{"id":10281,"date":"2023-10-19T13:49:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T13:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/19\/scientists-are-fighting-to-save-the-blue-heart-of-europe\/"},"modified":"2023-10-19T13:49:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T13:49:26","slug":"scientists-are-fighting-to-save-the-blue-heart-of-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/2023\/10\/19\/scientists-are-fighting-to-save-the-blue-heart-of-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists are fighting to save the \u2018blue heart\u2019 of Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      The Neretva River carves its way through Bosnia and Herzegovina\u2019s impenetrable forest. A mesmerizing blue-green, it runs\u00a0140 miles\u00a0(225 kilometers)<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>from deep within the Dinaric Alps to the Adriatic Sea \u2013 at some points disappearing into subterranean channels before re-emerging in bubbling springs.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      One of the coldest rivers in the world, it is home to unique ecosystems and myriad\u00a0rare species, from marble<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>trout and yellow-bellied toads to the elusive olm \u2013 blind salamanders that live in the river\u2019s network of caves.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      But this could change. The river, like many worldwide, is threatened by dams. According to the Center for Environment, a Bosnian conservation organization, more than 50 hydropower projects are proposed along its length and its tributaries, with almost half of these planned for the upper reaches, which have so far remained wild and unobstructed.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      These dams could harm not only the river and its inhabitants but the wider environment that depends on this unique waterway.  <\/p>\n<div class=\"gallery-inline gallery--hidden\">\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__main\">\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__container\">\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__slides\">                                                                                                                                                        <\/div>\n<p>        <button class=\"gallery-inline__prev-overlay\"><\/button>        <button class=\"gallery-inline__next-overlay\"><\/button>      <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h5 class=\"gallery-inline__headline\">A rush to build dams along this Balkan river could threaten wildlife<\/h5>\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__counter\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gallery-inline__controls\">        <button class=\"gallery-inline__prev\">          Prev                  <\/button>        <button class=\"gallery-inline__next\">          Next                  <\/button>      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      At Ulog, a village on the Neretva, you can see the potential destruction firsthand. A\u00a035 megawatt hydropower plant with a 53-meter high dam\u00a0is in the advanced stages of construction: felled trees line the river bank, making way for what will become a reservoir, and access roads for logging trucks and construction vehicles cut like scars through the forested landscape.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      It\u2019s here, just upstream of the construction site, that more than 60 scientists from 17 countries converged in June for \u201cNeretva Science Week.\u201d Most had traveled there as self-funded volunteers, united in a common purpose: to save the Neretva.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      \u201cThey want to help us save this remarkable river,\u201d says Ulrich Eichelmann, CEO of\u00a0Riverwatch\u00a0and coordinator of the\u00a0Save the Blue Heart of Europe\u00a0campaign to protect Balkan rivers. \u201cIt\u2019s probably one of the most biodiverse and valuable rivers in Europe, and at the same time, it\u2019s the most threatened.\u201d  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subheader\">    Dammed up<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Europe has the most obstructed river landscape in the world, with more than one million barriers, from dams and weirs to ramps, fords and culverts, according to an\u00a0EU research project. This has taken its toll on wildlife, with\u00a0one in three freshwater fish\u00a0species threatened with extinction.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      But the Neretva has managed to remain relatively unscathed, fostering a healthy ecosystem including what scientists believe<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>could be one of the last spawning areas of the endangered soft-mouthed trout.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"pull-quote__text\">        It\u2019s probably one of the most biodiverse and valuable rivers in Europe, and at the same time, it\u2019s the most threatened.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"pull-quote__attribution\">            Ulrich Eichelmann, CEO of Riverwatch        <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      It is this brown, unremarkable-looking fish that brought Kurt Pinter, a freshwater ecologist, all the way from Vienna, Austria in his retro orange campervan to study the river. Using techniques such as electro-fishing \u2013 a process that creates an electric field in the water to attract fish towards a net \u2013 and environmental DNA samples, he hopes to find evidence of the species living and breeding in the upper Neretva and its tributaries, providing ammunition against the proposed hydropower projects.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Dams, weirs, and all shapes and sizes of hydropower projects can endanger fish species because they block or hamper migration, he explains. In a natural river system, fish usually spawn in upstream areas and feed and mate downstream.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      \u201cThis open system is really important for the fish to migrate into areas where they have very high reproductive success,\u201d he says. The proposed dams along the course of the Neretva would disrupt the soft-mouthed trout\u2019s breeding cycle and, he fears, push the already-endangered species to extinction.