At the 45th session of the UNCESO World Heritage Committee, a decision was adopted which obliges Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess the potential impact of the Buk Bijela hydroelectric power project planned on the Drina River on the high natural values of Durmitor and the Tara River, through an updated assessment of the impact on the environment in close consultation with Montenegro.
Considering that in the upper reaches of the Drina, in addition to the Buk Bijela, two more hydropower plants are planned – Foča and Paunci, the Committee asked Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia to maintain the continuity of the river ecosystem and the presence of saplings through the undisturbed flow of the river and to ensure that the potential impacts of these projects are assessed in accordance with guidelines and tools for impact assessment in the context of world heritage.
Associations of citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro have been pointing out the risks of the Buk Bijela project for years, as well as the negative consequences that its construction would have on the environment. Because of 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.
