BALKAN RIVER TOUR 5

Po poti rek: BALKAN RIVER DEFENCE Balkan River Tour 5

Verjetno ste jih na njihovi poti že zasledili - morda v kajaku na deroči reki, na televiziji, s transparentom pred parlamentom ali pa mirno protestirati pred stavbo ministrstva za okolje in prostor - kjerkoli že jih je vaš pogled uzrl, zagotovo niste ostali ravnodušni. Načelo “boriti se za nekaj, kar verjameš, da je prav” še nikoli ni imelo boljše realizacije. Gibanje Bakan River Defence združuje mlado s starim, lokalno prebivalstvo s tujino, laike s strokovnjaki, šport z naravovarstvom. Združuje naravo in človeka ter ju razdvaja - točno tam, kjer je to potrebno.

Vnovi rubriki “Po poti rek” vam predstavljamo projekt ekipe Balkan River Defence na popotovanju varovanja divjih rek. Balkan River Tour združuje vse, ki jim za reke na Balkanskem polotoku ni vseeno in ozavešča o pomenu njihovega obstoja. V sklopu tega je izšel dokumentarni film The Undamaged, ki smo ga predvajali tudi v Centru mladih Koper. Film je zdaj prosto dostopen, njegov ogled pa toplo priporočamo, kot uverturo v svet varovanja zadnjih prostotekočih rek v Evropi: www.balkanriverdefence.org/the-undamaged.

Ekipi in njihovemu boju lahko sledite na Facebooku, Instagramu ter na spletni strani balkanriverdefence.org, izsledke njihove 5. (avan) ture pa boste lahko prebirali tudi v naslednjih nekaj revijah.

Dnevnik pred vami je beležil biolog in kajakaš Rok Rozman:

Last year we had to cancel it. This year we were expected to do the same. When figuring

out how can we bypass this crap called measures, we had one thing in mind - how to keep tour’s goal - showcasing the stunning Sava River and exposing the threats of 10 new unnecessary HPPs planned in Slovenia. For that we would need a small crew of kayakers, photographers and videographers to explore the Sava from its two sources to the first national border. No

events, no official hang arounds, just kayaking and living next to the river.

We did just that. Three weeks ago, starting on June 1st – the International day of Sava. Kayakers covered 258 kilometers with a paddle, followed by a dedicated group of people with cameras in their hands. The end result will be a feature length documentary and somewhere down the road the cancelation of dam plans. But for now, here’s a daily recap of our 11 days on the water. Day 1 starting tomorrow …

BRT5/Day 1.1

The Sava River starts off as two separate forks. The north fork, called the Sava Dolinka, collects it’s waters in the heart of the Julian Alps. High up in the Tamar Valley it shows itself as a waterfall, but then sinks underground, till it resurfaces at the wetland Zelenci, it’s official source. So, this was an appropriate start for half of our crew too. Branko and Rok got all packed and then carried boats to the end of Zelenci protected area to put on what is still a tiny stream packed with strainers. But as soon as it gets it’s first proper

tributary – Pišnica – the character of the river changes. All the way to Hrušica, Sava Dolinka is a proper alpine beauty with wide gravel bars interchanging with narrow passages. The contrast is hard though, when it enters the town of Jesenice; it becomes a channel with factories all around, clogged with 3 consecutive dams. But, it was all in all an exciting first day.

BRT5/Day 1.2

The other half of our kayaking crew took on the south fork of the Sava River - Sava Bohinjka - which gets it’s waters from the heart of Triglav National Park. It first shows itself as a majestic Savica waterfall which then flows into the Bohinj Lake. It was where Savica flows into the Bohinj Lake where Carmen and Bor packed their gear for 11 days on the river and started paddling over the scenic lake at sunrise. Then they paddled into Jezernica which, after receiving left tributary called Mostnica, officially becomes Sava Bohinjka. Passing scenic little box canyon, cool sets of rapids, riverside meadows and the town of Bohinjska Bistrica they had lunch at Grmečica waterfall and then overnighted on a gravel bar just before the start of Soteska, the Sava Bohinjka gorge. First day passed without any dams or portages and was a great intro into the Sava adventure.

Dnevnik piše: Rok Rozman Foto: Katja Jemec in Katja Pokorn Uvod napisala: Lana Kocjančič