Some of the most stunningly beautiful rivers in the world are located in the Balkan region. Known as the Blue Heart of Europe, these are the last wild rivers on the European continent. These critical rivers are currently being decimated by the building of dams for hydropower projects.

International banks have poured millions of dollars into destructive hydropower development in the region. More than 3,000 hydropower dams and diversions are proposed or being built on wild rivers in the Balkans—with almost half in protected areas. These projects would permanently damage the last untamed rivers in Europe—impacting wildlife, like the critically endangered Balkan Lynx. We must stop this.

Join Patagonia in calling on international banks like World Bank’s International Finance Corporation to end their Balkan hydropower investments before the last wild rivers in Europe are irreversibly destroyed.

These dams and river-draining diversions will destroy Albania’s Vjosa—the largest and last untamed river in Europe, send the already threatened Danube Salmon to extinction in Bosnia, displace culturally significant communities, and destroy freshwater resources throughout the region.

We can win this fight. Last year U.S. Bank, after mounting pressure from environmental advocates, pulled gas and oil pipelines from its list of investments. They are the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States. Your signature could be what helps us convince these banks to do the right thing too.

To see how beautiful these rivers are, watch the video on our petition and add your name to help us save the Blue Heart of Europe.