The Wild Rivers project and its label will be implemented in the alpine countries and then in the Balkans.
European Rivers Network has established a partnership with WWF for the alpine region and with EURONATUR for the Balkan region.
Starting in April 2020 * is you can apply for the label and download all documents for the alpine countries, later on for the Balkan region.
More information > https://www.ern.org/en/wild-rivers/
* postponed to 2021 due to Covid 19 epidemie
Yesterday, 11 of Decembrer, European Commission release the fitness check results and they are largely positive, concluding the EU Water Framework Directive to be “fit for purpose”, acknowledging that the objectives of the law “are as relevant now as they were at the time of the adoption” and that the law has led to “a higher level of protection for water bodies and flood risk management”. The results also saying that any lack of progress is due to ‘insufficient funding, slow implementation and insufficient integration of environmental objectives in sectoral policies, and not due to a deficiency in the legislation’.
The conclusions also reference that : ‘water policy is very important to European citizens. The public consultation received more than 370,000 responses in total, which is an exceptionally high number’. Congratulations to all citizens and NGOs participated through the #ProtectWater campaign making this happen. And of course Living Rivers Europe coalition will be closely monitoring next steps.
These results are a very important first step towards bringing our European freshwater bodies back to life and must revitalize Member States who are now finalising their River Basin Management Plans to achieve the WFD’s objectives during the 2022-2027 cycle. This is an unparalleled opportunity for them to triple and speed-up their efforts on water protection, but also challenge climate change, water scarcity and pollutants of emerging concern for whom the report says that the Water Framework Directive flexible enough to accommodate this emerging pressures.
More infos
>Read Living Rivers Europe press release below
> More info about the campaign and Living Rivers Europe
> press release from ‘European Commission”
This concludes the two-year evaluation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and, by discarding the possibility of revision, sets the EU back on course to bring life back to its rivers through full implementation and enforcement of the law.
The message from the European Commission is clear: the WFD is a critical pillar of the EU’s environmental legislation and is here to stay in its current form. The fitness-check results highlight that the delay in reaching the WFD’s objectives is “largely due to insufficient funding, slow implementation and insufficient integration of environmental objectives in sectoral policies, and not due to a deficiency in the legislation.”
The conclusions come hot on the heels of the European Environment Agency’s State of the Environment Report 2020, which highlighted the WFD as being essential to halting and reversing biodiversity loss. The conclusions are strongly supported by WWF, EEB, Wetlands International, the European Rivers Network and European Anglers Alliance – who together form the Living Rivers Europe coalition and led the #ProtectWater campaign to safeguard the WFD.
Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office and Chair of the Living Rivers Europe coalition, said
“By signing off the Water Framework Directive as fit for purpose, the European Commission is standing shoulder to shoulder with the hundreds of thousands of European citizens, scientists and civil society groups who have all championed the WFD over the past two years.
We congratulate President Von der Leyen on sealing the deal before the end of the year. As the results point out, slow implementation is to blame for not having yet reached the WFD’s objectives. As expressed yesterday upon the publication of the European Green Deal, the Commission now needs to put its money where its mouth is. It must ensure that Member States submit ambitious plans and concrete actions to achieve the law’s objectives by 2027, and that this is supported by dedicated funding.”
Mark Owen, Freshwater Policy Advisor to the European Anglers Alliance and Living Rivers Europe partner, said
“For 20 years we have been battling Member States to properly implement the Water Framework Directive as the most sustainable way of restoring fish stocks for the millions of anglers who take part in recreational fishing, the thousands of jobs that depend on angling together with the rural economies that directly benefit from angling tourism. Now that the fitness check has determined that the WFD is not only fit for purpose but that failure is due to lack of implementation by Member States, we would expect urgent action to conform with the present legal requirements to deliver for fish and fishing.”
Support for the WFD stretches far and wide
Just last week, an open letter from 5,500+ scientists was sent to Executive Vice-President Timmermans and Commissioner Sinkevičius, calling on them to “save and implement the Water Framework Directive” in order to halt and reverse the catastrophic decline in freshwater biodiversity. Earlier this year, 375,386 citizens took a stand for the WFD through the #ProtectWater campaign, which facilitated citizens’ participation in the European Commission’s public consultation on the WFD (the only opportunity for the general public to have its say during the fitness-check) to express their clear opposition to changing the legislation. This made the public consultation on the WFD the third largest in the history of the EU. It went on to be supported by more than 130 civil society organisations, including national partners and offices of Greenpeace, BirdLife and Friends of the Earth, as well as unions.
