The Open Rivers Programme continues to found barriers removal projects, preparatory studies and works. ERN – SOS Loire Vivante, can help and advise you if you wish to apply. To prepare the next call for projects, a webinar to present the program, eligibility criteria and ask your questions is organized on May 20 from 4 to 5:30 pm (in french). registration required.
En ce début mars 2025, nous avons appris avec tristesse la disparition brutale de deux hommes passionnés et engagés pour les rivières : Philippe Auclerc, Rédacteur en chef pendant 25 ans de « La Loire et ses Terroirs » et de la lettre « Les Nouvelles du bassin de la Loire » et Laurent Roy, ancien Directeur de l’Eau et de la Biodiversité au Ministère de 2013 à 2015 et ancien Directeur de l’Agence de l’Eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse jusqu’en 2023. Notre association a eu la chance de travailler avec eux, ils ont souvent partagé les visions de notre association et leurs compétences ont fait avancer la cause des rivières.
Philippe Auclerc était un fin connaisseur du territoire ligérien et de ses acteurs. Son engagement pour la préservation de la Loire et de ses affluents était profond et sa plume était sincère et souvent aiguisés sur la description du jeu d’acteur et le sens de la gestion de l’Eau du bassin. Son travail a plusieurs fois croisé les actions de l’association SOS Loire Vivante, il est venu nous voir dès les débuts de notre combat dans les années 1990 et a encore récemment été le modérateur de notre dernier colloque « Des Saumons et des Hommes » à Brioude en 2023, un sujet qui l’animait fortement. À travers ses écrits, il a su sensibiliser un large public aux enjeux environnementaux et patrimoniaux de ce fleuve. La disparition de Philippe marque la fin d’une époque pour les passionnés de la Loire, c’était le seul encore aujourd’hui à informer de la vie du fleuve, avec un sens critique, de la source à l’estuaire. Nous espérons que son projet de relier les ligériens perdurent. Nos pensées vont à sa famille et ses proches.
Laurent Roy a également joué un rôle important en faveur des politiques de gestion de l’eau et de préservation de la biodiversité en France tout au long de sa carrière. Avec European Rivers Network nous avons pu le rencontrer plusieurs fois lorsqu’il était au Ministère et à l’Agence de l’Eau, notamment au sujet du rétablissement de la continuité écologique sur le Rhin ou en lien avec le projet du label « Sites Rivières Sauvages ». Homme de conviction, sa capacité à dialoguer et échanger de manière constructive en faisait une personnalité respectée dans le milieu. Nous présentons nos sincères condoléances à sa famille.
SOS Loire Vivante-ERN is organising a webinar on 26 November from 16.00 to 18.00 on the follow-up to the Brioude salmon conference (October 2023).
At the conference, a number of announcements were made by the stakeholders, in particular the development of a shared roadmap.
1 year on, where are we? Has a roadmap been drawn up? What progress has been made and what are the key decisions?
On 26 November, we are inviting some of the actors who took part in the Round Table to the conference to answer these questions. Full programme to follow
Free of charge but registration required (in French)
To mark World Migratory Fish Day on Saturday 25 May, ERN-SOS Loire Vivante is launching three videos about Atlantic salmon and ecological continuity.
These videos are previews of remixed extracts from the documentary entitled “Pour une fois qu’il faut laisser couler”, which will be released shortly.
The 2-minute portrait and landscape modules presented here, in French and English, plunge you into the life of the Atlantic salmon in the Allier and Sélune rivers and present 2 major innovative and far-reaching actions that France has taken to restore access to the upstream areas of rivers and streams, the historic breeding grounds of the Atlantic salmon.
Discover these videos :
The New Poutès, the dam that opens for wild salmon
watch the French version / watch the English version
Allier River : An obstacle course for salmon
watch the French version / watch the English version
France: The largest dam removal project in the world, 2017-2022
watch the French version / watch the English version
All the videos can also be viewed on our new YouTube channel: “Rivières Vivantes – Laisser Couler”: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjokCmOpXMcgD4ag3UY3ctg
Note :
The Free Flow conference organised by the World Fish Migration Foundation in Groningen has just come to an end. The 2024 winner of the Dam Removal Award was announced. 3 projects were finalists and the jury and public vote, taken in equal parts, awarded the prize to GEOTA in Portugal for the removal of the Vaqueiros dam on the Alviela river. Congratulations to them, they have won a cheque for €15,000. Congratulations also go to the other nominees, including the Fédération de pêche 64 for the removal of the Urrutienea dam on the Nivelle (5m high), where the results were immediate, with salmon re-colonising the upper reaches of the river. This is already a great victory.
