Content deleted Content added
Citation bot (talk | contribs) Added date. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Superegz | Category:International organizations based in Europe | #UCB_Category 106/142 |
|||
Line 338:
The EBRD's activities in the [[Balkans]] have attracted particular controversy and criticism,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-12-11 |title=Major banks put up nearly €1bn for controversial Balkan dams, says report |url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/dec/11/major-banks-put-up-nearly-1bn-for-controversial-balkan-dams-says-report |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> especially when they have centered on national parks or free-flowing rivers.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Europe's Last Wild River Is About to Get Dammed |url=https://time.com/4430986/albania-vjosa-river-dam-hydropower/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref> This has often involved the completed or proposed construction of [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric dams]] and road infrastructure. Indeed, a 2017 report alleged deficiencies in monitoring and mitigation measures that had been designed to lessen the environmental impact of dam projects financed by the EBRD, while, in March 2018, outdoor clothing label [[Patagonia (clothing)|Patagonia]] helped launch ''The Dam Truth'' campaign, which directly requests international banks including the EBRD to "stop investing in the destruction of Europe's last wild rivers".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blue Heart of Europe |url=http://blueheart.patagonia.com/intl/en/take-action/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Blue Heart of Europe |language=en}}</ref>
In 2011, the EBRD approved a €65 million loan to ELEM, the [[Republic of North Macedonia|Macedonian]] electricity utility, for a dam at [[Boškov Most Hydro Power Plant|Boskov Most]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Macedonia's ELEM invites bids for Boskov Most HPP construction – EBRD |url=http://seenews.com/news/macedonias-elem-invites-bids-for-boskov-most-hpp-construction-ebrd-396208 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=seenews.com |date=20 December 2013 |language=en}}</ref> The Standing Committee of the Bern Convention<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |date=2015 |title=Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats, Standing Committee, 35th Meeting |url=https://rm.coe.int/1680746676}}</ref> requested immediate suspension of the project, with reference to the high biodiversity of the area and its importance as a core reproductive area for the [[Balkan lynx]],<ref name=":6" /> one of the most endangered mammals on the planet. In January 2017, the bank cancelled the loan saying the "conditions for disbursement were not met."<ref>{{Cite web |title=EBRD statement on Boskov Most hydro power plant |url=https://www.ebrd.com/boskov-most-cancellation |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.ebrd.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Destructive hydropower project in Macedonia loses its only source of funding |url=https://bankwatch.org/press_release/destructive-hydropower-project-in-macedonia-loses-its-only-source-of-funding |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Bankwatch |language=en-US}}</ref>
Again in North Macedonia, the EBRD was criticised by environmentalists<ref>{{Cite web |title=Macedonia: EBRD's planned destruction of Lake Ohrid Biosphere Reserve |url=https://theecologist.org/2015/oct/27/macedonia-ebrds-planned-destruction-lake-ohrid-biosphere-reserve |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=theecologist.org |date=27 October 2015 |language=en}}</ref> after plans were announced to bisect National Park [[Galičica]] in the UNESCO [[Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Biosphere Reserve]] with an A3 express road, which would have required certain zones of protection in the national park to be downgraded. Scientists from North Macedonia and across the world signed a declaration in opposition to this and other projects proposed for the Ohrid-Prespa region,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-04-15 |title=DECLARATION ON PRESERVING THE WORLD NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE OF OHRID |url=https://ohridsos.org/declaration-on-preserving-the-world-natural-and-cultural-heritage-of-ohrid/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=Ohrid SOS |language=en}}</ref> a message that was reinforced by a Joint Reactive Monitoring Mission from the World Heritage Centre, ICOMOS and the IUCN, which requested total cancellation of proposed A3 road sections.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Document – Report of the joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS/IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the World Heritage property Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), 9 – 14 April 2017 |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/158740/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> This recommendation was underlined by the [[World Heritage Committee]] at its 41st session in Kraków.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=41 COM 7B.34 – Decision |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/7036/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> Eventually, in February 2018, the Republic of North Macedonia abandoned plans for the road, redirecting the EBRD's funds to other infrastructure projects.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/99/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>
| |||