. Usually, in election campaigns, it was promised that the project would soon be completed, that it is a capital investment of public importance that will bring profit and development of certain local communities”, Topic said.
However, this has not yet happened, but, according to many experts, the construction of three power plants will inevitably happen.
How to prevent the destruction of nature?
“There is a possibility that this could be prevented if everyone thought rationally, especially representatives of our institutions or institutes and environmental agencies or agencies for the catchment area of the Adriatic basin, that is for the catchment area of the Neretva river. If they got involved, the project could be stopped and the long-term damage that would occur could be prevented,” Topic said, breakinglatest.news reports.
