Rok Rozman - dedicated to conserving wild rivers

Rok Rozman, a former Olympic rower, who is concerned about climate change, has dedicated his life to protecting wild rivers.

Too many rivers have had dams built on them.- Dams destroy the natural environment. To build a dam, hydroelectric dams especially, a valley is flooded to create a reservoir, destroying the plants and animals which live there, plus the homes and communities of the inhabitants would be lost…

At a rivers conference, without stopping to think, he announced that he and his friends would paddle the affected rivers the following spring.It was to be called the Balkan Rivers Tour.

The kayakers tour, which lasted 39 days, began in April 2016. Rok and his friends were joined by 500 kayakers and 1,500 activists from 18 countries- some for days , others fro weeks. TV , radio and newspaper reporters followed the tour - the stories of the local inhabitants were finally heard.

On the last day Rok, in Tirana, Albaniia’s capital city gave a speech. The police stopped him from delivering his kayak to the Prime Minister.

Source
Earth Heroes by Lily dyu & Amy Blackwell