On the occasion of endangering the floodplain of Novi Sad and numerous protected species, the Green Wave provided support to the local initiative Dunavac Šodroš with an appeal to domestic and international institutions.

APPEAL ON VIOLATIONS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LAWS, CONVENTIONS AND DECLARATIONS IN THE CASE OF BUILDING A NEW BRIDGE IN NOVI SAD, REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

 Dear Sirs, 

The Green Wave, as a platform for cooperation between Nature Conservationists in the Balkan region, bringing together organizations and individuals, appeals for support to stop destructive projects taking place throughout the Balkans, and currently for emergency aid regarding the construction on Novi Sad water land ( Dunavac, Šodroš and Kamenička ada), on the Danube, the city lung that has been protecting from floods for hundreds of years and which is home to 250 protected and strictly protected species.

 We demand a moratorium on all preliminary works and actions regarding the construction of the bridge in the extension of the Boulevard of Europe until September 16, 2022, WHEN THE BERN CONVENTION WILL DECIDE ON THE ALLEGATIONS of the complaint submitted by the organization World and Danube.

By the Conclusion of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, the construction of the fourth bridge in Novi Sad was declared a project of national importance. At the same time, five laws and the Constitution of the RS were violated, which is why the Initiative for the Assessment of Constitutionality and Legality was launched before the Constitutional Court, and before that a constitutional complaint. There is a well-founded suspicion that the Conclusion referred to the second bridge (near Petrovaradin), which was detected by all urban plans as a priority for relocating traffic – the bypass bridge.

THE DEAL IS NEGOTIATED WITHOUT TENDER, directly and non-transparently with Chinese banks and the company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). This company has been on the black list of the World Bank for years due to its rich history of non-transparent business and environmental devastation. CRBC built a highway in Montenegro and on that occasion destroyed the Tara riverbed, for which it was fined EUR 200,000. The fear that the Novi Sad riverbank will be devastated is justified.

No strategic environmental assessments have been made for this bridge, nor have the citizens of Novi Sad had the opportunity to comment on this project, which they are entitled to under the Aarhus Convention, which introduces freight and passenger traffic five meters from their apartments. Part of the bridge is an oversized viaduct, which would lead to an unbearable increase in noise and pollution levels. 

Forty kilometers upstream from the Freedom Bridge, Bačka and Srem are not connected by any bridge, while a new bridge to three existing ones is planned in Novi Sad.

Residents of Telep expressed their DISAGREEMENT with the construction of access roads in the form of a kilometer-long viaduct and the introduction of a highway.

The PROFESSION HAS DECLARED THE DANGER of endangering the embankment that protects Novi Sad from floods. Translating trucks and other heavy machinery can easily lead to its collapse.

Due to all these facts, which show that every legal framework in the Republic of Serbia has completely crumbled and that chaotic lawlessness is being introduced, which is already destabilizing the Balkan region, and thus the European Union, we ask for support to stop illegal usurpation of protected areas.

We look forward to your support and are at your disposal for any further information.

 On behalf of the Green Wave Platform, 

Dragana Božinović – Coordinator