Ana Čolović Lešoska (born 1979) is a Macedonian biologist who since 2011 has campaigned against the construction of dams for hydroelectric power production in the

Mavrovo National Park Mavrovo National Park () is the largest of the four national parks of North Macedonia, within the borders of the municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuse. Located in the west of the country, it spreads over an area of about and is characterized by ...

in order to safeguard threatened species, including the

Balkan lynx The Balkan lynx (''Lynx lynx balcanicus'') is a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx in the genus ''Lynx''. It is found in Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and western North Macedonia, with smaller populations in Montenegro. It is considered a national symbo ...

. This led to the withdrawal of loans from the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and the

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

(EBRD), convincing the Government of North Macedonia to suspend further work on dams in the national park. In recognition of her efforts, in April 2019 she was one of six environmentalists to be awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists. History Awardees are named from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, an ...

. Colovic Lesoska, a biologist, heard about plans to create hydroelectric power facilities in Mavrovo in 2010. They included the 33m-high Boškov Most dam and the 70m-high Lukovo Pole dam. As executive director of Eko-svest, a Macedonian environmental research centre, in collaboration with other NGOs and activists, she launched the "Save Mavrovo" campaign. In November 2011, she filed a complaint with the ERBD, explaining that they had approved a loan for the Boškov Most project without conducting the required biodiversity assessment. She encouraged the ambassadors of countries with representatives on the EBRD board to push for an end to the funding. A petition she launched urging the government, the ERBD and the World Bank to bring the projects to a close was supported by almost 100,000 signatures. In 2013, she filed a complaint with the

Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the '' de facto'' capital of Switzerland, referred to as the " federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental i ...

, explaining that the Boškov Most hydropower project "could have a decisive negative impact on the lynx". In December 2015, the Berne Convention ordered the ERBD and the World Bank to suspend financing as the project could have "a decisive negative impact on the lynx". The World Bank immediately withdrew funding and the following May, a court decision to annul the environmental permit for the Boškov Most project. In January 2017, the EBRD cancelled financing. In recognition of these achievements, in April 2019 Ana Colovic Lesoska was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize. It was the first time the prize had been awarded to North Macedonia.

References

External links

Ana Colovic-Lesoska's profile on LinkedIn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colovic Lesoska, Ana 1979 births Living people Scientists from Skopje Macedonian conservationists Women environmentalists Macedonian biologists Macedonian women scientists Women biologists Goldman Environmental Prize awardees