Montenegro Abandons Plans to Flood Tara Gorge
Date: 04-Apr-05
Country: SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO
The decision comes after months of demonstrations calling for the protection of the Tara River canyon, the deepest and longest canyon in Europe and a United Nations World Heritage Site.
The 80 km (50 mile) canyon, part of Montenegro's Durmitor National Park, is a tourist attraction in the impoverished former Yugoslav republic. Locals call it the "tear of Europe" for its clear waters.
"Montenegro has decided to halt the preparation for and the building of the hydro electric power plant," Environment Minister Boro Vucinic quoted a letter to the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as saying.
Montenegro and the Serb half of neighbouring Bosnia had planned to build the dam on Bosnia's River Drina which would flood 12 km of the Tara River canyon. It would have provided enough power to cut the coastal republic's energy deficit by one-third, saving some 17 million euros ($22 million) a year.
UNESCO experts who visited Montenegro in January urged Montenegro not to build the dam, saying it was a potential threat to the national park.