New report : Dam Removal is a viable solution to restore rivers (DRE/ERN)

Removing tens of thousands of obsolete dams in Europe will bring life back to rivers, says new report

(DRE/ERN)

 

BRUSSELS, July 19 –With only 40 percent of Europe’s waterways in good condition, a new study published today calls for tens of thousands of redundant dams and other barriers to be removed to help restore rivers and lakes – boosting wildlife populations and benefiting communities across the continent. A new initiative called Dam Removal Europeaims to start an era of dam removal.

New Report :  that the density of dams, weirs and locks in Europe is far higher than previously suspected, with salmon, eel, sturgeon and other migratory fish encountering obstacles every kilometre on average. Previously,only dams higher than 10 metres were counted, but these represent less than 3 percent of all river barriers.

“Rivers are nature’s lifeline, and disrupting them comes at a high price. Dams have played a critical role in Europe’s development but they have also contributed to the slow death of our rivers and the catastrophic decline in freshwater species,” said Stuart Orr, Freshwater Practice Lead for WWF. “Tens of thousands of small dams and barriers are no longer in use but they are still in place: blocking fish migrations, stopping the flow of sediment and nutrients, and undermining the value of rivers to people and nature.”

It is estimated that in France, Spain, Poland and the UK alone, there are up to 30,000 mainly small dams which are now obsolete. There is no comprehensive study yet on the total number of obsolete dams in Europe, but the real figure is most probably many times higher. While these barriers provide no benefits to communities, they still prevent rivers from flowing freely, contributing to the disappearance of freshwater species, particularly migratory fish that cannot reach their spawning grounds. Obviously, this also affects birds feeding on fish as well as many other animals.

The report calls for governments across Europe to start removing these redundant dams, which will breathe life back into river systems and provide new economic opportunities for local economies. It will also help countries comply with the Water Framework Directive and boost efforts to reach its ambitious goals.

“Nature can recover remarkably fast when given the chance: dam removals in Europe have resulted in fish immediately returning to rivers for the first time in decades and existing species multiplying rapidly,” said Pao Fernandéz Garrido from World Fish Migration Foundation, one of the authors of the report.“As the fish return so do the fish eating birds and a wealth of other species dependent on healthy river systems and wetlands and so do fishers and birdwatchers, giving rural areas a new lease of life”.

The report lists a series of case studies that illustrate the remarkably rapid impact of dam removals. In the Netherlands, after two weirs were removed from the ‘Boven Slinge’ stream in 2015, the number of fish species in the newly connected stretches increased by an average of 30 percent and the number of individual animals increased by 148 percent. In nearby Denmark, the removal of a dam on the GudenåRiver saw trout numbers upstream rise from zero to 4-5 per m2. Meanwhile, the removal of the Maisons-Rouges Dam in France in 1999 has resulted in a spectacular surge in fish numbers with sea lamprey numbers soaring from barely any to over 41,000 within eight years.

Dam removals have slowly started to pick up the pace in Europe, and the Water Framework Directive’s ambitious goals, timeline, and visionary approach to water management have been instrumental. Next year the largest European dam ever will be taken down; the 15 metre high Roche qui boit Dam and the 35 metre high Vezin Dam in the Sélune river in France.

“Dam removal is considered a very eco-efficient and cost-effective measure to reach the objectives of the Water Framework Directive to which all member states have committed themselves to”, said Orr.“Dam removal is also significantly cheaper than maintaining aging, obsolete dams. Freeing rivers offers additional advantages from cleaning water naturally to boosting tourism numbers to restoring a river’s natural flood defences – critical in the age of climate change. It is a no brainer: removing redundant dams costs less and achieves more.

The report’s launch comes ahead of the review of the WFD which will take place later this year. While studies show that dam removal is a viable solution, there is an urgent need for all small and large dams in Europe to be mapped, including the priorities for dam removal. The report also calls for dam removals to be integrated into River Basin Management Plans (of the WFD), for the involvement of local communities in dam removal, and alternatives to new dams to be seriously considered.

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Notes for Editors:

The full report can be downloaded here: www.damremoval.eu/policy-report(from 19th of July)

 

About Dam Removal Europe

Dam Removal Europe (DRE) is a coalition of 5 organizations: WWF, World Fish Migration Foundation, European Rivers Network, The Rivers Trust and Rewilding Europe. DRE wants to create a community of people, organizations and governments that are committed to giving the European rivers more space. Because these are beautiful and full of possibilities. We do this by removing redundant small and large dams from the European rivers with local partners. Together, we ensure that European rivers can flow freely for humans and animals. More information: www.damremoval.eu

 

First European Rivers Days : 27 – 29 september 2018, registration open !

Registration is now open.

Information on the programme and how to register can be found HERE.

15 of May : First screening in France of the film «Blue Heart», produce by Patagonia

Patagonia will present his new movie  “Blue Heart” in France the 15 of May 2018, at Paris Mk2 cinema.

Second movie produce by Patagonia after Dam Nation, this film is part of the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe“.

ERN France (Roberto Epple) is invited to participate to the debate which will follow the screening. Zoé Heart, Patagonia’s ambassadress will also be present.

