26 oct. Online event : WWF’s report launch: “The Final Sprint for Europe’s Rivers.”

WWF, ERN and the others members of the Living Rivers Europe coalition launched the second edition of their report, “The Final Sprint for Europe’s Rivers”, during the online launch event which took place on Tuesday, 26 October

Will Europe’s river basins return to health by 2027? Time is running out to implement the Water Framework Directive.

Europe’s rivers are under threat, with 60% of them in poor ecological health, unsustainable water use in agriculture, and alarming biodiversity decline. Is Europe really on track to return its fresh waters to health by 2027 as the Water Framework Directive requires?

Member States have only a few months left to finalise their river basin management plans for the next six years. Find in our report below the analysis of 21 drafts of River Basin Management Plans in 11 EU Member States.

 

 

 

 

Most European rivers will not achieve good ecological status by 2027 (Living rivers Europe Coalition)

Living River Europe coalition including WWF and EEB and ERN present a preliminary assessment of river basin management plans
Under the title “THE FINAL SPRINT FOR EUROPE’S RIVERS” and “NGO ANALYSIS OF 2022- 2027 DRAFT RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS”, WWF, EEB and other partners of the Living Rivers Coalition have presented a first analysis of the draft river basin management plans shortly before the end of the official public participation under the Water Framework Directive.
According to this analysis, 11 of the 13 river basins considered will not meet the WFD objectives by 2027. In almost half of the cases, the indicators examined on pollution, continuity, high and low water management, agriculture, hydropower, coal mining and renaturation measures were found to be largely insufficient. In addition to insufficient funding, the report cites the persistent lack of policy integration in areas such as agriculture, energy and infrastructure, as well as the frequent use of exemptions as the main reasons.
The report is available on the EEB website:
https://eeb.org/library/the-final-sprint-for-europes-river-report/
The WWF / Living Rivers Coalition press release can be found here:
https://www.wwf.eu/?uNewsID=3697866

 

River Basin Management Plan: Public Consultation Underway

  • The River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) 2022-27 subject to public consultation

The River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) are currently being revised in the European Union, according to the schedule set by the European Framework Directive. The new management plans will then come into force from 2022 to 2027, which will be the 3rd cycle of their implementation as provided for by the WFD.
From March 1st to September 1st, each SDAGE (French name for RBMPs) is submitted to public consultation in each river basin (see below for the French Basin).

Find the consultation that concerns you in metropolitan France

>> SDAGE Loire-Bretagne

>> SDAGE Rhin-Meuse
>> SDAGE Adour Garonne
>> SDAGE Rhône-Méditerranée
>> SDAGE Corse
>> SDAGE Artois-Picardie
>> SDAGE Seine-Normandie

  • Assessment underway by the Living Rivers Europe coalition

Several member associations of the Living Rivers in Europe (LRE) coalition, including ERN, are jointly carrying out an analysis of the quality and relevance of the management plans being developed in different countries of the European Union, to highlight possible weaknesses based on common indicators. These indicators aim at translating the identification of the stakes and problems and the ambition of the management plans and programs of measures for all the topics related to water management: drought and flood management, protection and restoration of aquatic environments, agriculture and non-point pollution, etc.
A report presenting the results of the assessment for all the analyzed basins will be published in June 2021, followed by an update report later for the Member States whose revision of management plans is delayed.

Objectives:

– Make recommendations to the European Commission, to inform its future management plan assessments and enforcement work.

– Support NGOs in their advocacy for more ambitious and relevant management plans.

-Provide additional visibility to management plans.

 

 

Cover of the WWF report

New WWF analysis reveals the possibility of freeing 50’000 km of rivers in Europe (8’130 km in France) !

A report released on 19 April 2021 by WWF shows that 935 river obstacles present a strong potential for removal in France.

The study demonstrates the massive potential of barrier removal to restore free-flowing rivers in Europe.

