The decision to ban SHPPs was hailed by environmental non-governmental organizations who fought to ban SHPP construction for years.
The House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) passed a decision to completely ban the construction of small hydropower plants (SHPP). The Federal Government now has three months for analysis of relevant legislation and to propose amendments to enable effective implementation of this decision.
Federal Minister of Environment and Tourism Edita Djapo pointed out that the Ministry also supports the conclusion requesting a revision of all approvals issued so far for small hydropower plants that have already been built, as well as those that are currently under construction.
Last month, the Banja Luka Center for the Environment said that about 100 small hydropower plants have been built in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) so far, and the construction of around 300 more is planned. According to its coordinator Viktor Bijelic, a small percentage of electricity is produced from small hydropower plants, but huge damage is inflicted, both to the local communities and to all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and both to the environment and to the economy of this country. The construction of all 400 SHPPs in BiH will not contribute to the production of electricity in Bosnia and Herzegovina by more than 3 %.
