Eko Gotusa: The Gotusa Environmental and Humanitarian Organization was founded in 2013 when local community and river enthusiasts organized to protect the Zeljeznica River in Bosnia and Herzegovina from small hydro development. Since then, the organization has been active in various environmental projects in their local community and nationally, from reforestation and waste management to green urban infrastructure. Hydropower is one of the main causes of river fragmentation and degradation of freshwater ecosystems in Europe. The hydropower threat is nowhere more acute than in the Balkans, despite the region being home to some of the last remaining free-flowing rivers in Europe, supporting immense biodiversity and unique ecosystems.

One of the aims of MAVA’s Outcome Action Plan (OAP) on Ensuring integrated management of river basins in the Mediterranean is to minimize the impacts of dams and other infrastructure on rivers and to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems.

Through active resistance, environmental studies, and legal assessments, Eco-Gotusa with support of other international NGOs like WWF Adria, Euronatur and RiverWatch have contributed to adding the voice of local communities to what has become a major environmental public concern in Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to policy changes and revision of existing legal frameworks. By working together, we are ensuring that some of the last free-flowing rivers in Europe remain wild and flow freely.