The Institute for Social Policy “MusineKokalari” at a press conference has presented the report titled “Hydropower Plants: Private Gains at the Detriment of Public Environment”.
This study has been conducted as a part of “Social Impact of Hydropower Plants on Our Society” project, supported by the Community Development Fund – CDF’s Human Rightivism, and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency – SIDA.
The Project Coordinator, DardanBujupi, informed that the study was focused on the Deçan Gorge with the four newly operated hydropower plants and the Radavc hydropower plant as a benchmark.
He presented the findings of the researchthat include the violation of political rights, or partaking in the decision-making process, and the right to be informed, manifested through the lack of transparent public discussion.
Research shows that we have moved from considering the environment as a public good to treating the environment as an asset of supply economics, which is evident in the significant difference between the pre-feasibility period and that after construction; on the investment side by the company ‘Kelkos Energy’, as well as on the installation power of the hydropower potential.
Bujupi revealed the differences in investments between the designs and realizations of the Kelkoscompany itself, where the difference amounts to 14,242,577 euros, respectively 26% of the total value of the projected investments.
Non-transparent concession to the detriment of the environment, violation of the Law on Water and utilization of all water capacity, destruction of vegetation and natural habitat and damage to tourism and agricultural potential, remain other extremely problematic issues.
Finally, BelgzimKamberi, director of the Board of the Institute for Social Policy “MusineKokalari”, presented 8 recommendations, as a result of research:
The space should be accessible to citizens
At least 3 public hearings for each license have to be held
Hearing have to be organized by public authorities
The publication of the call should be done through diverse media outlets combined in such a way as to reach a wider audience.
-The details of public discussions, mandatory by the Constitution and the law, have to be specified more precisely, including the format of the discussion and especially the premises where they are to be held by taking under consideration the following:
-When a hydropower plant should and can be build, the license should be granted through the procedure of concession, which enables the public authority to select the best bid among several bidders, rather than through a water permit which is given to a single company.The concession auction enables reaching the best offer, which takes intoaccountenvironmental, social and economic parameters of the space where hydropower investments and capacities are implemented.
-Permit issued by ERO should be in accordance with the basic principles of construction ofhydropower plants, which are the preservation of the ecological minimum and the real hydric potential of the river (foreseen also in the pre-feasibility study), as well as taking into account water flow which can be used for energy, without compromising river flow, landscape, inflow and the habitat of the wildlife in the river.
-The investors’ pledges should be included in the contract along with a clause which provides the legal possibility to terminate the contract in case of investors’ failure to fulfill commitments, such as road construction, parks, employment and other investments in general.
-To define more clearly the ecological minimum through a formula designed by competent experts of the field which will help on defining:
The allowed time that hydro powers can work
The amount of water that can be put in the pipes, depending on the flow of the river
The minimum amount of water that shall remain in the river.
-To continuously monitor the operation of hydropower plants by the relevant inspectorate, through continuous inspections which is initially enabled, increasing the capacities of this inspectorate.
-Set a standard for materials used to build hydro, in order that those constructions are in harmony with the surrounding environment and thus preserve the landscape of the area, so that the tourism potential has a little damage as possible.
-As part of the pre-feasibility study, a study on the social impact of the construction of
hydropower plants in the community should be conducted, taking into account the damage to agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, water used for drinking and irrigation, groundwater, which could potentially be affected by the construction.
Download the full report at: