(crickets chirping) erene peeful mus) (she bleatin (gentlplainte music)

an in d tie spking in forei langue) hunderrashing) (raipatterin (waterplashing (gtle plaiive musicontinue when youmagine river, it's basally the me as a ee.

thmain tru is the ver, but yohave theranches, l the trutaries. everythi is connted. it stas with t ra in the untains. 's ferocus, it'slowing ft. it'sitting t rocks and shing the ros. and th it's agg. iteander it takes its ti. and th in the d, flows vy slowly io the se nother eney urce destroys nature onuch dimeion asydro-pow. if you bld a d, ere's noater lef water f people, noater forish. trees n't eveneach the grouwater anore. (gentlmellow mic) in ctral eop river after rir after ver

has be killed the last 50 60 year young ople havnever seen a ling rive th think ty've seeone, but th're reguted chanls. if theres a euro, you kn, and were conneed, shoun't therbe sometng that wdo not dtroy? i gr up in aittle to in german and we d a river, and my fher leard swim in that river, and learned catch tuts with my re hanin that ver. and yearlater, ty ilt a daupstream and e river s gone. d that me me, you knowwhat i a i'a river rson.

when i fst came the balns, i was coletely scked. (brit livelyusic) i thout i know everriver inurope. ere's noing compable in eope likehis. (brit livelyusic) (gtle mell music) - i thk balkan rirs are special not just because of the wildlife alone. rive down he are speal beuse of t people thative arou them. it's a cbinationith ture andulture. peop have lid down he with rivs for miennias.

theyive with the river. whenhey talkthe rivetalks thugh them since i n rememb, i was somew connecd with rers. it staed, than to my d 'cause hwas a fisherma he still is, and en i wasrobably three,our yearold, he wouldake me fiing withim. but i alys wantea bit more tn just fhing the. i started ring. somehow made it olymc games four yes, got in finals,ut en missethe meda and my pmise tmyself was m gonnquit thepo and ally sta living. entle meow musicontinues (gtle poignt music

in rivs, everying comes tother. u have a flow of energyhich youan see. it'so rich wh life. it where wer meetshe land. the nd is dierent, the smelis diffent. the feelg next to the rir is difrent. so if yotry and nipula that, you e playinwith something allyig. - the sty about e balkan ver is aositive ory. it's somhing wderful. it'sbout beay, actlly. but ny peopldon't sethe beau anymore wh we see bety, they s money. (bght live music) we havevidencef about 000 hydrower proct tween slenia and gree.

terally,very sine river would be dmed or derted. it'st the brk, i wou say. buluckily,eople std up. even ithe remost rt of th count pele, loca stand uand try totop the m project. (gentle soer music) many places,e've fortten to sta up for ture, fosomethinthat we ll home. (m chantinin foreiglanguage en chantg in foren langua)

(gtle melaholy music) e vjosa albania isrobably e of theost remaable rivers ithe balks. d i thk 's one of t most rerkable riversf europe it flo from th untains greece, intohe adriac sea inlbania thout an arficial otacles. it's theiggest wd ver thate have. (gentle aintive sic) the rir is actlly the ng of the valley soherever e rive nts to g it goes it'sn enormo mosaic dierent d small bitats.

(gentlmellow mic) e peoplerom kute they wld lose e basis their estence. (gtlcheerful mus) (trin speaki in foreiglanguage

(gene melancly music (trifospeakingn foreign nguage)

(upbt livelyusic) ire cracing) you builone dam, the ture of l these cals is cided.

it's n concern about climate chge. it's n renewab energy. 's aboutoney. (tfon speang in foren langua) (trifospeakingn foreign nguage) (crowd saking in reign lauage) (trin speang in foign lauage) (woman saking in foreign langua)

(man ired tispeaki inoreign lguage) (m in red e speaki in feign lanage) (cwd speakg in foren langua) (gtle poignt music (m singingn foreiglanguage (men speing in foign langge) (men sging in reign lauage)

- lrich] aania i probablyhe worstountry onhe balka in relaon to damonstructn. they wna build mo than 50dams. every lile creeks thatened bhydroper plas. buluckily,e were able tfile a lsuit togeer with e localsrom kute they wt the vja valleyo be the firswild riv natial park europe. (upbt cheerf music) (trifon eaking i reign lauage)

- the la are there the enrcement somethinthat is ssing. we he to usehose laws, tually. publ consultion turn t to be really fe one 'cse none the loc commity affeed, directly affecd, as theaw requis, was coulted fo the hydrower. (trifon eaking i reign lauage) myolleaguealled me and said, ey, you ow, we w." ani said, hat did won?" we won, e court cided toancel th concsionary ntract. was belved inhe most otional y of my fe.

