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

an in d tie spking forei languag hunderrashing) (raipatterin (wat splashi) (gtle plaiive musicontinue when youmagine aiver, it's bically t same as tree.

thmain tru is the ver, but yohave theranches, l the trutaries. everythi is connted. it stas with t rain in thmountain 's ferocus, it'slowing ft. it'sitting t rocks and puinthe ros. and th it's agg. iteander it takes its ti. and th in the d, flows vy slowly io the se other ergy source 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 younpeople he never seen aiving rir. th think ty've seeone, but th're reguted chanls. if theres a euro, you kn, and were conneed, shoun't therbe sometng that we not desoy? i gr up in aittle to in german and we d a ver, and myather lened to swim thariver, and i arned toatch tros with mbare hanin that ver. and yearlater, ty ilt a daupstream and e river s gone. d that made me, you knowwhat i a i'a river rson.

when i fst came the balns, i was coletely scked. rit 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. when thetalk, th river tas througthem. sinci can rember, i s mehow coected wi rivers. it started, thks to myad 'causee was a fishern, he stl is, anwhen i w probabl thre four yes old, he wou take me shing wi him. but i ways wand a bit morehan just fhing the. i started rowg. somehow made it olymc games four yes, got in finals,ut en missethe meda and myromise tmyself was m gonna quit t srt d rely startiving. (gentlmellow mic conties) entle ponant mus)

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 nipulatehat, you e playinwith something ally big. - 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) the vjosin alban probablone of theost remaable rivers ithe balks. ani think it one of theost remaable rivers oeurope. it flo from th untains greece, intohe adriac sea inlbania wiout an arficial otacles. it's theiggest wd ver thate have. (gentlplaintivmusic) 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) (trifon eaking i foreign nguage) (crowd saking in reign lauage) (trin speaking in foreign nguage) (womanpeaking in foreign langge)

(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) (meninging i foreign nguage)

- 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 e first ld river nation park inurope. (upbt cheerf music) (trifon eaking i reign lauage)

the lawsre there. the enfoement is mething at is miing. 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. (trifospeakingn foreign 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 inact, it'onof the wot energyesources relatioto ture ando people

- [nasa] so rge damsre bacally flding theanyons so makg lakes 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 dg out e landsce. there's water left. the peop that artalking usnto the dro issu is the o trigle, the hyo lobby, and th there's the constrtion lob, and th there ithe ba, the fincial maet. d the reon why is so intereing for st of th is thait's ver hard to ersee what t actual ice for such dam is. - nobodyeally kns w many cic meter of concre goes intone.

so it's etty sime to get so extra aunt out it. then you take in account whats necessary touild such a dam, the infrtructureyou ve to bud a road pipenes, youave to cuthe forest inrder to ild tranission lines,ll thesehings. you knowthey 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 to makmore mon. (sber musi

(man sinng in foign langge) - lrich] theavrovo naonal parin macedia is onef e oldest tional pks in eupe. it a mountnous regn, th a lotf forest and a loof river it'some to o unique ecies, ashe balkalynx. (gentle beat mus)

(driver eaking i reign lauage)

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

(gtle plaiive musicontinue (driver spking in foign langge)

(drivespeaking in foreign ngua) - 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 bgest threats ofhe survil the baln lynx i its bitat structio and habit fragmeation. - [ulrh] so th ly dependsn 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 fid a compint the ber conventn 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, ethn problem maybe 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. bosn-herzegovi one of thmost betiful cotries wiin the bkans. they havmountain they ha pristinforest, and ystal clr rivers

- we hav24rivers in bosa-herzegina, and have plned for 300 new dropowerlants to be ilt. d that bically mns that aost on a rivers, dropowerlants arplanned, and on se of the dozens. (gtle calmusic) (sumbulka spking in feign lanage)

mela speing in foign lauage) (gentlcalm mus continu)