Environment

How agriculture changes in Serbia

05/08/2020

Temperatures are rising, winds are blowing the humus away and extreme weather events are increasing: a problem for agriculture in Serbia. A video report

Hydroelectric power in Bosnia: between moratorium and abuse during lockdown

28/07/2020 -  Marco Ranocchiari

To defend the Balkan rivers, it was first necessary to make people aware that they were in danger. An interview with Ulrich Eichelmann, founder of the NGO RiverWatch and one of the coordinators of the campaign Save the Blue Heart of Europe

Greece: air, water, and democracy

16/07/2020 -  Elvira Krithari Volos

In Volos, central Greece, people are struggling for the quality of air – threatened by incinerators – and for public ownership of water, but also and above all for a transparent, democratic administration

Albania: wave after wave

15/07/2020

The coasts of Albania are getting narrower. Coastal erosion is in fact one of its main environmental problems: a phenomenon caused not only by the rising sea level but also by the wild exploitation of the soil in favor of large tourist structures. A video report

Kosovo: the call of the forest

07/07/2020

In Kosovo, forests occupy almost half of the entire state surface. However, the risk of illegal deforestation, particularly intense in the northern area, on the border with Serbia, is impelling. A video report

Post-COVID-19 in Tbilisi: towards a more sustainable future?

03/07/2020 -  Onnik Krikorian Tbilisi

Georgia has been a success story with its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic - not just regionally, but also globally. As of 29 June, there have been just 924 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and 15 deaths. But can Georgia build on that success and use the opportunity to resolve some of the problems that have long plagued the country, and especially in the capital Tbilisi?

Croatia and Bosnia: the Smaragdni Eco Film Festival

17/06/2020

It takes place entirely by bike. Its organizers cycle for over 700 kilometers, in Bosnia and Croatia, along the banks of the Una river. The Smaragdni Eco Film Festival brings documentaries and animated films to libraries, cultural centres and screening rooms to raise awareness of environmental issues. A video report

The village submerged by the Neretva

04/06/2020 -  Marco Ranocchiari

Lisičići, halfway between Mostar and Sarajevo, was submerged by an artificial lake in the 1950s. After nearly 70 years, the inhabitants still await justice. Meanwhile, the village has been reborn, and the lake has become its best ally

Climate warming in Europe, municipality by municipality

14/05/2020 -  Lorenzo FerrariOrnaldo Gjergji

In more than 35,000 European municipalities, average temperatures have risen by more than 2°C over the last fifty years. From big cities to small villages, the climate crisis reaches every corner of Europe – but citizens are rising up, and people in power are finally taking action

2014, six years later: Bosnia and Herzegovina and the floods

21/04/2020 -  Marco Ranocchiari

Six years ago, Bosnia and Herzegovina experienced a catastrophic flood. Today the country remains among the most exposed in all of Europe. Efforts have been made to reduce these risks, but they are often limited to international projects, without local institutions really taking charge of them

Timber mafia and deforestation in Romania

06/04/2020 -  Christoph Lehermayr - Sebastian Reinhart - Johannes Kaiser

Virgin forests in Central-Eastern Europe are the last remaining ones on the continent, yet they are being mercilessly torn down. Part of this multi-billion euro industry is a mafia-like system; Austrian timber companies are right at the heart of it

The energy transition yet to come

06/02/2020 -  Gianluca De Feo

The European Union wants to abandon coal by 2050, but this will require significant help from European banks, which still finance 26 per cent of all coal power plants in the world

Serbia, Europe's most polluted country

23/01/2020 -  Antonela Riha Belgrado

Serbia sets the pollution record in Europe: the Kostolac B thermal power plant alone emits more sulfur dioxide per year than all the thermal power plants in Germany combined. And Serbia does not seem willing to spend the funds received on loan from various international agencies for environmental protection

European bees

27/12/2010

There are almost 2000 species of bees in Europe, and at least 9% of them are threatened. What can be done by the EU institutions? A video produced within EDJNet. After Effects graphics by Denise Basano.

