The citizens’ associations Polekol, Europa Nostra Serbia, and the local initiative from Ušće – Save Studenica – have submitted an official initiative to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris, warning of increasingly serious pressures that threaten to irreversibly damage one of the most valuable parts of Serbia’s cultural and natural heritage: the Studenica River basin and the cultural landscape surrounding the Studenica Monastery, it was announced today.
They added that the 12th-century monastery Studenica is a jewel of Serbian heritage, recognised and inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List in 1986. The letter states that the planned construction of the Studenica S4 Gradina mini hydroelectric plant, as well as two potential additional plants downstream, along with existing and new projects emerging in and around protected zones, could lead to irreversible destruction.
“World heritage cannot be defended while its destruction is simultaneously being allowed. One cannot speak of protecting cultural heritage while permitting projects that sever the lifeline of a sacred landscape,” the associations said in their address.
They added that “Studenica is not a place for industry and a 30-metre concrete giant, but an area where nature, human activity, and spirituality are inseparably connected.”
It was pointed out that it is particularly worrying that the Studenica basin has already been formally designated as a cultural landscape of the highest importance and as part of the UNESCO Golija–Studenica Biosphere Reserve, yet despite this, new projects continue to undermine its value.
“The illegally approved urban planning project for the Gradina mini hydro plant, the amended regulation on the protection of the Golija Nature Park which opens the door to dangerous interventions, as well as plans to build reservoirs at the very source of the river due to the expansion of the ski resort – all of this combined represents a range of threats that systematically undermine the integrity of this unique area,” the letter states.
It is added that the residents of Ušće and the surrounding villages have made it clear that they do not want mini hydroelectric plants on the Studenica, and they have been supported by experts and environmental organisations from across Serbia.
“Studenica is a natural and cultural asset of exceptional national and international importance and value, and as such must not become the prey and victim of investors’ greed at the expense of the public interest,” the associations warned.
(N1, 24.11.2025)
https://n1info.rs/vesti/unesko-obavesten-o-pretnjama-studenici-izgradjnjom-mini-hidroelektrana/