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      While the loss of a single species is devastating, the impact does not stop there. \u201cIf you take the fish out of this river, then the surrounding environment, the surrounding terrestrial species will be affected,\u201d says Pinter.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      At Neretva Science Week, it\u2019s not just fish experts who are concerned. There are specialists studying bats, fungi, butterflies and bears, among others. All believe that hydropower projects could have dire consequences for their chosen species group.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      \u201cIt\u2019s all connected,\u201d says Eichelmann, explaining that silt from construction builds up on the riverbed, killing small creatures such as mussels that filter and clean the water. As the water becomes dirtier, plants and animals in the river and along its banks<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>are affected. And the nature of the river means that the pollution cannot be contained: \u201cWhat you do to a little river, you do to the bigger one, and in the end to the ocean.\u201d  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subheader\">    Hydropower hotspot<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      There is, however, a delicate balancing act between these environmental challenges and the growing demand for renewable energy. In Bosnia, hydropower is a key source of electricity \u2013 responsible for\u00a037% of the country\u2019s total electricity production in 2021. As the country, and the world, transitions from fossil fuels, hydropower could offer a cleaner source of energy.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      The Balkans is seen as an untapped resource, full of rivers that \u2013 unlike the rest of Europe \u2013 have not yet been developed. Initiatives,\u00a0some funded by the EU,\u00a0which aims to be\u00a0climate-neutral by 2050, are driving hydropower development across the region. As of 2022, more than\u00a03,300 plants were either planned or under construction\u00a0in the Balkans, in addition to the 1,700 plants already operational.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Radomir Sladoje, mayor of Kalinovik (the local municipality), echoed this when speaking on the first day of Neretva Science Week. Addressing scientists, he acknowledged that many of them might be angry that the local authority had approved the Ulog dam, but he pleaded: \u201cWe are a small community which needed a financial boost.\u201d  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Related: Environmental hero\u2019s mission to save the most over-fished sea in the world  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      The Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign says its goal is not to ban hydropower altogether, but to ensure it follows a strict planning approach that prioritises nature conservation. It would also like no-go\u00a0zones\u00a0implemented in areas of key biodiversity.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      \u201cThere is a purpose for hydropower,\u201d says Eichelmann. \u201cBut like in medicine, while small doses might be correct and healthy, if you take too much of it, it\u2019s deadly.\u201d  <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"subheader\">    Wild rivers<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Preserving a free-flowing river can also bring economic wins through the development of tourism activities such as rafting, angling and trekking.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Earlier this year, in southern Albania, this argument was successfully won in the case of the Vjosa River, which was declared the world\u2019s first wild river national park. The move granted protection of more than 248 miles (400 kilometers) of rivers and streams, covering the full length of the river and all its major tributaries. Through responsible tourism,\u00a0Albania\u2019s government says\u00a0that it will benefit local communities and help address depopulation in the area.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      The Vjosa has brought hope for campaigners. \u201c(It) proved that you can win these cases against the government, and this created a little flush of waves across the Balkans,\u201d says Eichelmann.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Related: Underwater photos showcase one of the world\u2019s most-threatened ecosystems  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Already dammed in parts, the Neretva would not qualify as a wild river national park, but preserving intact stretches is still valuable. Although it may be too late to stop the Ulog dam, which is due to commence commercial operations in 2024, there are signs that the campaign could prevent hydropower projects planned for the pristine waters upstream.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      Recently, contracts for\u00a015 small hydroelectric power plants\u00a0planned for the Neretvica, a tributary to the Neretva, were terminated, and in 2022, the campaign gained\u00a0the support of the Bern Convention, an international agreement to protect European fauna and flora.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      For now, the current is running with them, but Eichelmann hopes this force can be sustained across the entire Balkans.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph inline-placeholder\">      \u201cWe call it the \u2018blue heart\u2019 because it is the last area where we have this jewel. It\u2019s like a gift to Europe, to the Earth, that these rivers survived the decades of destruction,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have one chance to keep this blue heart beating.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n<div>This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Neretva River carves its way through Bosnia and Herzegovina\u2019s impenetrable forest. A mesmerizing blue-green, it runs\u00a0140 miles\u00a0(225 kilometers)\u00a0from deep within the Dinaric Alps to the Adriatic Sea \u2013 at some points disappearing into subterranean channels before re-emerging in bubbling springs. One of the coldest rivers in the world, it is home to unique ecosystems <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":10282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10281","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10281\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareperformanceinsight.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}