A well enforced WFD must be at the heart of the European Green Deal
The gifts people and nature receive from healthy rivers, lakes and wetlands are key to delivering the four main pillars of the European Green Deal. From supporting climate adaptation to protecting biodiversity, fuelling sustainable food systems to thriving economies, a strong WFD forms the necessary baseline to secure all the benefits healthy freshwater ecosystems provide.
Next steps
Looking ahead, it is now important to pull all efforts towards reaching the objectives of the WFD by 2027.
There is a long way to go. 60% of EU surface waters are not healthy, failing to meet the WFD’s standards. Last week’s State of the Environment Report 2020 showed that, out of the four freshwater indicators analysed by the EEA, only one has shown progress over the last 10-15 years. For all indicators, the outlook to 2030 is “a mixed picture”.
However, Member States are now finalising their plans to achieve the WFD’s objectives during the 2022-2027 cycle (known as River Basin Management Plans). This is an unparalleled opportunity for them to triple and speed-up their efforts on water protection. The European Commission needs to embark all actors together in an ambitious vision for healthy and clean waters in Europe, one which requires political will, enforcement of the legislation, and investments.
Contact:
Sophie Bauer
Communications Officer (Freshwater)
WWF European Policy Office
sbauer@wwf.eu
+32 471 05 25 11
Claire Baffert
Senior Water Policy Officer
WWF European Policy Office
cbaffert@wwf.eu
+32 49273 1092
In the context of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP25 Madrid, civil society organizations from around the world are calling upon the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) to abandon the certification of destructive hydropower projects as climate-friendly. Here is their joint statement :
Civil Society Society Statement, 10 December 2019
“On behalf of 276 civil society organizations from around the world, we are calling upon the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) to abandon the certification of destructive hydropower projects as climate-friendly. The proposed hydropower criteria developed by CBI and its technical working group fall far short of acceptable standards and practice, and their adoption would pose a significant threat to rivers and the communities and freshwater species that depend on them.
If adopted, the CBI’s hydropower criteria would risk opening up a funding source that could prove profitable to dam operators and institutional investors with Paris-friendly branding, while making no meaningful contribution to stemming the climate crisis. Beyond permitting projects with dubious value to attract a new line of financing, the greatest risk of the proposed criteria is channeling scarce climate dollars toward projects that fail to help us confront the challenge of preventing a 2oC scenario and that exert increased pressure on freshwater biodiversity and the functioning of our water cycle.
In its eagerness to capitalize on the expanding market for climate-certified energy projects, the Climate Bonds Initiative has aligned itself with the International Hydropower Association (IHA), an industry body created to promote the interests of hydro companies and boost their image. In recent years, the IHA has rolled out a series of tools and guidance and advocated their use in lieu of established international standards and mechanisms for assessing the costs and benefits of hydropower.
The adverse environmental and social impacts of destructive hydroelectric dams are now well understood, ranging from displacing and impoverishing millions, particularly indigenous peoples, to driving the extinction of freshwater species and fragmenting rivers. Yet the CBI proposes to adopt the IHA’s own environmental, social and governance assessment tool as their principal source of assessment and verification. This would amount to little more than a box ticking exercise conducted by assessors accredited by the IHA itself – a glaring conflict of interest that lacks any meaningful oversight – making a mockery of international standards and conventions designed to protect rivers and the rights of communities. This would also be at odds with positive approaches adopted within the existing CBI standard for water infrastructure.
Besides profound damage to the hydrosphere – an important part of global climate system – hydropower reservoirs emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases, especially in the tropics. Dam reservoirs emit methane, a particularly potent greenhouse gas, and are a significant contributor to the climate crisis. Yet CBI’s proposed criteria set such a low bar that even high-emitting dams would qualify for CBI certification. This problem is compounded by CBI’s proposal to use the IHA’s own non-transparent emissions calculation tool, which systematically underestimates the greenhouse gas emissions from dams. Methane emissions from dams are highest in the first years of operation, thus incentivizing hydropower would contribute to a spike in emissions at the precise moment the world is trying to reduce GHG emissions to arrest the worst impacts of climate change.
Climate financing has the potential to play a critical role in ensuring positive outcomes for rivers. This could include: protecting threatened freshwater resources; restoring flows that facilitate reconnection of fragmented ecosystems; ensuring cultural and environmental flows determined in consultation with affected peoples; and promoting river restoration efforts such as the decommissioning of obsolete dams. This is of utmost importance because our freshwater resources are vital to sustain in an era of climate change. The CBI has already issued a separate standard for water infrastructure, which took an important step to help promote nature-based solutions to addressing climate change.
