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

an in d tie spking in 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 rock d thent's agin it meands. it tas its ti. and th in the d, flows vy slowly io the se no othernergy source destroys natu 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 the is a eupe, 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 myather lened to swim thariver, and learned catch tuts with my re hanin that ver. and yearlater, ty ilt a daupstream and e river s gone. d that made me, you knowwhat i a i'a riveperson.

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 rowg. somehow made it olymc games four yes, got intoinals, b th missed e medal. and promiseo myself wai'm goa quithe sport and really srt livin 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 nipulate that, you e playinwith something allyig. the storabout thbalkan 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 greec

lirally, ery singlriver wod be damd or divted. 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) e vjosa albania isrobably e of the mt remarkle vers in e balks. d i thin's one of t most rerkable riversf europe it flo from th untains greece, intohe adriac sea inlbania thout an arficial obscles. it the bgest wil rir that whave. (gentlplaintivmusic) the rir is actlly the ng of the valley 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, the ture of l these cals is cided.

it's n concern about climate chge. it's n renewab energy. 's aboutoney. rifon spking in foign langge) (trifon eaking i foreign nguage) (crowd saking in reign lauage) (trifospeaki in foreign lauage) (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 the firswild riv natial park europe. (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) [ulrich] lot of ople thinthat hydropowe is green, renewab. but fact, is one of e worst ergy resrces relatioto ture ando people

- [nata] so lae dams a basilly floong the canyons 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'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 bankthe finaial mark. d the reon why is so intereing for st of th is thait's ver hard toversee 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 end othe day, it'really sple. thiss politilly unstab regio where coanies d money om abroa can makehings th they cann do in eopean ion. the restf the eupe complety dammed. thers nowherelse ese lobbs can toake moreoney. (somr music)

(man sinng in foign langge) - lrh] the mrovo natial park macedon is onef e oldest tional pks in eupe. it a mountnous regn, with lot of fost and lot of rers. it home tone uniquspecies, as thealkan ly. (gentle beat mus)

(driver eaking i reign lauage)

(drivecontinuespeaking in feign lanage) uppy squking) (gtle plaiive musi (drir speaki in foren langua)

(gtle plaiive musicontinue (driver spking in foign langge)

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

(exploon boomi) uns bangg) - lrich] iyou lk out the lkans, you thinbasicallabout thwar in t '90s, ethnic pblems, mbe 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 he mountas, they ve priste forest and ystal clr rivers

we have 4 rirs bosnia-rzegovin d we havplanned r 300 w hydroper plant to be ilt. d that bically mns that aost on a rivers, hydrower plas are plned, and on se of the dozens. (gtle calmusic) (sumlka spking in feign lguage)

(amelapeaking foreign langge) (gentle lm musicontinues