(upbeacheerful music ntinues) (trifospeakingn foreign nguage) right upfting muc) [ulrich] lot of ople thinthat hydropowe is green, renewab. but fact, is one of e worst ergy resrces inelatioto ture ando people

- [nasa] so rge damsre bacally flding theanyons so ming lake out the rivs, and all hydrower plantsre takin e water t of t canyon. 90% of a these hydropowe prects othe balks are soalled sml-scale dropowerlants. it's ding out e landsce. ere's noater left. e peoplehat are lking us io the hyo issue the old triane, the hydrlobby, and en there's the consuction lby, and th there ithe bankthe finaial mark. and the ason whyt's so intesting fomost of em is thait's ver hard toversee what t actual pre r such aam is. - nobodyeally kns w many cic meter of concre goes intone.

so it's etty sime to get so extra aunt out it. - then y'd take to accou whats necessary touild such a dam, the infrtructureyou ve to bud a road pipelis, you he to cut t forest inrder to bud transmsion lines, a these tngs. u know, ey can callate a hugemount ofoney and en the tpayer orhe consumeras to pathat, d that ons the gates r corrupon. - [rok] looks rlly compx, the wle story t at the endf the day, it'really sple. thiss politilly unstle regio where mpanies and money om abroa n make tngs thathey cannoto in eurean unn. the restf the eupe complety dammed. thers nowherelse ese lobbs can go to makmore mon. (sber musi

(man sinng in foign langge) - [uh] the mrovo natial park macedon is one of e oldest tional pks in eupe. it a mountnous regn, wi a lot of rest and lot of rers. 's home one unie specie as thealkan ly. (gentle beat mus)

(driver eaking i reign lauage)

(drivecontinuespeaking in feign lanage) uppy squking) (gentlplaintivmusic) (drir speaki in foren langua)

(gtle plaiive musicontinue (driver spking in foign langge)

(drivespeaking in foreign nguage - we werinform tha a huer from cevo photograed the bkan lynx - [ulric i saw tse phos and aually we

the firstime i'vever seen sll balkalynx cub most people have never seen even traces. - [man] there're probably less than 50 specimen left in the world. and we could now prove that the balkan lynx is not only living in the national park, but it's reproducing. (bright lively music) (driver speaking in foreign language)

- [gjoe] the biggest threats ofhe survil of the bkan lynxs ithabitat structio and hatat fragntation. - [uich] so e nx depen on prey at prey,or examp, deer, dends on t rivers. so if yodam the ver, you stroy th hatat for e prey. means y endanged th species th cat actlly lies on ese rive, anthey wan build 1dams insidehe natiol park. why onarth do u establh a natial park whenou buildams in tre? it'sither/or if y have thdams, you won'have the cat

we filea complat tohe berneonventio th is the nventi natur habitat and biiversitysaying, acedonias breaki these coentions at ey have gned." (gentlpeacefulusic) (dver spkingn foreiglanguage) (somr music) (helicopr bladeshirring)

(exploon boomi) uns bangg) - [uich] if you ta abt the baans, yothink bacally abt the wain the 's, ethnicroblems,aybe rugees. (gentle poignant music) - the region is famous for conflict. people here went through really difficult things. but all i know about the conflict is from hearing others' stories.

(haunting poignant music) - [ulrich] the balkan rivers survived miraculously over theecades odestructn. boia-herzegovi one of thmost betiful cotries wiin the bkans. they havmountain they ha pristinforest, and ystal clr rivers

we have 4 rirs bosnia-rzegovin and weave pland for 30new hydrower plas be buil d that bically mns that aost on a rivers, hyopower pnts are anned, and on se of the dozens. (gene calm mic) (sumlka spking in feign lguage)

(amela saking in reign lauage) (gentlcalm mus continu)