News | riverwatch.eu

Remembering Toni Vorauer

Dec 10, 2025 /

There are things one cannot believe because they are so incomprehensible, so beyond words. Toni Vorauer is dead; he passed away completely unexpectedly after a short illness on November 25. We mourn a friend, a colleague. Toni was a conservationist, someone who dedicated himself especially to rivers and bats.

General

Massives Fischsterben auf der Neretva, ausgelöst durch die Ableitung von sauerstoffarmem Wasser aus dem Ulog-Stausee. © Hrabren Kapić, Organizacija Sportskih Ribolovaca "Konjic"

Ecological catastrophe on the Neretva: Deadly fish kill caused by Ulog hydropower operations

Nov 26, 2025 /

Today, a coalition of international and Bosnian scientists, together with leading environmental NGOs, reveal evidence linking the mass mortality of fish and other aquatic life on the affected stretch of the upper Neretva on September 12, 2025, to operational practices at the Ulog Hydropower Plant.

Balkanrivers

Beautiful and unique wildlife live on and around the Studenica River. Photo: Predrag Ilić

Citizens & NGOs warn UNESCO about Studenica River hydropower threat

Nov 25, 2025 /

Blue Heart partner Polekol has submitted an official letter to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, warning of escalating pressures that threaten to irreversibly damage one of Serbia's most valuable cultural and natural heritage sites: the Studenica River basin.

Balkanrivers

Vjosa River officially recognised as a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve

Oct 14, 2025 /

In September 2025, Vjosa River was officially recognised as a UNESCO "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB) Reserve, during the World Congress of Biosphere Reserves in China. While it brings international visibility, it also comes with expectations for rigorous follow-up and effective management.

Balkanrivers

LIFE IS A RIVER - the hymn of the Balkans

Oct 01, 2025 /

"LIFE IS A RIVER" is a new song from the legendary Darko Rundek, celebrating the wild rivers of the Balkans.

Balkanrivers

Ecocide on the Neretva: Scientists raise alarm after mass fish die-off

Sep 30, 2025 /

A devastating ecological disaster has struck the upper Neretva River on September 12. Just downstream of the newly built Ulog hydropower plant, local fishermen discovered a 7-kilometer stretch of river filled with dead fish.

Balkanrivers

Prof. Dr. Fritz Schiemer, Chair of Riverwatch, has been awarded the Wolfgang Staab Nature Conservation Award 2025 © Joshua D. Lim

Riverwatch Chair Prof. Dr. Fritz Schiemer receives 2025 Wolfgang Staab Nature Conservation Award

Sep 24, 2025 /

Yesterday, September 24 2025, the Austrian freshwater ecologist Prof. Dr. Fritz Schiemer, Chair of Riverwatch, has been awarded the Wolfgang Staab Nature Conservation Award 2025, endowed with €20,000, by the Schweisfurth Stiftung. The prize recognizes his exceptional scientific and political commitment to protecting the Vjosa River in Albania

Balkanrivers

Tepelene Municipality Dump. © Joshua.D.Lim

Demand real protection for the Vjosa Wild River National Park

Jul 25, 2025 /

National Park status should safeguard the Vjosa. Ask the Albanian government to continue their commitment to this wild place, and ensure the Vjosa Wild River National Park is protected today, tomorrow, and forever.

Balkanrivers

Around 150 active oil wells line the middle stretch of the Vjosa, leaking chemicals, polluting the water, degrading habitats and injuring native wildlife. © Riverwatch

Mounting Pressures Threaten Vjosa Wild River National Park – Urgent Action Needed

Jul 01, 2025 /

Two years after its landmark designation in March 2023 as Europe’s first Wild River National Park, the Vjosa River is under continuous pressure from extractive industries, infrastructure expansion, and mismanaged development, putting the park’s ecological integrity and its global conservation value at risk.

Balkanrivers

Aoos Springs Dam Drains Life from One of Europe’s Last Wild Rivers

May 21, 2025 /

The lack of required ecological flow from a hydropower dam in the Greek section of the Aoos/Vjosa River is endangering a unique and fragile ecosystem. A new scientific study underscores the urgent need to establish a minimum flow regime to restore the river’s ecological functions and safeguard its rich biodiversity.

Balkanrivers

Rivers unite, dams divide

Remembering Toni Vorauer

Ecological catastrophe on the Neretva: Deadly fish kill caused by Ulog hydropower operations

Citizens & NGOs warn UNESCO about Studenica River hydropower threat

Vjosa River officially recognised as a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve

LIFE IS A RIVER - the hymn of the Balkans

Ecocide on the Neretva: Scientists raise alarm after mass fish die-off

Riverwatch Chair Prof. Dr. Fritz Schiemer receives 2025 Wolfgang Staab Nature Conservation Award

Demand real protection for the Vjosa Wild River National Park

Mounting Pressures Threaten Vjosa Wild River National Park – Urgent Action Needed

Aoos Springs Dam Drains Life from One of Europe’s Last Wild Rivers

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