Water

Plastic pollution and the climate emergency are forcing us to question our water consumption habits.

During communism, irrigation systems made the Romanian Plain agriculturally robust, but have since collapsed. Droughts are the new reality.

Water wars are not inevitable but the result of bad management.

Rivers can be used to combat the risks of flooding or drought, particularly in urban areas. But schemes can negatively impact the environment and water quality.

In August 2022, a toxic algae bloom killed millions of fish in the Odra, exposing Poland’s inaction in protecting its rivers from the combined threats of pollution and climate change. One year later, river restoration efforts remain insufficient throughout the Baltic region. But the demands of civil society and citizens to democratise water management are becoming impossible to ignore.

The health of the ocean is central in the protection of the planet. But a rushed green light to deep-sea mining can put it at risk.

In recent years, the citizens of Serbia and Albania have offered inspiring examples of mobilisation against extractivism and ecosystem degradation. Can their success be replicated across the Balkans and beyond?

Despite their potential for climate conservation, peatlands remain a depleted and overlooked resource.