PART II: Case Examples from Central and Eastern Europe

Hydroelectric Dam, Power Plant Project in Novoberje

Croatia

Bozica Jellusic, Inge Separevic Perko
With contributions by Martin Schneider Jacoby

Background

As a result of this change, the Hungarian government has decided - due to the pressure of Hungarian NGOs - to withdraw from involvement in the project, in order to avoid environmental conflicts with its neighbors.

Thanks to the efforts of the Somogy Nature Heritage Organization, a Hungarian NGO in Somogy, the Hungarian government accepted the idea of creating a national nature protection area, near the border on the Drava River, initiating a law on the legal standing of the territory. In 1990, the Hungarian state television station transmitted a program about the natural heritage of the flooded area and the unique species hatching in the islands of the Drava River.

Ultimately in 1995, the Hungarian government took the necessary action and declared the territory of the Danube-Drava a nationally protected area.

Problems/Effects

The project will be financed entirely by German companies. A German electric company is willing to donate a huge amount of money to support the energy network, but the funding is not designated specifically for building power plants. Rather, the loan is offered to carry out the policy goal of consolidating the energy industry in Croatia.

Strategies Employed

In 1993, Hungarian, Austrian and Croatian NGOs held a conference in Kaposvar in order to discuss future actions against the project, and the future of the area. The conference asked the concerned states to take immediate action to protect the preserved landscape on the border areas and initiate improvements in water quality in the region. This congress was organized and financed by EURONATURE, a German NGO. Since 1990, EURONATURE has endeavored to sponsor the activities and cooperation of conservation societies on the Drava River.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Environment in Bonn supported a working group to prepare a development and protection strategy related to the Drava River.

In Croatia, the energy lobby was keen to start construction as soon as possible, without regard for the objections of NGOs or the public. In an effort to compromise, the Croatian government found an alternate site on which to build the power plant, near Repas. This location, however, is still near the Hungarian border where the protected area is located. In 1994, power plant experts conducted the first construction drill/test, and final approval for the project was given by the Croatian government.

Media involvement included press, radio and television coverage and the release by NGOs of their own publications throughout the whole period. In 1993, the Ecological Club of Durdevac, a local NGO, prepared a documentary film about the natural beauties of the Drava river showing those unique species that are endangered by the realization of the plan. This film was broadcast on Croatian National TV. The Ecological Club of Durdevac prepared a short brochure on the negative effects of the construction of the power plant and disseminated it to the public. The publication was supported by a grant provided by the REC local office in Croatia.

EURONATURE also published a project description and nature guide, which were published in four languages. These publications were sent to all relevant government authorities, the EU, the World Bank, etc. and affected NGOs.

In April 1996, an informal public hearing was organized by the Ecological Club of Durdevac where representatives of affected local governments and inhabitants were invited to prepare mutual strategies against the project.

International NGOs and NGOs from the affected countries initiated an international conference in Radenci in May 1996, inviting government leaders from the region - the Slovenian minister of environment, the vice-director of the Drava National Park from Hungary and a leading figure in the Austrian Nature Protection Authority. Financing for the conference was provided through the efforts of EURONATURE and the REC local office in Slovenia, as well as the sponsorship of Radenska, a mineral water and thermal bath company. NGOs shared financial resources in order to bring representatives from all countries involved. NGOs from the four countries suggested the establishment of a four-state biosphere reserve with the support of UNESCO.

Outcome

A new Danube-Drava National Park has been established in Hungary on the initiative of NGOs. A project financed by the InterREG/PHARE Program for the Mura River has begun in Austria and Slovenia. In Slovenia, the Ministry of the Environment and the regional authority for nature protection now supports NGO efforts.

Lessons Learned

1. The Hungarian and Croatian NGOs "started at home" by pressurizing their own government to establish a nature protection area in the region. The lobbying led to a positive result in Hungary, and created a protected legal status for the potentially affected area.
2. In addition to numerous nonformal instruments, the use of international treaties is also an option open to the affected NGOs. These include the EU Bird Directive, the Bonn Convention and UNESCO.
3. Efficient opposition to large-scale, international projects requires both cooperation among NGOs at local, national, regional and international level. This cooperation requires long-term commitment, communication and financial resources, in order to maintain involvement by activists in all countries involved and to reach tangible results.
4. Cooperative partnership among NGOs and governments can win government support - in the form of actual policy changes, or (more often) support from ministers or other local authorities, even in a complicated transboundary case, where multiple countries are involved. In this case, opposition to the project by officials in several countries at different levels, prevented implementation of the project, despite the continued government and industry support on behalf of some of the parties.
5. Financial resources can be generated by NGOs, but should also be sought from foundations, such as the REC, and through sponsorship by businesses, (such as Radenska, in this case) especially those that may be affected by the projects.
6. NGOs should supplement media coverage with their own information campaigns, in order to maintain a high degree of public awareness over a long period of time. Over the years, public awareness of the proposed dam has inspired many different efforts and initiatives, ranging from the creation of a new national park to the making of a film about the project in Croatia.