As the global thirst for energy heats up, countries from around the world are looking for the best ways to harnessing it in any form available.

Just several years ago, mini hydro power plants were regarded as a solution in the areas with plenty of streams and small rivers. The Balkans was seen as an excellent place to build hundreds of those facilities. But these days, environmentalists are claiming that those plants are actually doing more harm than good. Citizens of one small Bosnian village stood up and decided to defend their small river from those construction plans.

The idyllic river of Kruscica is located in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its stream is a valuable source of fresh water for hundreds of thousands of people, and the upstream is home to some endemic life forms. Right there, in the upper areas of the river, according to plans and concessions given, four mini hydro power plants are to be built. It was this news that sparked outrage among the locals.

Six women from this village decided to raise their voices. For many years, they have prevented heavy construction machinery from crossing the bridge and, as they see it, destroying the river.

They're supported from the entire village. Back in August 2017, villagers barricaded the bridge leading to the source of the river, preventing the heavy machinery from passing and beginning construction work. Riot police was called in and attempted to remove the villagers from the blockade by force. Although the villagers succeeded at first, they soon had to withdraw. Ever since, the women of Kruscica have kept watch at the river nonstop.

CGTN met Tahira Tibold, head of Community of Kruscica, at the blockade. "For us local citizens… we can't have this water. Can you imagine that?" Tahira said. "And we are fighting for this, because we don't have drinking water. Our only source is this water. We don't have any other. There are some small wells, but they are frozen during the winter."

She also added that if there was no river here, they would have to move out of their village.

What the authorities say

According to construction plans, water from the Kruscica river will be harnessed through two kilometers of pipes which will lead to power plant turbines. The main concern of the villagers is that their river will be left dry because of it. However, the authorities were quick to dismiss those claims, as Abdulah Burek, deputy minister for Water Management of Srednje-bosanski Kanton said to CGTN.

"Every concessionaire is bonded by the contract to study the so-called 'ecologically acceptable water minimum' during both winter and summer. That is written in their concession and they have to follow that minimum. The concessionaire has to maintain water levels, even if he can't produce electricity because there is not enough water," Burek said.

But the environmentalists disagree and they said that nobody - other than the villagers - is interested in protecting the environment here. "The international community representatives in Bosnia are no different either."

"We don't have any support from the international community, " Anes Podic from the NGO, Eko Akcija, told CGTN. "The international community has a large presence in Bosnia. We are still [...] governed by the international community, but since we have a lot of companies from the EU that are also trying to do, to become part of the business, the delegation of the EU remains silent."

The stalemate has continued here for over a year, with neither side ready to back down, with the stakes for the Kruscica villagers higher than ever before.

(Top photo: The bridge over Kruscica river, which is guarded 24/7 by the women of the Kruscica village, is pictured with a banner expressing resistance to hydro power plants' construction plans. /CGTN Photo)