The informal group “Protect the rivers of Prijepolje” sent an official request to the Prijepolje Municipal Assembly, councilors, members of the Municipal Council, the President of the Municipality, his assistants and the Deputy President for a ban on the construction of small hydropower plants (MHE) on the territory of the municipality.
In the petition, the Municipal Assembly is requested to start a discussion and introduce a permanent moratorium on the construction of MHE, as well as to amend the Spatial Plan of the Municipality of Prijepolje and the Detailed Regulation Plan of Prijepolje and Brodarevo. These changes refer to the ban on the construction of MHE in the locations specified by those documents.
Damir Bećirbašić , a member of the Informal Group, pointed out that there is no benefit from the construction of MHE except for investors.
“As far as energy is concerned, the contribution of electricity from the hydroelectric power plants built on the Gračanica River is negligible, only 0.005% of the total electricity production in Serbia. Even the SANU Energy Board considers that MHPs are not desirable for the energy system,” said Bećirbašić, pointing to the fact that losses on the network (due to electricity theft and poor infrastructure) amount to 11.72%, which is 2000 times more than the production of an average MHP.
Bećirbašić also spoke about the financial unprofitability of MHE:
“In the period from 2018 to 2022, the municipality of Prijepolje received only €182 per year from one power plant, while the owners of those power plants made a profit of around €250,000 per year .”
The informal group also received the opinion of the Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković” , which is of national importance for the Republic of Serbia. The Institute has confirmed that it is unacceptable to build an MHE in the Lim river basin, as it would lead to the destruction of the living world.
During the last year, the group collected evidence of the destruction of the Gračanica river : photos, recordings, the report of the Inspectorate and the reports of researchers monitoring special habitats, confirming that no fish were found in the part of the river where there are hydroelectric plants.
“Citizens’ dissatisfaction is great. They want free rivers , the development of sustainable tourism and the use of rivers for agriculture and organic food production,” concluded Bećirbašić.
The petition was drafted by the legal team of the organization Polekol and the Right to Water initiative, which has many years of experience in similar activities.
Before submitting the petition, on Saturday, September 28, the group organized a street action “Let the rivers of Prijepolje flow freely” in front of the Museum in Prijepolje, with the aim of raising awareness about the importance of preserving natural resources.
Tatjana Dragutinović , a member of the group, expressed satisfaction with the citizens’ response to the initiative.
“This is another appeal to the local authorities to introduce a moratorium on the construction of MHE. I invite all citizens to go to the Gračanica river and see what the three MHEs look like, which have completely dried up the river bed,” said Dragutinović.
During the action, the group collected over 70 messages of support for the protection of the rivers of Prijepolje, written on postcards with the motif of the destroyed river Gračanica, which were symbolically handed over to the municipal authorities together with the petition.
We invite all citizens to join us in the fight to preserve the rivers of Prijepolje and thank everyone who has supported us so far!