Polekol podneo žalbu Bernskoj konvenciji zbog planirane izgradnje MHE na Studenici
*English below
Organizacija za političku ekologiju Polekol uputila je žalbu Bernskoj konvenciji, upozoravajući da će izgradnjom male hidroelektrane Gradina na reci Studenici biti ugrožena zaštićena staništa i vrste od međunarodnog značaja. Studenica je krvotok Parka prirode Golija i Rezervata biosfere Golija-Studenica, koji od 2001. godine uživa zaštitu Uneska i kandidat je za Emerald područje Golija, što dovoljno govori o njenim prirodim vrednostima i potrebi za očuvanjem, poručuju iz Polekola.
Investitor Hidro-Min iz Čačka planira da izgradi protočnu hidroelektranu „Studenica S4-Gradina“ kapaciteta 2.160 megavata (MW) na donjem toku Studenice, na teritoriji Grada Kraljeva. To podrazumeva podizanje brane visoke 30 metara i sa širinom krune od 100 metara između naselja Ušće i manastira Studenica, te stvaranje akumulacionog jezera dužine oko 1,4 kilometara i površine oko 7,5 hektara na istočnoj granici zaštićenog područja.
Brana smrtna presuda za Studenicu
Ukoliko dođe do realizacije ovog projekta, upozoravaju iz Polekola, pojedine zaštićene vrste i staništa nemaju gotovo nikakve šanse da opstanu, a biće bitno narušen i intergritet Parka prirode Golija.
„Kad se jednom stavi brana vrste koje su vezane za planinske reke apsolutno nestaju. Ribe koje naseljavaju brzotekuće reke zahtevaju velike količine kiseonika, koji se formiranjem akumulacije smanjuje, i to predstavlja kraj njihovih života. U Studenici od zaštićenih vrsta između ostalog žive potočna pastrmka, potočna mrena, peš, mali vretenar“, kaže biološkinja Andrijana Mićanović, stručna saradica Polekola u sastavljanju žalbe.
Izgradnjom planirane hidroelektrane na Studenici, kaže, takođe bi direktno bili ugroženi potočni rak i krestati mrmoljak koji je zaštićen na nacionalnom i evropskom nivou i spada u vodozemce koji su najugroženija kategorija na planeti. Područje kroz koje protiče Studenica nastanjuju i retke vrste leptira, medved, vuk, vidra…
Biološkinja ističe i značaj vegetacije koja naseljava isključivo obale planinskih reka – poput vrba, hrastova, jasenova – kojima je Srbija bogata, a u Evorpskoj uniji ih gotovo nema. „To stanište će potpuno nestati ukoliko dođe do izgradnje MHE jer ne trpi duboku vodu. To bi bio veliki udar na biodiverzitet, jer je zaštićeno stanište dom za mnoge vrste koje onda nestaju s njim“, kaže.
Naglašava da na biodiverzitet ne bi negativno uticala samo brana, već i ono što dolazi pre nje – krčenje šume, izgradnja pristupnih puteva, dalekovoda, obimni građevinski radovi – izgradnja optočnog tunela kroz liticu klisure, brane i mašinske zgrade.
„Uticaj MHE nije lokalizovan samo na mestu gde se ona pravi. U prirodi je sve povezano. Rekom cirkulišu hranjive materije, ribe se kreću da bi se mrestile, cirkuliše genetski materijal – brane sve to zaustavljaju. Reke su kao krvni sudovi čoveka i zamislite šta se desi kad se oni začepe trombovima – organizam dolazi u stanje kolapsa“, objašnjava.
Studenica među najvrednijim rekama Evrope
Studenica je jedan od ključnih atributa i vrednosti Parka prirode Golija i Rezervata biosfere Golija-Studenica, koji je pod zaštitom Uneska i kandidat je za Emerald područje Golija, što automatski ukazuje da je to područje izuzetno vredno i da takvo treba da ostane. Uništavanjem reke, upozorava, bio bi ugrožen integritet celog zaštićenog dobra.
„Studenica je vruća tačka biodiverziteta. Balkan ima staništa koja više nigde ne postoje. Naše reke su dom i sklonište za vrste koje u Evropskoj uniji odavno ne postoje. U Srbiji, Bosni i Crnoj Gori ostale su najočuvanije, najiskonskije reke. Imamo odgovornost da čuvamo biodiverzitet ne samo za nas, već za čovečanstvo“, podvlači Mićanović.
Srbija nema luksuz da se igra sa sudbinom svojih zaštićenih područja. Treba da teži ostvarivanju ciljeva koje je sama sebi zadala i onima na koje se obavezala međunarodnim sporazumima. To znači da bi sa sadašnjih oko 9 odsto, područja pod zaštitom trebalo da proširi na 30 odsto. Umesto toga, površine pod zaštitom smanjuje tako što ih devastira, poručuju iz Polekola.
Neophodna hitna reakcija Komiteta Bernske konvencije
Polekol je u slučaju MHE Gradina, zajedno sa brojnim građanima i udruženjima, nadležnim institucijama u Srbiji podneo brojne primedbe tokom procesa urbanističkog planiranja. Sa inicijativama Spasimo Studenicu i Sačuvajmo planinske reke Kraljeva Gradskoj upravi Kraljeva predao je inicijativu za moratorijum na izgradnju mini hidroelektrana na teritoriji grada i to u dva navrata 2021. i 2023. godine. Nadležni ove inicijative ignorišu. Republička reviziona komisija je na korak da da saglasnost na urbanistički projekat za ovu malu hidroelektranu, što praktično znači zeleno svetlo za investitora.
