A campaign against the construction of small hydropower plants (SHPP) in the Balkans was launched by The World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The WWF states that, although they produce energy from renewable sources, small hydropower plants are harmful to the environment because they pollute and drain rivers. In addition, SHPPs are not even efficient – although in 2018 they were awarded 70 % of state subsidies in the Balkan countries, they generated only 3.6 % of total electricity.
WWF points out that with the construction of small hydropower plants, everyone is at a loss, and in many ways: river drainage causes damage to national parks, endemic fish species, fertile soil, jobs and much more.
They remind the public that the main motive for the construction of small hydropower plants on the rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the extremely harmful system of incentives for the production of electricity from renewable sources. Due to this system, the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have paid millions of euros in subsidies to private investors, while losing incredible natural values and resources.
To raise awareness of all these losses, WWF has launched a campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region to suspend state incentives for small hydropower plants, as without them most of the 2,700 small hydropower projects in the Balkans would be unprofitable and then cancelled.
