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Activists state Bosnian dam threatens river life and rafters

Environmental activist Lejla Kusturica stood on the banks of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Neretva river, questioning if it was the last time she would get to view teams of raft racers fighting through the rapids on its emeraldgreen waters.

Upstream, construction teams were working on a hydro-power dam and plant that the local Serb Republic federal government commissioned as part of a move far from nonrenewable fuel sources, however that activists stress will affect the river's circulation and community.

Economically, individuals live of rafting, however there is a. risk that Neretva will be totally altered, Kusturica, from. the Atelier for Neighborhood Change project group, said.

Shifts in the water level triggered by the dam would interfere with. wildlife and rafters - travelers and competitors in this month's. European Rafting Champion alike - she included.

Vegetation and the animal world - Adriatic brown trout,. sculpin, marble trout - all of them are threatened.

Power trader and operator Energy Financing Team (EFT) first. got the 120 million Bosnian marka ($ 65.8 million) concession to. established the 35 Megawatt plant in 2009, with China's Sinohydro. chosen to build it.

EFT informed it had actually taken actions to secure the. environment throughout the task, which was because of be. operational by the end of the year.

All required preventive steps to stop unfavorable impact. have been used at the Ulog dam building site, it said in. a statement.

During the preparation phase for the realisation of the. job, comprehensive research works have been conducted and all. specifics of the terrain taken into account when job. solutions were defined and works carried out.

The local government's ministry for construction and. ecology stated the site of the plant has currently been shifted once. in action to geological threats in the location susceptible to landslides.

It included there had actually been no grievances made in action to. environmental protection plans provided when the plant initially got. the consent.

The region's energy ministry, which cleared the task, did. not immediately react to ask for comment.

The statements have not reassured the activists, and lots of. individuals in the southern riverside town of Konjic who have actually developed. their lives and incomes around tourism.

Pippa Gallop of CEE Bankwatch, a network of environmental. and human rights groups in central and eastern Europe, stated the. dam would obstruct the upper Neretva flooding practically five. kilometres of this otherwise beautiful environment.

With tourist we preserve the nature and can live well off. it, Teufik Niksic, who arranges rafting tours in Konjic, said.

Packing the river with rafters and holiday-makers would. earn more millions than those who want to obstruct it and destroy. its purity, colour and the life of endemic species.

Bosnia - which gets 40% of its electrical power from hydro power. and the rest from coal-fired plants - is one of the few countries. in the region with adequate capacity to export power.

(source: Reuters)