Bosnia and Herzegovina must assess the potential environmental impact of the “Buk Bijela” Hydroelectric Power Plant project, which is planned on the Drina River in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the high natural values of Durmitor and the Tara River, according to the decision of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
BiH, Montenegro and Serbia were asked to maintain the continuity of the river ecosystem and the undisturbed flow of the river.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia must also ensure an assessment of potential impacts through the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, in cooperation with Montenegro.” , it was stated in the decision of UNESCO.
The National Park “Durmitor” is on the UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage list, while the Tara Canyon has been declared a world ecological reserve.
According to Montenegro, the construction of HPP “Buk Bijela” in Foča would damage these areas
Associations for environmental protection from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro have been pointing out the negative consequences of the construction of this hydroelectric power plant for years.
Because of this project, a number of appeals were submitted to international bodies, and the appeal procedure was conducted before the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Prime Minister of the RS Radovan Višković and the Prime Minister of Serbia signed a joint statement on the implementation of the “Upper Drina” hydropower system project in 2020.
The project envisages the construction of three hydropower plants – “Buk Bijela”, “Foča” and “Paunci”.
According to that project, the majority of ownership belongs to Serbia (51 percent), and 49 percent belongs to the RS. The construction of these three hydropower plants will be financed by Elektroprivreda Srbije and Elektroprivreda RS.
The authorities of the RS implement hydroelectric power plant construction projects in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Inland Navigation of the RS, by which all rivers in the smaller BiH. declared to the entity as “internal waters of the RS”.
In February 2020, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared that legal solution unconstitutional, but representatives of the RS believe that the field of energy is within the jurisdiction of the entity and claim that by signing the agreement with Serbia, they are not violating the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This is explained by the fact that the location for the construction of these hydroelectric power plants is on the upper reaches of the Drina River, which is not the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, but is located on the territory of RS.
Source: akta.ba