The report ‘The potential of barrier removal to reconnect Europe’s rivers’ analyses a sample of 30,000 barriers on large and medium-sized rivers in Europe, and assesses their reconnection potential for the whole continent, the EU27, and by country, based on the length of river which could be reconnected and the ecological quality of reconnected rivers which could be achieved through barrier removal.

>> Read our April 21 press release in full

> Read the WWF report

>>Video :

Report cover page

Hydropower in Europe : Transformation – not development (WWF Report)

European rivers are the most fragmented in the world, contributing to the rapid decline in freshwater biodiversity.
As a result, a drastic transformation of the hydropower sector is urgently needed to reduce its environmental
impact. This can be achieved through several steps: the first one is to stop building new hydropower plants which worsen the fragmentation of rivers and lead to the loss of precious habitats and species.

The second step is to lessen the environmental impact of existing plants through plant environmental refurbishment. From ecological flows to acquiring knowledge on fish migration patterns, hydropower plants can be adapted and managed in a more nature- sensitive manner, as illustrated by a case study on the Allier River in the Loire Valley, France.

The third step is the restoration of the rivers’ natural functions,
in particular continuity and habitats. The case study on the construction of a reproduction channel next to the Imatra hydropower plant in Finland, illustrates active restoration measures that should be taken to complement mitigation measures at the plant itself.

download the WWF Report :  https://www.wwf.eu/what_we_do/water/?uNewsID=2329866 

 

Join the global call to protect rivers !

Whether you are an individual, association, or other organization, you can join International Rivers’ call for river conservation. ERN has signed it.

To learn more, and possibly sign, click on: https://www.rivers4recovery.org

Petition to sign against a micro-power plant project on an alpine torrent, in Italy (Valsesia, Piemont)

Another micro-power plant project on an alpine torrent, this time in Italy … What a shame!

Let’s act by signing the petition launched by the committee for the defense of the Sesia and its tributaries, which has been fighting for 30 years – successfully so far – against any hydro project in the wonderful Sesia valley. Unfortunately, in the valley tributary of the Sorba torrent, the small village of Rassa – 67 residents (!) – has managed to get authorization for a 226KW power plant. An absurd project, doomed to be in deficit and above all devastating for the entire surrounding ecosystem. This must be avoided at all costs…
=> See the petition

© Jose Luis Vega _ Shutterstock

Manifesto : STOP new hydropower in Europe

Photo : Hydroelectric power station in Arribes del Duero called Mirador de Iberdrola in Salamanca © Jose Luis Vega _ Shutterstock.jpg

Alongside 150 NGOs, ERN signed a manifesto calling on Europe to stop supporting hydropower.
SEE HERE FOR THE FULL MANIFESTO AND LIST OF SIGNATORIES

To learn more, read below the WWF press release issued on Monday 26 October.

Following World Fish Migration Day, 150 NGOs have banded together to call on the EU institutions to end public financing for new hydropower projects in Europe.

Building more hydropower flies in the face of the European Green Deal’s biodiversity goals, given the small contribution new plants would bring to the energy transition weighted against the environmental damage they cause [1]. WWF, along with signatories such as Climate Action Network Europe and BirdLife ask for public investments to be redirected towards upgrades of existing plants, energy efficiency measures, and lower impact renewable energy alternatives like wind and solar power.  

The mobilisation by NGOs comes a few months after new analysis found that 93% of European freshwater migratory fish had been lost since 1970, partly due to hydropower [2]. While 91% of existing and planned plants in Europe are considered ‘small’ – meaning they have, a capacity below 10MW – and contribute little to the energy mix, their environmental impacts are dramatic.  If these plants go ahead, they will destroy Europe’s last free-flowing rivers and further degrade increasingly vulnerable freshwater ecosystems.

Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources, WWF European Policy Office said: “The European Commission and the European financial institutions’ continued financing of new hydropower projects completely contradicts the ambitions of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and its goal of restoring 25,000km of free-flowing rivers. Removing financing tools and incentives to new hydropower projects is an increasingly urgent step towards reversing biodiversity loss in the EU, meeting the targets set by the Water Framework Directive, and supporting the European Green Deal.”

Alex Mason, Senior Policy Officer, Climate & Energy, WWF European Policy Office added : “We urgently need to move to a 100% renewable energy system. But the contribution new hydropower could make is trivial compared to the massive ecological damage it would cause. We should be investing in wind and solar instead, combined with demand flexibility and storage.” 

The manifesto calls for:

  • An end to EU subsidising new hydropower plants of all sizes, including via regional policy and Projects of Common Interest funds.
  • An end to European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development financing for all new hydropower plants in Europe.
  • All new hydropower to be excluded from the list of renewable energies eligible for State Aid.
  • Public finance for new hydropower plants to be reallocated to ecological refurbishments, dam removal projects especially where the dams are now obsolete, and towards other renewable energies like wind and solar power.

SEE HERE FOR THE FULL MANIFESTO AND LIST OF SIGNATORIES

Notes to the editor:

[1] If all the 5,500+ planned hydropower plants in the EU were built, the share of the EU electricity generation provided by hydropower would go from 10% to 11.2-13.9%. Eurostat, 2017; EuroNatur, GEOTA, RiverWatch, WWF, Hydropower pressure on European rivers: The story in numbers, 2019.
[2] IUCN, WFMF, WWF, TNC, ZSL, The Living Planet Index (LPI) for migratory freshwater fish, 2020
[3] Mapping a faster route to zero emissions Europe

Contact:

Alexandra Chevalier
Senior Communications Officer, Water
achevalier@wwf.eu
+32 484 49 43 54

Claire Baffert
Senior Policy Officer, Water
cbaffert@wwf.eu
+32 492 73 10 92

Infografie

Worldwide more than 500 dams planned inside protected areas: Study

More than 500 dams planned inside protected areas: Study (source Mongabay)

by  on 5 August 2020

  • More than 500 dams are either under construction or planned within protected areas over the next two decades, according to a new study.
  • The study found that more than 1,200 large dams already exist within protected areas.
  • The authors strongly encourage governments to avoid constructing dams in or near protected areas and instead to look toward renewable energies such as wind and solar.
  • The researchers express concerns about ongoing rollbacks to environmental protections, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hundreds of dams are planned within global protected areas, a prospect that threatens people, plants and animals that rely on the lifegiving waters of free-flowing rivers.

According to a first-of-its-kind global analysis published in the journal Conservation Letters, 509 dams, or 14% of the total currently under construction or planned for the next two decades, are set to be built in protected areas.

“The sheer number of dams that are planned within protected areas is alarming,” said Michele Thieme, lead author of the study and lead freshwater scientist at WWF. “Rivers are the lifeblood of ecosystems. Any policy that aims to conserve nature must prioritize the free flow of rivers.”

The researchers overlaid data on planned dams from the Global Dam Watch database onto maps from the World Database on Protected Areas to arrive at the number. The team also identified 1,249 large dams already in place within existing protected areas using the Global Reservoir and Dam Database (GRanD).

Worldwide, rivers aren’t what they used to be. A 2019 study revealed that two-thirds of the world’s longest rivers are no longer free-flowing. These long rivers (more than 1,000 kilometers or 621 miles long) are blocked by dams and infrastructure. This fragmentation blocks the flow of water and nutrient-carrying sediments to downstream habitats, altering ecosystems and impeding the migration and reproduction of fish and other freshwater species

read the complet article (Mongbay Website)

 

 

Great Big Jumps in many places despite Covid .

Good news. Despite the official cancellation of the Big Jumps 2020 on July 12th due to the Covid 19 epidemic, some very original events took place. We already have knowledge of Big Jumps in Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain. In a few days we will be able to publish photos and videos