CBI’s hydropower criteria, on the other hand, would represent a step backward, sanctioning business-as-usual energy practices that further threaten our rivers. If approved, it would exacerbate global threats to freshwater biodiversity, undermine the cultural values and human rights of affected communities, and fail to make progress toward addressing the climate crisis. It would at the same time damage the reputation of the Climate Bonds Initiative and contribute to discrediting green bond finance mechanisms in general. Therefore, we call upon the CBI, its board and advisory bodies to abandon their pursuit of a hydropower standard that caters to the hydropower industry instead of providing meaningful solutions to address the climate crisis.”
6th of Décember , an open letter from 5,500+ scientists was sent to Executive Vice-President Timmermans and Commissioner Sinkevičius, calling on them to “save and implement the Water Framework Directive” in order to halt and reverse the catastrophic decline in freshwater biodiversity. Congratulations to all signatories for this commitment!
It is still possible to join the statement and sign.
NGOs and Living Rivers Europe Coalition reaction
“Scientists and academics concerned by the dire state of European rivers, lakes and wetlands have released a statement calling on the EU to fully implement and enforce its own water law – the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) – in order to halt and reverse the catastrophic decline in the world’s freshwater biodiversity.
The statement has been endorsed by twelve scientific bodies representing over 5,000 scientists, and nearly 500 individual scientists specialising in the wide array of species impacted by the WFD – from amphibians to insects, freshwater fishes to birdlife. The scientists include Dr. Jörg Freyhof, Regional Chair of the IUCN/WI Freshwater Fish Specialist Group, and Professor Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, Director of Swansea University’s Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research.
The statement was released earlier today alongside an op-ed for Euractiv by Professor Steven Weiss – a freshwater biodiversity expert at the University of Graz and one of the statement’s signatories.
The statement describes the WFD as a critical tool for ensuring that Europe has “healthy and resilient freshwater bodies to support people and nature, today and in the future”, stressing that ‘There cannot be an effective European Green Deal without healthy freshwater ecosystems at the heart of it’. The statement is released as the European Commission is in the final stages of a standard evaluation of the WFD – known as a “fitness-check” – which is designed to assess whether the law is still relevant and fit for purpose. The final conclusions of this evaluation are expected next week.
Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office, said:
“EU Member States and business lobbies have been using the fitness-check of the Water Framework Directive to push for weaker environmental standards. The European Commission’s silence has been deafening, and it has continued to allow the impact of the WFD to be gutted by poor implementation and abuse of exemptions. We hope this massive call from thousands of scientists acts as a final wake-up call for the Commission: This law is the right tool to protect Europe’s rivers, any watering down of it would put the European Green Deal in serious jeopardy.”
ENDS
Contact:
Alexandra Chevalier
WWF European Policy Office
achevalier@wwf.eu
0032 48449 4354
Claire Baffert
Senior Water Policy Officer
WWF European Policy Office
0032 49273 1092
You were told in our news of June 2019 : Several French and Swiss NGOs had made the request, with their respective governments, to be involved in the reflection on the renewal of the concessions of 3 hydroelectric structures present on the Franco-Swiss Doubs (The Châtelot, The Chorus and The Ghoul) which come soon to maturity (respectively 2024, 2028, 2032).
In November, they have just received two similar replies from their respective governments, who each propose to meet them in the course of 2020. Let’s hope that this will be a real consultation, and not just a restitution of already taken decisions. We remain vigilant!
The governments also specify that they are currently working on a draft international convention applicable on the whole section of the Doubs Franco-Swiss. The governments consider that the adoption of this convention is a preliminary and necessary framework for the definition of the modalities of renewal of the hydropower concessions. It is the advancement of this draft convention that will determine the schedule of the meeting with associations.
In view of the next Ministerial Conference, which will take place in Amsterdam in 2020, environmental protection NGOs from the Rhine basin in favor of the ecological continuity of the Upper Rhine have just published a common position, in which they make known their requirements.
Indeed, at the last plenary meeting of the ICPR in Malbun in July 2019, France communicated its global plan for the restoration of ecological continuity of the Rhine between Rhinau and Vogelgrün.
Despite the implementation of the new “Living Rhine Plan”, which they welcome and approve, the NGOS deplore that the deadline of 2020 originally planned, nor any other deadline, is no longer included in the French program.
