The diggers are returning to Kozhuf mountain. The concession holder for the construction of a small hydropower plant on the Doshnitsa river has received an extended permit, and the activists who camped on the road for months last year - are returning to the barricades. The Doshnitsa is one of the last untouched mountain waters in the country, and with the construction of a small hydropower plant, it risks being put into a pipe.

Last year, after 72 days of blockade and a strong public reaction (including support from Greta Thunberg), the machinery was withdrawn. The activists thought that was a victory. They are learning now that in Macedonia „victory" means „pause" - the concession holder comes back as soon as the political pressure eases.

This time there are new elements. According to activists, the concession holder is also bringing in private security - to fight off the inevitable blockades. In other words: this phase of the conflict will be harsher than the previous one. Citizen activists from Gevgelija, Kavadarci and nearby towns are already organising new protests.

„We know they're preparing to bring in machinery with security, but the Doshnitsa is ours and no force will make us stay silent while one of the last clean rivers and natural treasures is being destroyed. We will stand in front of the diggers, in front of the machinery and in front of every attempt to put the Doshnitsa into a pipe", said the activist organisation Changemakers.

The question that remains unanswered is - why build small hydropower plants in areas that are natural treasures, when their energy contribution is minimal? Small hydropower plants don't solve any energy crisis. They generate modest electricity - while destroying ecosystems that cannot regenerate. The economics don't even add up.

Concession holders get those permits because there are legal frameworks that let them. Local authorities often back them - because that's easier than fighting them. And then, when local citizens block the road, politicians show up with statements of „support" - and disappear once the machinery returns. It's a pattern Shar Mountain, Mavrovo and Pelister have already seen.

For the Balkans, Doshnitsa is a symbol. Not only for the river. But for the model: how much a small mining asset is worth against one piece of clean nature. The activists believe the answer is obvious. The concession holders and their political partners take the opposite view. And this year, Kozhuf will once again be the arena for that argument.