Pošto su u Srbiji praktično iscrpljena sva raspoloživa institucionalna sredstva za zaštitu Parka prirode Golija i Studenice Polekol je podneo žalbu Stalnom komitetu Bernske konvencije, koji bi trebalo hitno da reaguje.
“Tražimo od organa Bernske konvencije, IUCN-a i UNESCO-a da zatraže od Vlade Srbije da zaustavi projekat hidroelektrane na Studenici, osigura zaštitu ugroženih vrsta i staništa, te uključivanje celokupnog toka reke Studenice u Emerald mrežu. Polekol, takođe, traži terensku posetu nezavisnih stručnjaka koji bi ocenili situaciju i otvorili slučaj”, kaže Strahinja Macić iz Polekola.
Institutions in Serbia, for the private benefit of investor, are destroying its nature of international importance
Polekol submitted a complaint to the Bern Convention regarding the planned construction of a small hydropower plant on the Studenica River
The organisation for political ecology Polekol has submitted a complaint to the Bern Convention, warning that the construction of the small hydropower plant Studenica S4 Gradina on the Studenica River will threaten protected habitats and species of international importance. Studenica is the lifeline of the Golija Nature Park and the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve, which has been under UNESCO protection since 2001 and is a candidate for the Emerald area Golija, which speaks volumes about its natural values and the need for preservation, Polekol states.
The investor Hydro-Min from Čačak plans to build a hydropower plant „Studenica S4-Gradina“ with a capacity of 2,160 megawatts (MW) on the lower course of the Studenica, on the territory of the City of Kraljevo. This involves raising a dam 30 meters high with a crown width of 100 meters between the settlements of Ušće and the Studenica Monastery (12th c.), creating a reservoir approximately 1.4 kilometers long and covering about 7.5 hectares on the eastern boundary of the protected area.
The dam is a death sentence for the Studenica
If this project is realized, Polekol warns, certain protected species and habitats will have almost no chance of survival, and the integrity of the Golija Nature Park will be significantly compromised.
„When a dam is built, species that are tied to mountain rivers absolutely disappear. Fish that inhabit fast-flowing rivers require large amounts of oxygen, which decreases with the formation of a reservoir, marking the end of their lives. In the Studenica area, among the protected species, there are the brown trout, Danube barbel, European bullhead, ect.,“ says biologist Andrijana Mićanović, an expert associate at Polekol in preparing the Complaint.
The construction of the planned hydropower plant on the Studenica, she says, would also directly threaten the Eurasian crayfish and the crested newt, which are protected at both national and European levels and belong to the most endangered category of amphibians on the planet. The area through which the Studenica flows is also home to rare species of butterflies, bears, wolves, and otters…
The biologist emphasizes the importance of vegetation that exclusively inhabits the banks of mountain rivers – such as willows, oaks, and ash trees – of which Serbia is rich, while they are nearly absent in the European Union. „That habitat will completely disappear if the construction of the hydroelectric power plant occurs because it cannot tolerate deep water. This would be a significant blow to biodiversity, as the protected habitat is home to many species that would then disappear along with it,“ she says.
She emphasizes that biodiversity would not only be negatively impacted by the dam itself but also by what comes before it – deforestation, construction of access roads, power lines, extensive construction works – including the building of a tunnel through the canyon’s cliff, the dam, and machinery buildings.“
„The impact of hydropower plants is not localized only to the place where they are built. In nature, everything is interconnected. Nutrients circulate through rivers, fish move to spawn, genetic material circulates – dams halt all of that. Rivers are like the blood vessels of a human, and imagine what happens when they get clogged with clots – the organism goes into a state of collapse,“ he explains.
Studenica among the most valuable rivers in Europe
Studenica is one of the key attributes and values of the Golija Nature Park and the Golija-Studenica Biosphere Reserve, which is protected by UNESCO and is a candidate for the Emerald area of Golija, indicating that this area is exceptionally valuable and should remain so. He warns that by destroying the river, the integrity of the entire protected site would be threatened.
„Studenica is a hotspot of biodiversity. The Balkans have habitats that no longer exist anywhere else. Our rivers are home and refuge for species that have long been extinct in the European Union. The most preserved, pristine rivers remain in Serbia, Bosnia, and Montenegro. We have a responsibility to preserve biodiversity not just for ourselves but for humanity,“ emphasizes Mićanović.
Serbia does not have the luxury to play with the fate of its protected areas. It should strive to achieve the goals it has set for itself and those it has committed to in international agreements. This means that the area currently protected, about 9 percent, should be expanded to 30 percent. Instead, the areas under protection are being reduced by degrading them, as stated by Polekol.
Urgent reaction from the Bern Convention Committee necessary
Polekol, along with numerous citizens, experts and associations, submitted numerous objections to the relevant institutions in Serbia during the urban planning process regarding the SHPP Studenics S4 Gradina. With the initiatives „Save Studenica“ and „Preserve the Mountain Rivers of Kraljevo,“ Polekol submitted a proposal for a ban on the construction of smallhydropower plants in the city to the Kraljevo City Administration on two occasions in 2021 and 2023. The authorities ignore these initiatives. The Republic Audit Commission made it’s mind is one formal step away from giving consent to the urban project for this small hydropower plant, which practically means a green light for the investor.
Since all available institutional means for the protection of the Golija Nature Park and Studenica have been practically exhausted in Serbia, Polekol has filed a complaint with the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention, which should react urgently.
“We ask the bodies of the Bern Convention, IUCN, and UNESCO to request the Government of Serbia to halt the hydropower project on Studenica, ensure the protection of endangered species and habitats, and include the entire watercourse of the Studenica River in the Emerald network. Polekol also seeks a field visit from independent experts who would assess the situation and open the case,” says Strahinja Macić from Polekol.