Strait of Otranto: Italy vetoes the proposed protected reserve

05/11/2019 -  Stefano Valentino

FAO is negotiating a series of new measures to reduce the devastating impact of trawling and make fishing in the Adriatic Sea sustainable. The institution of the Mediterranean's largest protected reserve was part of the package, but the Italian government has blocked it

Forests of Europe: a stormy future?

30/10/2019 -  Marco Ranocchiari

A year after the largest storm in Italy’s living memory, we try to measure its impact. This was no isolated incident – European forests are being hit more violently than ever

Ohrid and its lake, a UNESCO heritage in danger

24/09/2019 -  Ilcho Cvetanoski Skopje

Ohrid and its lake represent an exceptional heritage of art, history, architecture, and nature, part of the World Heritage List since 1979. However, due to illegal construction and pollution, it may end up in the list of endangered locations

Local authorities confronting climate change

05/09/2019 -  Nicolas Kayser-Bril

For most of Europe, 2018 was the hottest year since 1900, and 2019 could even be worse. But how are local authorities preparing to adapt and respond to the climate crisis? An investigation by the European Data Journalism Network

Pollution: if emergency becomes routine in Bosnia

26/07/2019 -  Marco Ranocchiari

One a few days after the other, two independent reports show the extremely serious level of industrial pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to activists, the inefficiency of old plants combines with that of institutions, which provide incomplete, partial data. Thus emergency becomes camouflaged normality

The return

18/06/2019

Gjimi left his mountains as a boy, along with his parents. But both in Tirana and away from Albania he has only found hard work and exploitation. And he decided, with courage, to return to his homeland

Organic farming in Albania, a (still) unfullfilled potential

03/06/2019 -  Francesco Martino

Albania has the potential to successfully develop organic farming, but the sector needs structural and sustainable interventions. We talked about it with Professor Enver Isufi, director of the Institute for Organic Agriculture in Durrës

Croatia, surviving tourism

29/05/2019 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

Always regarded as an important economic resource, today mass tourism risks creating serious imbalances in Croatia. To address them, someone started thinking to "Proceed with care"

The Balkans (and Europe) are choking on coal pollution

04/04/2019 -  Maria Giulia Anceschi

The 16 coal power plants in the western Balkans cause as much pollution as the 250 plants active within the European Union. The health impact is severe, and not just within the region

Bosnia and Herzegovina, rivers under siege

11/03/2019 -  Marco Ranocchiari

Bosnia Herzegovina and its citizens' initiatives in defense of its natural resources and waterways

Heatwaves: global warming threatens more than 100,000 Slovenes

26/02/2019 -  Lenart J. Kučić

Longer uninterrupted heat periods in Slovenia will be increasingly frequent and intense. The country does not have an integrated strategy to combat climate change yet

Croatian cities don’t care for climate change

20/02/2019 -  Ana KuzmanićIvana Perić

A survey by the H-Alter portal reveals local authorities' lack of interest in the increase in average temperatures. An exception is the city of Pula, which stresses the impact of climate change on people's lives

An ever less fertile Europe

01/02/2019 -  Marta Gatti

Soil has a sensitive and crucial role to play, but is increasingly under threat: besides erosion and pollution, artificial covering is on the rise in many areas of Europe. There is still a chance, however, to reduce land take

Bears return to the Alps

22/01/2019 -  Laura Pes

In the collective imagination, bears are one of the wild animals with which humanity has struggled the most over the course of history. After virtual extermination, the reintroduction of bears in a number of European countries is arousing enthusiasm as well as perplexity

Pollution in Sarajevo, interview with Anes Podić

16/01/2019 -  Alfredo Sasso Sarajevo

Last December, Sarajevo was the most polluted capital in the world. What are the main causes of pollution in the Bosnian capital? An interview with Anes Podić, coordinator of Eko Akcija

Sofia, capital of pollution

15/01/2019 -  Francesco Martino Sofia

Despite some timid positive signals, Sofia remains one of Europe's most polluted capitals – a problem made worse only by the slow reaction of the city's institutions