As a result, NGOs are demanding that all necessary work to ensure ecological continuity and relocation of naturally balanced salmon populations in the Rhine Basin to Basel be completed by the end of 2025.
They also call for a review clause for late 2022 and for a progress report.
>> For more details, read the position of associations (available in French and in German only)
> Read also our previous news about Rhine (July 2019)
>> French flyer “Plan Rhin Vivant”
The recent anniversary of the failure of the Malpasset dam (Fréjus-France) remind us how dangerous dams can be for human populations.
It was 60 years ago but the drama is still fresh in people mind. On December 2, 1959, the Malpasset dam, under the effect of torrential rains saturating its capacity, released 50 million cubic meters of water, in a wave of 60 meters high, making more than 400 victims…
Too many other dam-breaking accidents have already occurred in Europe. For example :
Nowadays, although technologies have progressed, the persistence of this risk is unacceptable, especially when we add it to all the other negative impacts of dams on rivers. One reason more to avoid them…
Photo : Vajont dam disaster (Italia- 1963) – Archive photo
EuroNatur, Riverwatch, WWF and GEOTA have just published a new study on the extent of the pressure on the rivers of Europe. This is a real hydroelectric frenzy that rages across the European continent.
More than 8,700 new hydroelectric plants are planned on our rivers, and we know all the devastating impacts of these structures on biodiversity and society …
The inhabitants of the Balkans and their rivers are the most threatened.
Dowload the full report and the summary report
Also more infos below, in this Euronatur/Riverwatch Press Release :
© FLUVIUS, commandé par le WWF, Riverwatch, EuroNatur, GEOTA
Les rivières d’Europe sont minées ! La carte montre les centrales hydroélectriques existantes et prévues sur le continent. L’un des foyers géographiques: les Balkans.
The study was commissioned by EuroNatur, Riverwatch, WWF, and GEOTA. Its findings highlight the failure of governments both within and outside the EU to protect rivers and biodiversity, and document plain disregard of EU water protection legislation, in particular the Water Framework Directive.
“We are facing the end of free-flowing rivers in Europe and a collapse of biodiversity if we do not stop this hydropower madness. The EU Commission under Ursula von der Leyen and the national governments have to stop this expansion. Above all, they must put an end to subsidies for hydropower and improve river protection. It is unacceptable that our electricity bill finances hydropower investors and thus the destruction of Europe’s lifelines,” says Ulrich Eichelmann of Riverwatch.
© Amel Emric
Small hydropower plant Ugar in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Many of the planned hydropower plants are so-called small hydropower plants, however, their damage to nature is anything but small.
At this river, the globally endangered Huchen has lost its spawning ground.
“The largest number of hydropower plants – more than 3,000 – is planned to be constructed in the Balkans. Most of these rivers are still intact, some even untouched. They are a European treasure that we cannot afford to lose. We urge the European Union to address these developments in the accession negotiations and to insist on compliance with nature conservation legislation. In the Balkans, there is excessive investment in hydropower, while the potential for solar power – a truly renewable energy source – remains largely untapped,” says EuroNatur CEO Gabriel Schwaderer.
Hydropower dams destroy rivers and their surroundings, and they substantially contribute to biodiversity loss. They interrupt the natural flow of the river, block fish migration – affecting fish stocks and the survival of endangered species – and intercept sediments that protect river banks and deltas from flooding and rising sea levels. Local communities are literally being dried up. In addition, over 90 percent of the planned hydroelectric power plants generate only small amounts of electricity (less than 10 MW), i.e. they are so-called ‘small’ hydropower plants that cause great damage to nature with little economic benefit.
© Amel Emric
The Jadar dam in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Steven Weiss, Assoc. Univ.-Prof. Uni Graz, emphasizes the devastating effects of hydropower: “Based on extrapolations from my more detailed study on the Balkans, as well as the IUCN red list, we can predict that at least 20 and perhaps up to 30 freshwater fish species would go extinct if all of these plans would be carried out. Furthermore, a large percentage (> 95%) of the southern European fish fauna would be placed in an IUCN threat category. We must understand that the already high demand for water resources, especially in southern Europe will be exacerbated by such large-scale hydropower exploitation, resulting in a deadly combination for freshwater biodiversity.”
In order to tackle freshwater biodiversity loss, we demand from all European countries and the EU
Background information
Contact information
Anja Arning
Head of Public Relations, Euronatur
E-mail: anja.arning(a)euronatur.org
Ulrich Eichelmann
CEO, Riverwatch
E-mail: ulrich.eichelmann(a)riverwatch.eu
On 19.11.2019, a delegation from the German Fisheries – The Deutscher Angelfischerverband e.V, submitted a petition to the Dutch Parliament in The Hague.
