The River Sisters are one of the first members of our Confluence of European Water Bodies. Together with many NGO’s, united in the Save The Rivers Coalition, they have been campaigning for over zeven years to protect Vistula, the queen of Polish rivers. Its middle section is an example of a perfectly preserved, unique landscape of a large, freely meandering natural river. A dam was supposed to be built between Toruń and Włocławek, a 1.8 billion euros project, bringing catastrophic consequences for the entire ecosystem.
After many years of vigilance and quick responses to local and national authorities’ decisions, after years of court battles, protests, pickets, and happenings, they can breathe a sigh of relief. The General Director of Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) annulled the decision to grant a construction permit issued by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Bydgoszcz in 2017. The GDOŚ completely overturned the previous decisions, preventing the issuance of the construction permit for the dam and refused to define the environmental conditions for the construction of the hydroelectric power plant on the Vistula below Włocławek.
Congratulations Rivers Sisters, your work is a great inspiration to all the water bodies of Europe, fighting for their right to flow freely. Rivers unite, dams divide!
Have a look at this video to learn more about the campaign