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

an in retie spking forei langue) hunderrashing) (raipatterin (waterplashing (gtle plaiive musicontinue when youmagi a river it's bically t same as tree.

thmain tru is the ver, but yohave theranches, l the trutaries. everythi is connted. it startwith t ra in the untains. 's ferocus, it'slowing ft. it'sitting t rocks and puing the ros. d thent's agin it meands. it tas its ti. and th in the d, flows vy slowly io the se no oer energ source destroys ture 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, shldn't the be somhing thate do notestroy? i gr up in aittle to in german and we d a ver, 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. and thatade me, you knowwhat i a i'm 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 intoinals, b th missed e medal. and promiseo myself wai'm goa quithe sport 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 nipulatehat, you arplaying th something relyig. - the sty about e balkan rir is a pitive sty. it's somhing wderful. it'sbout beay, actlly. but ny peopldon't see the auty anyre. wh we see bety, they s money. (bght live music) we havevidencef about 000 hydrower proct tween slenia and gree. litelly, eve single ver woulbe dammeor diverd.

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. (gtle sombusic) manylaces, wve forgoen to standp for nare, fosomethinthat we ll home. (m chantinin foreiglanguage en chantg in foren langua)

(gtle melaholy music) thvjosa inlbania is pbably on of the mt remarkle vers in e balkan ani think it one of theost remaable riversf europe it flo from th untains greece, intohe adriac sea inlbania thout an arficial obstaes. it'she bigst wil rir that whave. (gene plainte music) the ver is aually th king of ese valls, soherever e rive nts to g it goes it'sn enormo mosaic dierent ansmall hatats.

(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, thfuture oall these locals idecided.

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 speaki in foreign 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) (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 and said, "h, you kn, we won and i id, "whadid we w?" 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) - [ulric a lot opeople thk that hropowe is green, renewab. but inact, it'one of thworst engy resoues relatn to nature a to peop.

- [nata] so lae dams a basilly floong the canyons 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'sryg outhe landape. ere's noat left. e peoplehat are lking us io the hyo issue ishe old triangl e hydro bby, and en there's the consuction lby, 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 pric fosuch a d 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 pipelis, you he to cut t forest inrder to ild tranission line all the things. yoknow, th c calcula huge amot of mon and thenhe taxpar or the coumer haso pay th, 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 unstab region where coanies and money om abroa can ma things at they caot do inuropeaunion. the restf the eupe complety dammed. thers nowherelse ese lobbs can go toake moreoney. (somr music)

(man sinng in foign langge) - [uh] the mrovo natial park macedon is one of e oldest tional pks in eupe. it a mountnous regn, th a l of forest and a loof river it's homto one uque specs, as thealkan ly. (gentle upat music

(driver eaking i reign lauage)

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

(gtle plaiive musicontinue (driver speang in foren langge)

(drivespeaking in foreign nguage) - we werinform that 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)

- [grge] theiggest threats ofhe survil the baln lynx i its bitat deruction and habit fragmeation. - [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 spking in foreiglanguage) (somr music) (helicopr bladeshirring)

(exploon boong) uns bangg) - lrich] iyou lk out the lkans, you thinbasicallabout thwar in t '90s, etic probls, maybe refees. (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 he mountas, they ve priste forest and ystal clr rivers

we have 4 rirs bosnia-rzegovin d we havplanned r 300 w hydroper plant be buil d that bically mns that aost on a rivers, hydrower plas are plned, and on se of the dozens. (gene calm mic) (sumbulka spking in foreign lanage)

(amelapeaking foreign langua) (gentle lm musicontinues