Montenegrins Resist Plan to Flood Spectacular Gorge
Date: 24-Nov-04
Country: MONTENEGRO
Author: Ljubinka Cagorovic
Locals say the spectacular 80 km (50 mile) canyon, a United Nations World Heritage site, is the most beautiful in the world after Colorado's Grand Canyon.
They fear a dam to be built in neighbouring Bosnia would turn the rapid Tara waters loved by rafters into "a swamp".
The Tara river canyon, part of the Durmitor National Park, features one of the deepest gorges in Europe, swathed in dense pine forests and lined with deep, clear lakes.
It is one of Montenegro's main tourist attractions.
Parliament was debating a declaration on protection of the site, launched by a non-government organisation. More than one hundred activists gathered outside, distributing Tara calendars with the words "Tara, the tears of Europe" written on them.
The declaration was likely to be backed by the opposition parties and a junior coalition partner of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).
Djukanovic said that even if adopted, the declaration was not binding. He said the public was reacting emotionally and without the necessary facts.
"We do not need emotions but reason. We should protect our environmental heritage but we should not block future generations from building energy facilities," Djukanovic said.
Tara defenders said their concern was not purely emotional.
"The citizens did not sign the declaration on a whim, when we lose Tara we lose something we will never get back," said Sinisa Stevovic, one of the project's opponents.
The dam would be built on the River Drina in the Serb half of neighbouring Bosnia and flood about 12 km of the Tara canyon.
The Montenegrin government has said that would provide enough power to cut the republic's energy deficit by one third.
The Bosnian Serb government said its power company had spent $26 million in a feasibility study for the $480 million project but financing was still uncertain and an environmental report was also pending.
Djukanovic said the Montenegrin government was struggling to overcome a growing power shortage. He said power imports this year cost the tiny republic of 650,000 people some 50 million euros ($65.20 million).
A government spokesman said Montenegro, a self-declared "environmental state", would base its decision on the opinion of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) who were called to assess the plan.
"The government has clearly said it would build nothing if the UNESCO stand is negative," he said. Bosnia has also said that approving the project hinges on its environmental impact.
(additional reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic in Sarajevo)
