The World Bank withdrew its funding for one of the two big hydropower projects inside Mavrovo National Park in Macedonia. This is another important win for the protection of Balkan rivers from the destruction by the hydro lobby.
About 2700 new dams are currently projected between Slovenia and Albania and major international banks are the leading investors of this Balkan dam craze. According to a recent Bankwatch study, the World Bank, EBRD and European Investment Bank (EIB) are currently financing hydropower projects with a total of €818 million, many of them in protected areas such as national parks and Nature 2000 sites.
Mavrovo National Park is a European hotspot for biodiversity and the last known area, in which the critically endangered Balkan Lynx is still reproducing. The construction of hydropower projects and accompanying infrastructure (roads, power lines, pipelines etc.) is putting one of the species’ last remaining habitats at risk.
On December 4, 2015, the Bern Convention called upon the Macedonian government to stop all construction projects inside the national park and conduct an extensive environmental impact assessment. The recommendations are also directed at the international financiers of the hydropower projects, particularly at the EBRD.
For more information see: balkanrivers.net
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