More info on french case : https://www.ern.org/fr/urrutienea-finaliste-du-prix-europeen-pour-la-suppression-des-barrages-2023-les-votes-sont-ouverts/
Find out more about the winning project :https://damremoval.eu/dam-removal-award-2023-winner/
© DRE
With the support of the OFB as part of the Mobbiodiv call for projects, ERN will shortly be publishing a documentary on the restoration of ecological continuity in France from 1997 to the present day. Entitled “Pour une fois qu’il faut laisser couler”, the 3-part film traces the history of the major events and projects that have marked the restoration of the free movement of rivers in France. It is told from the point of view of our association. English version will aslo be available
Short modules will soon be available on the web.
part 1/3: Reopening river routes to large migratory species
part 2/3: Reconnecting small and medium-sized rivers
part 3/3: Rethinking and reconfiguring major blocking structures
At the end of 2023, the Water and Biodiversity Ministry published a video on ecological continuity, answering questions on the subject and deconstructing preconceived ideas.
Watch the video (in french) Le Vrai / Faux de la continuité écologique des cours d’eau
The removal of the Urrutienea dam on the River Nivelle in France has been selected to compete for the European prize for the removal of dams.
3 projects have been shortlisted: “Removal of the Urrutienea dam on the River Nivelle in France”, “Removal of the Garlogie dam in Scotland” and “Removal of the Vaqueiros weir in Portugal”. You can now vote for your favourite. Voting is open until 22 March at 11:59. Vote now! Dam Removal Award Nominees 2023 – Dam Removal Europe
Focus on the project on the Nivelle, the other projects can be found on the DRE website.
At the heart of a cross-border landscape between Spain and France, the Nivelle is a river rich in biodiversity and is a major centre of interest for this tourist region in summer. The 5-metre-high dam had been out of action for 10 years! An impassable barrier for migratory fish, in particular salmon, eels and other emblematic species (freshwater pearl mussels, Pyrenean Desman, European otters, white-clawed crayfish and others). The fishing federation, which initiated the project, bought the site in order to dismantle it completely. On the Spanish side, their partners had already worked on removing the obstacles, and they knew that this dam was the last completely impassable dam on the Nivelle.
Their main obstacle was to convince the local authorities that economic development (hydroelectricity) could not be achieved at the expense of local biodiversity. All in all, it took 20 years to break the deadlock!
Just two months after completion of the work, the results are extraordinary. The first Atlantic salmon spawning grounds located 6 km upstream of the dam were observed in Spain – for the first time in several centuries!
The work carried out in parallel since 2020 to conserve and restore the freshwater pearl mussel on the Nivelle has also been decisive. This species, the only one genetically unique in the Pyrenees, lives in symbiosis with salmon. These actions include reproduction to boost the natural population, which was threatened with extinction within the next 10 years. Removing the dam was therefore essential to restoring the habitat and reclaiming the whole of the upstream catchment.
Numerous partners were involved in the project: scientific research bodies (INRAE), associations (AAPPMA Nivelle, CEN Nouvelle Aquitaine, MIGRADOUR), the Government of Navarre, the vocational college (which houses the facilities for the ex-situ pearl mussel rearing project), and foundations (Fondation française des pêcheurs, Fondation Arcadia – Open Rivers Programme).
The Dam Removal Award is organised by Dam Removal Europe, the World Fish Migration Foundation, the European Investment Bank, and The Nature Conservancy, supported by the Dutch Postcode Lottery, Forest Peace Foundation and ABN AMRO Bank. The most inspiring project will be awarded a special trophy and 15.000 Euros towards the team’s next removal project, and the winner will be revealed during the upcoming Free Flow Conference in Groningen, The Netherlands.
Our latest Rivernews december / january 2024 is devoted entirely to the Montpezat hydroelectric complex and provides an update on the volumes stored and transferred in 2023. Allg figures are to be confirmed during January 2024 and will be updated if necessary on our dedicated webpages.
