Conferences

The turnout for this event, organised on April 1st 2025, exceeded expectations, showing strong public interest in protecting Komarnica and exploring better alternatives. Key arguments included that €480 million should go to solar and wind projects producing three times more energy, and that destroying the river would cause ecological and economic harm. Montenegro would bear most of the cost while losing its natural treasure, while Serbia co-invests without the same loss. The message was clear: Montenegro can achieve energy independence through renewables, not by building concrete dams, and Komarnica must remain free.

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​The public forum was organised by the Montenegrin Ecologists Society within the Save Komarnica initiative, with support from EuroNatur, as part of the Save the Blue Heart campaign.

An evening (January 21st 2025, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) celebrating communities of grassroots activists and their work to save the Balkan Rivers, some of the last free-flowing waterways in Europe. Hydropower is falsely sold as green energy, but these activists are proving that people power can stop destructive projects before they destroy ecosystems and livelihoods.

At the international conference on protecting and restoring free-flowing rivers in Europe (April 15-17, 2024, Groningen, The Netherlands), within the thematic sequence "River protection in the Western Balkans" we presented the Komarnica case.

At the Summit (September 29 - October 1 2022, Brussels, Belgium) that aims to inspire a movement of connected citizens in Europe to protect and restore European rivers; within the thematic sequence "Your river – your fight. River activism around Europe" we presented the Komarnica case.

During this conference (September 2022, Belgrade) we shared the Komarnica case with more than 50 activists from Serbia and the region. Together we discussed our struggles, exchanged experiences and coordinated a united front for water protection.

International Workshop (March 25 - 26, 2022, Munich, Germany) organised by Southeast Europe Association and EuroNatur, gathered experts from civil society, academic experts, local government, line ministries, relevant international organizations, the European Commission, UNEP, and representatives from the media, from the Western Balkans region and Western Europe, where we presented the Komarnica case.

During the public debate on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in 2022, which included two live events in Šavnik and Plužine, we requested an additional central debate in Podgorica. Since Komarnica is a public good, and the project to flood it affects all Montenegrin citizens, we believed a broader discussion was necessary. When our request was denied, we took matters into our own hands, organizing an event, on March 18th 2022, to inform the public about Komarnica, the flaws in the EIA document, and the planned hydropower project. In many ways, this marked the beginning of the Save Komarnica initiative.

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