The Balkans are home to some of the cleanest and wildest rivers in Europe
Thousands of kilometers of rivers have been damaged in recent years in the Balkans by the proliferation of dams and small hydroelectric plants, in addition to excessive sediment extraction, according to a study that reminds us that these are the “blue heart of Europe”.
The Balkans are home to some of the cleanest and wildest rivers in Europe, crucial to the continent’s biodiversity, but are increasingly threatened by a wave of infrastructure projects, highlights the study published on Wednesday by the NGOs Riverwatch and Euronatur.
In recent years, the entire Balkan region has seen a proliferation of small, generously subsidized hydroelectric plants and investors eager to tap into a reliable, renewable energy source.
According to a 2024 report by associations Euronatur and Riverwatch, there are approximately 1,800 dams in the Balkans and more than 3,000 construction projects planned.
Of the 83,824 km of rivers studied, the report focuses particularly on so-called “almost natural” rivers, that is, watercourses with intact or almost intact flow and natural floodplains.
These almost untouched rivers represented 30% of the region’s watercourses in 2012. In 2025, they would represent only 23%. A “devastating loss of 2,450 kilometers of waterways”.
Essential for environmental preservation, these rivers are particularly threatened in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In Bosnia, “the proportion of intact rivers decreased by 23%” between 2012 and 2025.
In Albania, “the proportion of near-natural river sections fell from 68% in 2012 to just 40% in 2025 — a drastic reduction of 28%,” the report noted.
On the positive side, it should be noted that, in 2023, the Albanian Government granted the Vjosa River, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, the status of national park. This made it possible to “successfully block almost 40 planned dams”.
“In total, around 200 km of large watercourses and 700 km of smaller rivers have been preserved in the Balkans” thanks to legal victories, the report’s authors highlighted.
