Posted on
06 October 2009 - Dubrovnik, Croatia – Careful
design and operation of water and hydropower
infrastructure can provide for development
and economic needs with minimal impact on
the people and natural assets of the Dinaric
Arc, WWF is to tell a major conference in
Croatia today.
The conference in Dubrovnik,
organised by WWF with the support of the
World Bank, the Global Water Partnership
and the International Hydropower Association,
will look at hydropower possibilities and
proposals for the eastern Adriatic hinterland
area which includes parts of Albania, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, FYR Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia.
Key players from the
water, energy and environmental sectors
in the region as well as global experts
and representatives from major international
financing institutions will discuss new
approaches to hydropower, based on state-of-the-art
science and best practices implemented throughout
the world.
“Hydropower emits no
CO2 and this makes it a highly attractive
alternative energy source in a context of
ever increasing climate change and scarcity
of conventional energy sources in the region
– but it often results in negative impacts
on other key water uses like agriculture
and fisheries, as well as on fragile freshwater
ecosystems and the people that depend on
them,” said Paolo Lombardi, Director of
the WWF Mediterranean Programme.
“It is crucial that
all voices be heard to find the best possible
solutions for a sustainable use of precious
freshwater resources – that is why WWF is
bringing stakeholders together today.”
WWF will propose a range
of measures to enhance the sustainability
of hydropower development. These go from
careful strategic planning that spares precious
natural areas to adopting environmental
standards, and from ensuring minimum flows
which limit impacts on nature and biodiversity
to the adequate design and operation of
water infrastructure. The conference aims
at helping decision-makers in the Dinaric
Arc countries to make informed choices and
triggering similar approaches in the region
in order to improve the environmental performance
of water infrastructure.
Hydropower accounts
for more than 40 per cent of electricity
consumption in the Dinaric Arc region. In
many countries it still represents the majority
of power supply and is the near-exclusive
source of electricity in countries such
as Albania and Montenegro which rely on
it for up to 90 per cent of their energy
output.
In Montenegro, Lake
Skadar – a key area for biodiversity in
the Balkans – is threatened by four dams
planned on the Moraca River. According to
a study by WWF, its partner Green Home and
independent experts, the dams could strongly
affect the water levels in the lake hence
putting a strain on its rich fish population
and negatively impacting hundreds of local
families who make a living from fisheries.
Meanwhile, hydropower
infrastructure has disturbed the natural
water flow into Croatia’s Neretva delta,
contributing to saltwater intrusion which
is damaging agriculture in the delta. In
Bosnia and Herzegovina, biodiversity hotspot
Hutovo Blato is also threatened by an unnatural
distribution of water - which in turn could
negatively impact agricultural and tourism
activities, key sources of income for the
area.
“Dinaric Arc countries
are on the road to EU accession, hence implementing
a more sustainable management of water resources,
notably based on the EU Water Framework
Directive, represents a major opportunity
for them to align with EU requirements,”
said Angela Klauschen, Freshwater Policy
Officer at WWF Mediterranean.
WWF calls for an open
dialogue between all stakeholders in the
region to share best practices and benefit
from pioneering approaches that can make
hydropower more sustainable – including
new initiatives such as the Hydropower Sustainability
Assessment Forum (HSAF), a global collaboration
of representatives from different sectors
aiming to develop a broadly endorsed sustainability
assessment tool to measure and guide performance
in the hydropower sector.
