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Europe’s last wild rivers shrinking fast as Balkans lose 2,500 km of pristine waterways

REM - Renewable Energy
Clare Nuttall in Glasgow 21 January 2026

Europe’s last wild rivers are being steadily eroded by hydropower and infrastructure development, with nearly 2,500 kilometres of pristine waterways lost across the Balkans over the past decade, according to a new regional assessment published on January 21.

The study, commissioned by conservation groups Riverwatch and EuroNatur, found that the share of “nearly natural” rivers in the Balkans fell from 30% in 2012 to 23% in 2025, a loss of about 2,450 river kilometres, as dams, diversions and river engineering projects expanded across the region.

The report, authored by Austrian river ecologist Ulrich Schwarz of consultancy Fluvius Vienna, assessed the hydromorphological condition of 83,824 kilometres of rivers in 11 Balkan countries, making it the first comprehensive and comparable regional survey in more than a decade.

“The long-term trends documented in this study show a clear decline in near-natural river stretches across the Balkans, driven primarily by impoundments and large-scale river modifications,” Schwarz said in a press release emailed to bne IntelliNews. 

“While the region still retains a comparatively high share of intact rivers, these trends point to a growing divergence between current development practices and the environmental standards required under EU accession frameworks and sustainable river management principles.”

Hydropower remains the main driver of degradation, the report said, with river impoundments increasing by 18% since 2012, from 2,224 kilometres to 2,626 kilometres. Large rivers were the most heavily affected, while smaller headwater streams were generally in better condition, though pressures were spreading.

Across the region, only 23% of large rivers now remain nearly natural, while 43% are slightly modified. Moderately to extensively altered rivers account for 27%, and severely modified stretches – mainly reservoirs and impoundments – make up 7%.

The most significant changes were recorded in the Drina, Neretva, Vardar/Axios, Devoll and Drin river basins, according to the report.

Despite the decline, the Balkans remain Europe’s last major stronghold of relatively untouched rivers. About 33% of all rivers assessed were still in a nearly natural state, with a further 39% classified as slightly modified – far higher than in most of Central and Southern Europe.

“The region remains a global ecological stronghold, far surpassing the river health status of Central and Southern Europe,” the report said.

Albania recorded the steepest deterioration of any Balkan country, with the share of nearly natural river stretches falling from 68% in 2012 to 40% in 2025. In absolute terms, the length of pristine rivers dropped from 3,812 kilometres to 2,668 kilometres between 2018 and 2025 alone.

“No other Balkan country has lost as many pristine or slightly modified river stretches in the past decade as Albania,” the study said, citing hydropower development, river regulation, water abstraction and floodplain alteration as the main causes.

“While Albania successfully protected the Vjosa and some of its tributaries, more river stretches were degraded over the past decade than in any other Balkan country,” said Ulrich Eichelmann, chief executive of Riverwatch. “These findings should serve as a wake-up call for the Albanian government to safeguard rivers nationwide, not only in a single basin, particularly given the country’s aspirations to join the European Union.”

Bosnia & Herzegovina also saw a sharp decline, with the length of pristine rivers falling from 1,170 kilometres to 904 kilometres between 2012 and 2025, a drop of 23%, the report said.

The assessment highlights hydropower as the most significant pressure on river systems, both from large dams and from hundreds of small hydropower plants that divert water into pipes and tunnels.

“Large barrages disrupt the river continuum, while abstraction for small hydropower plants creates long ‘residual’ stretches where riverbeds are left essentially dry,” the report said. “These structures permanently alter downstream flood regimes and sediment transport, leading to severe channel incision.”

Other drivers include gravel and sand extraction, which the study described as “beyond sustainable transport rates” in many river basins, as well as road construction, land reclamation and flood defence works that have straightened channels and disconnected rivers from their floodplains.

“Excessive sediment extraction has moved beyond sustainable transport rates,” the report said. “This activity causes long-term, potentially irreversible damage to riverbed stability and aquatic habitats.”

Conservation groups said that without a shift in development policy, the Balkans’ remaining free-flowing rivers risk being transformed into infrastructure corridors.

“The ‘Blue Heart of Europe’ is being systematically compromised by short-sighted development,” the report said.

There have, however, been notable conservation successes. Around 900 kilometres of rivers and streams have been preserved over the past 13 years, mainly by halting hydropower projects and establishing protected areas.

The most prominent example is Albania’s Vjosa River, which in 2023 became Europe’s first Wild River National Park, protecting around 400 kilometres of free-flowing river and blocking nearly 40 planned dams.

In Bosnia, amendments to the Bosnian Federation’s Law on Electricity in 2022 banned new small hydropower plants under 10 megawatts, halting about 116 planned projects. Legal challenges also stopped hydropower developments on rivers such as the Neretvica and Janjina.

In Croatia, construction of a hydropower plant at the source of the Una River was halted in 2024, while in Serbia and Greece several smaller rivers and tributaries have also been preserved.

“Amidst the decline, the protection of approximately 200 km of large rivers and 700 km of smaller streams – most notably through the Vjosa Wild River National Park – proves that with political will, destructive development can be halted,” the report said.

EuroNatur and Riverwatch called for urgent and coordinated action to protect remaining intact rivers, including stronger national and EU legislation, a halt to new hydropower projects in high-value ecosystems, and systematic monitoring as part of EU accession processes.

“As this region’s rivers continue to lose their natural character, the window for meaningful protection is rapidly closing,” said Annette Spangenberg, head of freshwater programmes at EuroNatur. “The Balkans still hold some of Europe’s last wild rivers, but safeguarding them now requires political courage, science-based decision-making, and a clear shift away from destructive practices. The data shows what is being lost and what will be lost if we do not act.”

The study was published as part of the “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” campaign, coordinated by Riverwatch and EuroNatur, which aims to protect Balkan rivers threatened by more than 3,000 planned hydropower projects across the region.