In a small slice of good news from a far corner of Europe, native fish are swimming freely on an important river after conservationists removed a wartime concrete obstruction.
The Pchinja River runs 80 miles through North Macedonia and into Serbia, but more than 40 miles of its path were interrupted by a mound of concrete built to allow battle tanks to cross the river during World War II.
Located in the Northeast corner of the country near its second largest city of Kumanovo, the barrier had slowed the water flow such that stagnation, depletion of oxygen, and buildup of pollutants and garbage had significantly degraded the water quality.
According to local environmental group Eco Awareness, the Kumanovo Municipality finally began work to remove the obstacle last October with the help of the national environmental authorities.
“This is the largest obstacle that has been removed so far in Macedonia, but also in Europe,” says Ana Čolović Lesoska from Eco-awareness.
“The public opinion poll conducted by the Brima agency in October 2025 shows that 91% of the population supports the removal of unnecessary river barriers. This shows a strong awareness of the health of rivers and the need to preserve them.”
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As a result of the removal, 40 miles of the Pchinja River have been released to flow freely once again into the larger river systems downhill before the Pchinja meets the Vardar River in Greece.
Eco Awareness wrote that it had identified some 45 dams and other obstructions on the river that are no longer fit for purpose and should probably be removed. The group added that across Europe, derelict and redundant dams are being removed constantly, with some 525 demolished over the past few decades.
Under the banner of the Open Rivers Program supported by the EU, Eco Awareness aims to receive support in a campaign to remove all of these barriers and return the Pchinja River to a free-flowing and wild state.
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