Born and raised in Spain, Aniol has traveled the world in search of the fastest rivers. And he finally found them and claims that they can be driven…but with a little style.
I come from Spain and grew up seeing dams all over the country from a young age. Most of these old dams produce little power, are not in good condition and can be a real danger to the villages near them.
These are difficult times for rivers everywhere in the world. Having traveled the world with the goal of paddling rivers, I can say that the future ahead is terrifying. Every country in the world seeks to use rivers in an unsustainable way, from rich countries to developing ones. The greed and ambition of people has never ceased to amaze me. The excuses are always the same: the need for energy. “It’s clean energy” they say. The impact of these dams, big or small, is very big on the ecosystem and on the people who live near the rivers.
We have a powerful and inexhaustible resource like the sun, we have wind, tidal current and geothermal energy. How can we turn our backs on these natural (and really clean) resources and continue making the same mistakes?! I grew up in a house where energy was generated by solar panels, where electricity was very valuable and not a bit of it was used irresponsibly. The right direction is to produce less and use it in a smarter way, not the other way around. This can only be achieved if our children receive the right education.
Everything in life happens for a reason and I believe the fact that we don’t have flowing rivers is related to the fact that we no longer have rain. For example, Spain is slowly turning into a desert.
We are living on this planet as if after all the resources are gone we will be able to live on another planet, but that is madness.
The new dams that are planned to be built in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania would be a real disaster for the ecosystem and the people around it. We cannot allow this to happen.
Please help us stop them. Alone we may not be strong, but together we can make anything possible. Join the tour! 6 countries, 18 rivers and 11 events – enough reasons to get involved in this amazing project!!!
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The Balkan River Tour is a joint activity of Leeway Collective, EuroNatur, Riverwatch, and WWF, organized within the “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” campaign. Without taking into account protected areas, endangered species or local communities, around 2,700 hydroelectric dams are planned to be built between Slovenia and Albania. With this campaign, we want to stop the tsunami of dam building.
Find out more here: http://www.balkanrivers.net/ and http://www.balkanriverstour.com/
