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Open letter: Counting on new hydropower to accelerate Renewable Energy deployment in Europe is irresponsible

ERN and more than 100 NGOs write to EU negotiators asking them to protect Europe’s rivers from new hydropower deployment in the revised Renewable Energy directive.
Already in 2020, 150 NGOs signed a manifesto asking EU decision-makers to stop new hydropower development in Europe.

Read the WWF press release:

 Ahead of the nextpolitical trilogue on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, more than 100 NGOs are sending an open letter to co-legislators from the European Parliament, European Commission and Council Presidency, asking them to exclude new hydropower from go-to areas as well as to include sustainability criteria recognizing that hydropower has direct impacts on freshwater ecosystems which must be mitigated.

 Because hydropower potential has been so exploited already in Europe, new hydropower would only make a small contribution to the energy transition, while causing immense damage to our waterways. According to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2022, freshwater species populations have seen the greatest overall global decline (83%), and within this species group, on average, monitored migratory fish populations have declined by 93% in Europe, making our continent the most affected.

Contact
Florian Cassier
Climate Communications Officer
fcassier@wwf.eu
+32 479 33 92 11

Naaer River Summit 2022

The River Summit by the ONGs starts in Brussels (29 sept – 1 october)

EUROPEAN RIVERS SUMMIT

 

Wetlands International Europe, EuroNatur, GEOTA, Riverwatch and WWF Adria invite you
to the third European Rivers Summit in Brussels, Belgium from 29 September to 1 October.

The European Rivers Summit aims to inspire a movement of connected citizens in Europe to protect and restore European rivers, fight new dams and remove obsolete barriers. Healthy rivers are essential to delivering the European Green Deal and we aim to connect river champions around Europe to policy-makers in Brussels, with a two-day conference plus a third day to visit a river restoration site.

The event will inform attendees on the most important policy issues, big ideas and latest science around healthy rivers, and engage directly with Brussels as the home of the European Commission and Parliament in defending healthy rivers for people across Europe. We will also explore the power of communicating about rivers in film and art and see the transformative power of restoring urban rivers.

> to the programme

Big Jump July 10 – Time to register your event

Big Jump July 10 !

It’s that time again, in one month’s time on 10 July the Big Jump will take place all over Europe. Whether small or large, individual or group or big event, with swimming or not, all forms of celebrating our rivers are welcome. Please inform yourself and if possible register your project on our > Big Jump website.

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