In 2023, 108.4 million m3 were transferred to the Ardèche (compared with 220 million m3 in the “best” years). Most of this, 100 Mio m3, was taken from the Loire in autumn and transferred in winter for peak electricity production. The significant drop in rainfall in autumn/winter resulted in a 50% reduction in winter turbines compared with the past. In spring, 9.4 Moi m3 were stored in the reservoirs on the Loire side and used to support the low-water levels of the Ardèche (8.4 Moi m3) and the Loire (1 Moi m3), in line with the low-water support objectives. The year 2023 had got off to a bad start, however, and it seemed impossible to fill the reservoirs at the La Palisse, Gage and Issarlès dams, but the weather came to the complex’s rescue in the last few weeks, just before the summer period, which means that the Issarlès lake must remain open to tourists.
See also our other articles:
The World Fish Migration Foundation and the Institute of Fisheries Management, invite you to a 3-day conference about the protection and restoration of Free-Flowing Rivers in Europe.
Gathering policy makers, river managers, ecologists, researchers, students, and industry, this international event expects +400 delegates from all over Europe and the rest of the world.
When & Where: April 15-17, 2024 in Groningen, the Netherlands
Official website: https://freeflowconference.eu
Registrations are open until April 1, 2024. Register here!
72 projects supported by the Open Rivers programme throughout Europe and a new call for projects underway
At the beginning of November 2023, the Open Rivers Programme* launched a new call for projects to provide financial support for the removal of weirs and dams. Applications can be sent in until 8 December.
After two years of the implementation of the Open Rivers Programme, 72 projects are supported throughout Europe, either underway or completed, contributing to the achievement of the objective of 25,000 km of freeflowing rivers by 2030 in Europe, voted on 09/11/2023 by the European Parliament as part of the Restoration Naturation Law. It is a significant support for restoring rivers in Europe, including in France where legislation to restore ecological continuity is frequently attacked to slow the momentum and hamper the efforts made by a community of stakeholders to restore our rivers effectively and sustainably in favour of energy issues of little interest.
France is one of the pioneers of the dam and weir removal movement in Europe, which began in 1998, and the results are encouraging, not only in terms of reconnecting river habitats but also in terms of increasing functionality and reducing the risk of flooding. Other European countries, such as Finland, Spain and Sweden, also see dam removal as a viable solution for restoring rivers. Elsewhere, however, tools are still lacking, particularly in Eastern Europe, to facilitate the implementation of such measures. This is why ERN, together with regional and international partners (World Fish Migration Foundation (WFMF), Fauna & Flora, MedINA Greece, Wetlands International (WI), WWF Netherlands, Slovakia, and Adria) are running a project with the Open Rivers Programme to facilitate and accelerate the removal of barriers in 4 target countries: Croatia, Greece, Romania and Slovakia. These countries have all the conditions needed to develop, inspire and raise awareness of the benefits of this tool for restoring nature: high ecological potential, emerging opportunities and projects, strong community involvement (more info).
In this context, WWF, WFMF and ERN are organising Q&A sessions to answer technical questions from potential projects on 15 and 20 November. Interested parties can contact corinne.ronot@rivernet.org The next Open Rivers application session is scheduled for the end of February for all grant categories.
Latest news on French projects run by ERN and its local partners
Since 2021 and the launch of the programme, ERN has applied with several local partners for preliminary studies and works, and 6 projects have been selected.
In 2022-2023 ERN worked with the SYMBA on the Open Rivers Programme application to restore the Tardoire, an european eel river. After six months of works to removed four obsoletes weirs, the river was flowing again on more than 20 kms. After just a few months, the riverbed was unrecognisable, and habitats were quickly recreated (more info). To make this story happened Open Rivers Programme funded 100% of the works, because even the local stakeholders were all in favour of the project, the States at this moment was not in a position to finance such project. A 12 minutes movie in French and English subtitle relate the project and the stakeholders involvement.
Latest, ERN and its local partners obtained two new preliminary study projects for the removal of small obsolete weirs. One is located in the Eyrieux river basin (Ardèche catchement) and is run by the SMEC and the other is in the Branugues river basin (Cère and Dordogne catchement) and is run by the SMDMCA. These two projects are located in preserved area with high biodiversity potential and will allowed to reconnect habitats for fish (trout) and white-clawed crayfish, increase their range, and improve the resilience and morphology of the river. A great opportunity to restore the functionality of the river through a simple acte : remove obsolete barrieres on rivers.
* Open Rivers Programme is a foundation funded by Arcadia which aims to restore endangered European rivers by supporting interventions that lead to the removal of small dams and the restoration of river flow and biodiversity.
ERN France
ERN is the official WWF Freshwater Partner in France and cooperates with WWF Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands and others
