Are Balkan Countries Safeguarding Their Rivers?

The report evaluates the alignment of national laws in six Western Balkan countries with EU environmental directives (EIA, SEA, ELD, WFD, Habitats, and Birds). While some progress in transposition is noted, systemic failures persist, including a lack of secondary legislation, inadequate institutional capacity, and poor data quality in environmental reports. Key issues include the exclusion of small hydropower plants from screening in some countries, restricted access to justice for strategic assessments, and the failure to designate Natura 2000 sites. Montenegro is the only country with functioning environmental liability regulations.

• There are significant disparities in how hydropower projects are screened for environmental impacts. Albania and Kosovo ensure small hydropower projects are not exempt based on capacity, and Bosnia and Herzegovina's Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina requires an EIA for all hydropower projects regardless of size. Conversely, Montenegro excludes projects below 1 MW and Serbia excludes those below 2 MW outside protected areas from screening.
• A systemic failure exists regarding the 'up-to-date' requirement for reasoned conclusions in the EIA process. While countries set timeframes for validity, none ensure that assessments remain relevant regardless of the timeframe, which can lead to construction based on obsolete data.
• Access to justice for decisions resulting from Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA) is severely restricted across the region. Albania is the only country providing a clear mechanism to challenge these decisions; other nations either lack provisions entirely or only allow challenges against screening decisions.
• Montenegro is the only Western Balkan country that has successfully transposed and implemented the Environmental Liability Directive (ELD), initiating twenty-seven procedures for environmental damage between September 2022 and May 2023.
• Implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is hindered by a lack of secondary legislation and technical data. While some countries have adopted River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs), Kosovo and North Macedonia have not adopted any.
• The designation of Natura 2000 sites is in the very early stages across the region, meaning conservation measures are not yet adequately adopted. Most countries lack the secondary legislation required to perform 'appropriate assessments' for projects impacting these sites.
• Many countries have failed to transpose Article 4(2) of the Birds Directive, which requires similar protection measures for migratory species, despite it being a binding obligation under the Energy Community Treaty.
• Poor quality of data in EIA reports is a universal challenge, characterized by outdated information, superficial analysis, and the use of 'copy-paste' material across different projects.
• In North Macedonia, a contradictory 'environmental elaboration' process for hydropower plants under 10 MW often bypasses the standard EIA screening and public consultation procedures.

APA

Pravuljac, M., & Smolak, M. (2024). Are Balkan Countries Safeguarding Their Rivers? ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/audnx4m0/are-balkan-countries-safeguarding-their-rivers_report.pdf

Chicago

Pravuljac, Maja, and Małgorzata Smolak. Are Balkan Countries Safeguarding Their Rivers? ClientEarth, 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/media/audnx4m0/are-balkan-countries-safeguarding-their-rivers_report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pravuljac |first1=Maja |last2=Smolak |first2=Małgorzata |title=Are Balkan Countries Safeguarding Their Rivers? |publisher=ClientEarth |date=June 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/audnx4m0/are-balkan-countries-safeguarding-their-rivers_report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pravuljac2024are, author = {Pravuljac, Maja and Smolak, Małgorzata}, title = {{Are Balkan Countries Safeguarding Their Rivers?}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/audnx4m0/are-balkan-countries-safeguarding-their-rivers_report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }