MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Winter / Spring 2018

WINTER/SPRING 2018 MLCM 93 two rivers, but running them from their high mountain sources, all the way to the sea. First up, the heavily dammed So č a River in Slovenia and Italy, followed by the free-flowing Morača-Bojana River system in Montenegro and Albania. In between its two source-to-sea protests, the BRT team explored the kayaking, skiing and fishing potential of Greece, Albania and Montenegro. • • • … After abseiling around the Podselo Dam, we continue paddling the Soča and run into six more dams in four days, forcing us to portage around weirs or scrape kayaks over concrete. From the raw, wild energy of whitewater to the dead water below a dam, we experience a physical understanding of how dams fragment rivers. We watch the Soča lose her clear, aqua hue, and notice that fish no longer dash beneath our boats. Hydro is referred to as ‘green energy,’ but we are seeing firsthand that the destruction it causes is anything but environmentally friendly. Hours of paddling pass in quiet reflection disturbed by moments of mayhem orchestrating riverside press conferences, meetings, interviews, events and concerts. These stops are critical as the presence of foreign paddlers and bright kayaks draw local media attention and international awareness. Coverage of the first tour was instrumental in stopping the mega hydro project on the mighty Vjosa River, the last, big, free- flowing river of Europe. During media pit stops I notice that most journalists and broadcasters who cover the story are female. The Balkans are known for being a macho and male-dominated culture, so I’m surprised to see so many ladies behind the cameras, notebooks and microphones, telling this controversial story. When it’s my turn to conduct interviews, I discover that other than Rozman, most NGO’s in the Balkans, including those tackling the contentious issues of hydropower and corruption, are nearly all led and managed by women. THE SOON-TO-BE DAMMED VALBONA RIVER, ALBANIA After paddling into the Adriatic Sea in Italy, we hop a ferry south to explore the still free-flowing but threatened rivers of Greece, Albania and Montenegro. In each village, the chaotic collision of history and natural beauty illustrates the strong connection between locals and their rivers. Paddling modern whitewater kayaks through ancient villages and endemic forests, we meet locals who fear their canyons, gravel bars, crop fields, cobblestone streets and dusty soccer pitches will be drowned beneath reservoirs. These people are bonded to their rivers, linked by their day-to-day existence. Their lives depend on their river and now, the river depends on them to defend it. Sitting around the campfire, the sharp, limestone peaks of Albania’s Valbona Valley are silhouetted against the star-strewn sky. Tranquil thoughts of our day spent paddling the baby-blue whitewater “The “Balkan Rivers Tour (BRT) was a party- night idea that became a river conservation movement,” says BRT founder, Rok Rozman. The Slovenian whitewater kayaker and biologist was inspired to act after discovering that 3,000 dams were being planned in his backyard, the Balkan Peninsula. Covering an area of Southern Europe about the size of Spain, the Balkan Mountains encompass ten countries. From Slovenia to Greece and Croatia to Romania, the Balkans are often associated with historic war zones and Mediterranean vacations, but they’re also home to the last intact river system of Europe, where snowmelt can run undisturbed to the sea. At a river conservation conference in Belgrade, Rozman stood up and told Europe’s biggest freshwater NGO leaders his plan to kayak as many threatened rivers in the Balkans as possible in order to draw awareness to the increasing number of unsanctioned and environmentally devastating hydropower dams. His intention was to combine kayaking and conservation to build a resistance. Largely fuelled by foreign investment saturated in corruption, dams in the Balkans provide an outlet for money laundering while disregarding environmental compliance and policy. The energy they create is not delivered to local populations, but instead exported while private hydro owners fill their pockets with the subsidies granted for being a ‘green’ energy supplier. By paddling whitewater in the unknown canyons and tributaries of the Balkans, Rozman hoped to expose the corruption that was destroying the last pristine ecosystems of Europe. Albania's Moroca River: still free from mountain to sea, but for how long? ANDRAŽ FIJAVŽ BA Č OVNIK ANDRAŽ FIJAVŽ BA Č OVNIK