Bosnia and Herzegovina must assess the potential environmental impact of the Hydroelectric Power Plant (HE) "Buk Bijela" project, which is planned on the Drina River in Bosnia and Herzegovina, "on the high natural values of Durmitor and the Tara River," the decision of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee -a.
The committee asked the member states of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia 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," stated the UNESCO decision.
"Durmitor" National Park is on UNESCO's list of world natural and cultural heritage, while the Tara canyon has been declared a world ecological reserve and according to Montenegro, these areas would be damaged by the construction of the "Buk bijela" HPP in Foča.
Associations for environmental protection from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro have been pointing out the negative consequences of the construction of HPP "Buk bijela" on the environment for years.
Due to 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.
What does the joint project of Republika Srpska and Serbia envisage?
On November 13, 2020, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Srpska, Radovan Višković, and the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, signed a joint statement in Banja Luka on the implementation of the "Upper Drina" hydropower system project.
The project envisages the construction of three hydropower plants, "Buk Bijela", "Foča" and "Paunci", in the upper basin of the Drina River on the eastern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.
According to the "Upper Drina" project, the majority share of ownership in hydropower plants is held by Serbia, 51 percent, and 49 percent by the RS entity.
The construction of all three hydropower plants will be financed by Elektroprivreda Srbije and Elektroprivreda RS.
The authorities of the Republika Srpska implement hydroelectric power construction projects in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Internal Navigation of the RS, by which all rivers in the entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the Drina, are declared "internal waters of the RS".
However, in February 2020, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared that legal solution unconstitutional.
The representatives of the RS, on the other hand, believe that according to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the field of energy is under the competence of the entities, and they claim that the agreement with Serbia on the construction of hydroelectric power plants does not violate the decision of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
They explain this by the fact that the location for the construction of three hydropower plants is located 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.
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