Summit participants signed a Declaration on the Conservation of the Rivers in Europe and with such a document, asked the European institutions to cease promoting and financing hydroelectric power plant projects as sustainable energy sources.
The requirements stated in the text of the Declaration are intended to help the successful implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive so that by 2027, the European Rivers could restore good environmental status. That is why with the participants of the Summit, the European Commission (EC) and the European Parliament (EP) have forbidden the subsidies for hydro-energy projects.
The subsidies that Montenegrin citizens pay for the energy from renewable sources amount to more than half of the total revenues of the SME owners, data recently announced by the Network for Affirmation of the Non-Governmental Sector (MANS).
The signatories of the declaration in Sarajevo from the European Bank for the Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) demanded that all planned hydro-energy projects should be financed by the funds of commercial, intermediary banks. They also sought independent environmental impact assessments, with active participation in decision-making by all interested parties. In order to protect the nature, they asked EBRD and EIB to support alternative technologies for renewable energy production. Seeking them to keep the last free rivers of Europe and rebuild those of special significance whose riverbeds have already been devastated, the signatories of the Declaration have sent the document to the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Energy Community, the EBRD and the EIB and the heads of state of all countries in Europe.
In the explanation of the request, among other things, they state that river ecosystems are biodiversity centers of global importance and, at the same time, are among the most endangered habitats in the world.
"Rivers are today's most endangered habitat on Earth - due to their devastation, 81 percent of the global population of freshwater wildlife has been lost, more than when other ecosystems are concerned. The European Rivers are no exception. According to the European Environment Agency's data, almost two-thirds of the European rivers are in poor ecological condition, and one of the major threats is the usage of their potential for energy production. The further use of this obsolete technology is the risk for the last free rivers in the entire continent," the River Summit participants said.
From official Europe, they sought, among other things, the training of judges and other legal staff involved in disputes concerning river exploitation. They also demanded a European system for permanent protection, especially for rivers of particular importance and free flowing rivers. Funding was also sought and an investment of at least one billion euros per year for protection and reconstruction, as well as the management and preservation of rivers under protection. The Fund would, among other things, promote the removal of dams and other barriers on rivers, especially those whose permits have expired or are environmentally harmful. The EBRD and the EIB demanded the establishment of environmentally sensitive and protected areas, i.e. zones where the construction of HE would be prohibited. In the EU, 25,000 hydropower plants have been registered, and this number does not include small hydropower plants.
Fortunately, there is a region in Europe where there are still free rivers - the Balkans. But these last jewels are also under pressure, as about 2,800 hydroelectric power plants are planned in the Balkans, the summit participants said.
Event organizers announced that after the first summit in Sarajevo, the European River Summit will be organized every two years. The next will be held in Portugal in 2020. Representatives from more than 30 countries participated in the summit in Sarajevo.
The event, within the framework of the alliance of several European NGOs, was organized by Riverwatch from Austria and the Center for Environment from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
From 2014 to 2017, Montenegrin companies which build HE have paid to the state 12 times less for concessions in relation to the subsidies paid by consumers. Total income of small HE owners was more than nine million euros, of which 4.7 million are citizen's subsidies. The costs that the company paid to the state for concessions amounted to only 430,000 euros. MANS states that by 2020, the fee paid by citizens for electricity produced in the ME could reach almost EUR 27 million.
Text by Damira Kalac, on October 4th, 2018, read more at Vijesti
