Organizations Polekol, Europa Nostra Serbia, and the local initiative from Ušće – Save Studenica have submitted an official initiative to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris, warning of the increasingly serious pressures that threaten to irreversibly damage one of the most valuable parts of Serbia’s cultural and natural heritage: the Studenica River basin and the cultural landscape surrounding the Studenica Monastery, a jewel of Serbian heritage recognized and inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1986.
In a letter sent as the joint representative by Polekol, it is stated that the planned construction of the Studenica S4 Gradina small hydropower plant, along with two potential additional plants downstream, together with existing and new projects emerging in and around protected zones, could lead to irreversible destruction. If these plans are carried out, they would destroy what centuries of human activity and nature have shaped – a unique landscape where the river’s dynamics intertwine with the tranquility of the Studenica Monastery.
“You cannot protect world heritage while simultaneously allowing its destruction. You cannot speak of safeguarding cultural heritage while permitting projects that sever the lifeblood of a sacred landscape.” the address to UNESCO states. “Studenica is not a place for industry and a 30-meter concrete giant, but a space where nature, human activity, and spirituality exist in an inseparable bond.”
Of particular concern is the fact that the Studenica basin has already been officially designated as a cultural landscape of the highest significance and as part of the UNESCO Golija–Studenica Biosphere Reserve, yet new projects continue to undermine its values. The illegally approved urban plan for the Gradina small hydropower plant, the amended regulation on the protection of Golija Nature Park—which opens the door to dangerous interventions—and plans to build reservoirs at the river’s very source to expand a ski resort—all of this together represents a combination of threats systematically compromising the integrity of this unique area.
We would like to remind that by ratifying the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Serbia assumed the duties outlined in Article 4, which obliges the State Party to protect, conserve, promote, and transmit to future generations the cultural and natural heritage within its territory. The same article further states that the country, in order to achieve this goal, should act through its own efforts, making the fullest use of all available means. If such efforts exist, permitting the construction of the Studenica S4 Gradina small hydropower plant entirely undermines them.
The local community has already made its message clear: the residents of Ušće and surrounding areas have unequivocally stated that they do not want small hydropower plants on the Studenica. Their voice is clear and unambiguous, and it has been supported by experts and environmental organizations from across Serbia. Studenica is a natural and cultural asset of exceptional national and international significance and value, and as such, it must not become the prey or victim of investors’ greed at the expense of the public interest.
The organizations have called on UNESCO to get involved and urge the Republic of Serbia to:
- halt the planned construction of the Studenica S4 Gradina small hydropower plant and all additional facilities within the river basin
- amend the Regulation on the protection of Golija Nature Park to remove provisions that allow for the destruction of its natural and cultural landscape
- abandon plans for a ski resort and artificial reservoirs at the river’s source
- ensure full protection of the cultural landscape “Studenica River Basin” as a spatial entity of outstanding significance for both world and national heritage
The attachments submitted to UNESCO include the Complaint and Annex to the Complaint to the Bern Convention, as well as the complete planning documentation relevant to the area in question.
In addition to the initiative submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Organization for Political Ecology Polekol and the Save Studenica initiative previously filed a Complaint with the Bern Convention due to the ongoing threat to river ecosystems and the protected area, further underscoring the seriousness of the situation.
The aforementioned organisations and initiatives conclude that Studenica is a living natural-historical entity, bearing witness to the coexistence of humans and nature in this region, and that World Cultural Heritage—which for us is a treasury and a source of our relationship with spirituality and nature—cannot become a great victim of petty dealings by investors and authorities.