Despite objections, politicians and entrepreneurs are allowing hydroelectric power plants to be built here. But resistance to the plans remains strong.

Over the past millennia, the Neretva has developed into a globally unique ecosystem. It is home to animal and plant species that exist nowhere else. But the “Blue Heart of Europe,” as the Neretva is also known, is threatened with collapse.

Politicians and entrepreneurs see new power plants as opportunities to generate sustainable energy — and rake in big money. Local residents and scientists, on the other hand, have serious doubts about the projects. This is because the construction of a dam changes the natural environment forever.

Boban Škrtar lives a few kilometers above the planned main dam in the village of Ulog. On the riverbank, he explains the devastating impact of the construction project to date: "Everything here used to be forest. It was cleared for the dam, and you can see that now everything is destroyed. There used to be a swimming area and a campsite there, but now everything is gone forever."

On the other side of the dam, Austrian aquatic ecologist Kurt Pinter is searching for the softmouth trout—a fish thought to live in just four river systems, including the Neretva. His hope is that if the softmouth trout is declared an endangered endemic species in this part of the river system, the construction of some 70 new power plants along the Neretva may be prevented.

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