The petition calls for a rethink of commercial net fishing at the Haringvliet dam at the mouth of the Rhine. After their confluence, the Rhine, the Meuse and the Merwede de Nieuwe reach the North Sea via the Haringvliet. The Haringvliet Dam is the largest tidal barrier in Europe. The Haringvliet locks have been open in places since autumn 2018, improving the continuity of migratory fish.
With the opening of the Haringvliet part of a common master plan of the countries bordering the Rhine was carried out, so that the fish can migrate freely. In this context, however, it was certainly not anticipated that they would migrate directly into the nets or cages in front of the estuary.
Millions of euros have already been invested to restore ecological continuity across the Rhine. In Germany, France and Switzerland, there are many programmes for the reintroduction of migratory fish into the Rhine, such as salmon and sea trout.
In addition, passing through the estuary; fish need to get used to the transition from fresh water to salt water. A sensitive process that takes some time, because the body of the fish has to change to do so. Thus, net fishing at this hotspot hinders the protection of fish and thus the success of reintroduction projects.
Germany’s petition received a wide response from the press in Holland. For example, Dutch public television MPO1 reported extensively on the petition in the Evening News (NOS-Journal). The Dutch Parliament will consider the petition and next steps in Harlingvliet in the Fisheries Commission on 5 December 2019.
Communiqué de presse du 20 octobre 2019
download press release (in french only)
Du 24 au 26 septembre 2019,s’est tenu à Rennes et à Avranches le 5ème colloque international sur la restauration de la continuité écologique des cours d’eau et les effacements de barrages. L’excellent accueil des partenaires locaux, des services de l’Etat, mais aussi des différents prestataires a permis à tous d’apprécier, en plus des conférences, la gastronomie et les paysages locaux. European Rivers Network les remercie encore vivement.
Cet évènement réussi a suscité l’intérêt d’un large public démontré par le nombre et la diversité d’acteurs présents (plus de 200 participants de 20 pays différents, acteurs locaux ou nationaux, élus, services de l’Etat, gestionnaires, entreprises privées, associations).
Afin qu’un plus large public bénéficie des débats du colloque, European Rivers Network a mis en ligne l’ensemble des 26 présentations,en français et en anglais,depuis la page internet du colloque sur www.ern.org. Par ailleurs, ERN étudie, avec ses partenaires,la possibilité d’offrir une restitution synthétique et grand public du colloque, sous une forme qui reste à définir.
Pour les participants,l’évènement a tenu ses promesses, les échanges ont été très riches. Le colloque a notamment permis de motiver les acteurs qui travaillent avec engagement pour restaurer la qualité des rivières, de faire connaître et vivre leur réseau, de partager des retours d’expériences français et internationaux,utiles pour de futurs projets et de prendre conscience de l’impact sociologique de l’arasement d’un grand barrage.L’excellence technique d’un tel projet doit se doubler d’une véritable«ingénierie sociale», c’est-à-dire d’une réelle concertation locale, allant bien au-delà de l’enquête publique.
«Au-delà du «pour» ou «contre» le projet d’arasement de la Sélune, ce sont les échanges, les leçons apprises durant le colloque et les appels à l’apaisement et à la concertation qui doivent être retenus et entendus. Le pourquoi de l’enlèvement des barrages, nécessaire pour l’intérêt collectif, mais mal compris, ne doit pas continuer de bloquer les volontés d’avancer et les initiatives déjà nombreuses sur le territoire.Le projet de la Sélune est unique d’un point de vue technique et scientifique:nous souhaitons pour ce magnifique territoire que l’intelligence collective fasse émerger un projet d’avenir porté localement sur la Sélune libre.»dit Roberto Epple,Président-fondateur d’ERN.
Ce colloque aura aussi montré que la Sélune n’est pas un cas isolé, que partout en Europe et au-delà, depuis 20 ans, des acteurs relèvent avec succès le défi fou de restaurer les habitats de nos derniers poissons migrateurs, nos vallées et la qualité de l’eau pour tous les usagers.Le prochain colloque sur la continuité écologique et les effacements de barrages aura lieu en Allemagne (Bavière) au Printemps 2020.
ERN France
8 rue Crozatier
43000 Le Puy en Velay
+33 (0)4.71.05.57.88
ERN is the official WWF Freshwater Partner in France and cooperates with WWF Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands and others
ERN France
EDF
R.Epple