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Let the river Tara in Montenegro be!!!
CRthAH - 12.11.2004 22:18
In 1976. Tara river canyon was proclaimed a UNESCO reserve as a part of Man and Biosphere Programme (MaB) and thus received special protection from the international community. As a part of Durmitor mountain National Park, Tara river canyon received yet another degree of protection by being proclaimed UNESCO’s World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site and included in UNESCO’s World Natural and Cultural Heritage List.
In 1991. Republic of Montenegro added a special decree to its constitution which defines it as an Ecological State and stating that all project documents dedicated to different development strategies must be based the concepts of sustainable development and conservation.
During the session of 29 th April 2004. Government of Republic of Montenegro ratified the Agreement with Government of Republika Srpska concerning the construction of hydroelectric power dam “Buk Bijela”.
On 30 th Aprli 2004. Government of Republika Srpska opened a tender concerning the construction of “Buk Bijela” hydroelectric power dam.
Information about dam construction was very scarce and only appeared in tiny articles in daily newspapers. The international conventions about providing access to information concerning environment protection (the Aarhus process) have been completely ignored. No information whatsoever can be obtained from the Ministry of Economics or any other Government agency. There were no comments from the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Urban Development, the institution that is in charge of issuing an approval of the study about environmental impact of dam’s construction and the consequences that flooding Europe’s two most beautiful canyons would provoke.
The Durmitor Mountain massive is formed, connected and divided by seven big canyons: Tara river canyon and canyons of Piva, Komarnica, Grabovica, Dragi { nica, Draga and Su { ica rivers and also Bukovica, Tu { inja, Bijela and [ avnik rivers. It is beyond any doubt that this area will become the main target of energy producing lobby’s attack and destruction. If they cross the line of destroying the Tara canyon, nothing can stop them.
It is a lie to claim that Montenegro will profit from the construction of the dam. There will be no profit at all. Those who think it is better to use electrical energy that is produced in Montenegro should know it would not be cheaper than energy imported from Bulgaria; it will have the same market price as everywhere in Europe and the Balkans. The hydroelectric plant will belong for a period of 30+20 years to those who invested in its construction and the power will be sold at prices determined by the owner. In some 30 years pass, all the machinery at the dam will have to be replaced, which will cost as much as a new dam, and Montenegro will have to pay for foreign electrical power at foreign prices, at the cost of Montenegro’s water and mutilated natural heritage.
There are other reasons against the construction of the dam and “drowning” of Tara, Piva and Sutjeska rivers. In the Proposal of Energy Efficiency Strategy for Montenegro there is a fact that Montenegro’s energetic system has a 30 % reserve. The damages to the very energetic system through negative effects on the existing Piva hydroelectricl dam would be immense. There are other, much better ideas for tapping the energetic potential of Piva and Tara rivers. The renewable energy resources are being ignored and society’s creative energy is being given an uncreative and non-productive direction. Other watersheds exist, as well as a project for the second phase of Pljevlja thermoelectric power plant which would paradoxally even solve many of Pljevlja’s environmental problems. The project of “Buk Bijela” hydroelectric power dam gives way to energetic lobby’s irrational behaviour.
“Turbid flows the Tara river, rocks and boulders tumble down it” (from the epic folk song “Marriage of King Vukašin”). The quantity of silt and other material that Tara carries would make the water grey, dirty and ugly, making impossible any mention of beauty, and destroying every perspective of tourism, ecotourism, village tourism, rafting or any similar activity in this region. In 50 years, when torrents fill the hydroelectric plant’s accumulation lake with eroded material, the dam would be destroyed, leaving behind a hellish wasteland. The people would leave the place long before that.
This would be the closure to the deterioration of the whole region because Tara is the main artery that unites its ecosystems. Any disturbance would ruin any chances of sustainable development and would serve as an introduction for exploiting the natural resources in the fashion of South America’s poorest countries. The negative advertising effects for an “environmentally conscious state” that destroyed the most beautiful river it had cannot be imagined.
Let us recall 1974, when another invasion of Tara was stopped by placing a ban on the emission of waste waters of Brskovo zinc and lead plant from Mojkovac into Tara. At the same time construction of hydroelectric power dam at Tara was stopped. Were the people who achieved this conscious of the importance of their deed? We can’t tell. But we can say that the feeling for truth has overcome the blunt enterpreneur spirit and fake promises of better future. Only now can we understand the good those honourable people achieved when the death sentence for Tara was cancelled. They were optimistic, claiming that in the next 50 years there will be new energy sources; we claim the same, because they really exist.
Tara is globally renowned as scientific relic and a natural attraction that can bring more money than 20 hydroelectric dams. We will be left without unrepeatable places that succeeded in conserving their unique wildlife for thousands of years. One part of the canyon shelters a globally important insect refuge and remains mostly unexplored. There are many other relict plant and animal species that still haven’t been discovered and investigated. There is some natural law that preserved the relict species in the canyon. The submersion of the canyon would lead to a complete change of its microclimate and a violent change of its ecosystems.
It is difficult to paint in words, picture or verse the immensity of the sight the canyon offers – it is something that must be seen, felt and lived. One is usually left speachless by the sight. “But I have never yet seen a man or woman that expected to see anything like it”. There are 1097 from the top of Ćurovac view point to the bottom of the canyon, the neighbouring Veliki Štuoc peak towering 1572 over the river.
“From its steep sides appears the magnificent view of the horrors of eternal destruction and eternal drama of geological history… The unmeasurable duration of these processes will be felt even stronger by those who investigate them through the gigantic proportions of natural creation… One approaches the edge with caution and excitement, timidly glancing down into the steep and awesome abyss with a winding emerald-coloured river barely visible at its bottom. From this distance Tara neither sounds nor looks wild, flowing gracefully through a zigzag of rocks and precipices overgrown with woods. It is only natural that the river should catch your eye, being the creator of this sight and an indirect cause of your delight. Assuming that he has the necessary knowledge of historical geology, the spectator could read much from the canyon walls, and the story would be interesting and breathtakingly exciting. Therefore it is not enough merely to observe the canyon, you must also understand it. From its edge the man can only speculate that a great drama has happened here, but he can not easily see and fathom the duration of geological formation of Earth’s crust and life on Earth. Therefore he must come to the canyon’s bottom, to the very river, and study the rocks. But even if he does not have the appropriate knowledge, that would not prevent him from admiring the natural beauty of the canyon.”
We are beginning a campaign to raise money for the ransom of the life of Tara river, and let the international organizations then manage the canyon for the wellbeing of everyone in this world. We call upon all individuals, organizations and institutions to protect our planet on Tara river by protecting Tara river all around the planet. What shall we do without Tara, what shall we do without our soul?
Let power plants produce electrical energy, leaving Tara to be the energy of our souls.
Petitie kan men vinden op:  http://www.durmitorcg.com/taraeng/peticija_lista.php
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