Watch the trailer :

All screening dates : https://blueheart.patagonia.com/intl/en/film

logo Living Rivers Europe

Living Rivers Europe – Press Release on Word Fish Migration Day : Dams have had their day – EU governments must ramp up ambition on their removal

Dams have had their day: EU governments must ramp up ambition on their removal

Brussels – 19 April 2018

World Fish Migration Day – which takes place on 21 April – is a day to celebrate the incredible journey migratory fish undertake to mate. But many never reach their final destination due to tens of thousands of large and small dams, which have been wrecking Europe’s rivers and blocking fish migration routes for generations. And if that weren’t enough, plans for thousands of additional dams are still in the pipeline.

Sergiy Moroz, Senior Policy Officer for Water and Biodiversity at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) said: “Fragmenting rivers with dams, barrages and other infrastructure is a key reason for the significant losses of fish and other freshwater species across Europe, as well as for the poor state of many of our water bodies [1]. Removing old or obsolete dams helps to restore a river’s connectivity, bringing hope for migratory fish species, such as salmon, eel and sturgeon. This is also one effective way for Member States to meet their legal commitments under the EU Water Framework Directive.”

Despite the destructive effect they have had on our rivers, thousands of hydropower dams are projected to be built all across Europe. Eastern Europe and the Balkans, which hold some of Europe’s most pristine and last few remaining free flowing rivers, are especially vulnerable. However, there has also been a worrying surge in hydropower in parts of Central and Western Europe, where rivers have been heavily modified and degraded for centuries – in Austria alone, around 200 additional hydropower plants are projected to be built.

And there are even plans to resuscitate projects that have been repeatedly declared dead. For instance, the Acheloos River in Greece has been the site of a battle against a water transfer project dating back to the 1980s, which would involve the construction of four dams. The destructive scheme has been blocked through six court rulings, most recently thanks to the Water Framework Directive [2], but the Greek government still hopes to complete the construction of the partly-built Sykia dam – the key point for the completion of the project.

“Dams have had their day in Europe – we must now focus on bringing life back to our rivers”, said Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office, “It is crucial that EU governments now fully commit to their legal obligations under the Water Framework Directive. It’s time for them to shape up, start taking dam removal seriously, and put a firm stop to any damaging projects that are in the pipeline.”

Dam removals have slowly started to pick up the pace in Europe, and the Water Framework Directive’s ambitious goals, timeline, and visionary approach to water management have been instrumental. It is estimated that around 4,500 obstacles of varying sizes have so far been removed in Europe [3] and, just last year, the French government announced the largest dam removal in Europe to date [4]. Work also began last week on removing the Yecla de Yeltes dam in Spain [5] and the demolition of a number of obstacles in Finland, Spain and the Netherlands are also on the cards.

“These removals are a step towards bringing Europe’s rivers back to life, but there is still a long way to go”, said Mark Owen of the European Anglers Alliance “Dams have dire consequences for migratory fish species, and they also degrade the biodiversity in and around these rivers. We need fewer obstacles and more free flowing rivers, otherwise the EU will never be able to halt biodiversity loss by 2020, as required by its own biodiversity strategy [6].”

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Notes to the editors:

[1] The State of Nature in the EU, European Commission, 2015

[2] The Water Framework Directive was the basis for the latest ruling from the Greek Supreme Court on the Acheloos water transfer project in 2014

[3] ‘INTERVIEW with Dam Removal Europe’, Sustain Europe, 2018, http://www.sustaineurope.com/interview-with-dam-removal-europe-20180224.html

[4] ‘River revolution in Europe as France launches largest dam removal project on the continent’, WWF, 2017, http://www.wwf.eu/?uNewsID=317032

[5] ‘La CHD inicia el derribo de la presa de Yecla de Yeltes’, Salamanca RTV al día, 2018, http://salamancartvaldia.es/not/177064/chd-inicia-demolicion-presa-yecla-yeltes/

[6] EU Biodiversity Strategy, European Commission, 2011
> Link to Living Rivers Europe’s position paper

>About the Water Framework Directive

  1. The Water Framework Directive is one of the EU’s most progressive pieces of environmental legislation. It requires the protection, enhancement and restoration of our rivers, wetlands, lakes and coastal waters, but Member States are currently failing make it work on the ground;
  2. Under the Water Framework Directive, EU governments have committed to ensure no deterioration and achieve good status for the vast majority of all water bodies by 2015, and at the very latest by 2027;
  3. Where implemented, the Water Framework Directive has proved to be effective in achieving its goals of good water status and non-deterioration, successfully balancing environmental, social and economic requirements.

 

For more information please contact:

 

Sophie Bauer, Communications Officer (Freshwater), WWF European Policy Office

sbauer@wwf.eu

+32 471 05 25 11

Download the Press Release in pdf

The 21 of April it’s the “World Fish Migration Day” : participate

The World Fish Migration Day (WFMD) is a one day global celebration to create awareness on the importance of open rivers and migratory fish and it is coordinated by the World Fish Migration Foundation. On World Fish Migration Day organizations from around the world organize their own event around the common theme of: CONNECTING FISH, RIVERS AND PEOPLE. Many of these events are open to the public. By working together we create a greater driving force to raise awareness, share ideas and secure commitments.

Presse release :  french events on Loire basin – in french

All events on : https://www.worldfishmigrationday.com/events

 

Support the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe” launched by Patagonia

Patagonia is launching first ever global environmental campaign focusing on a European issue: protecting the last wild rivers of Europe from the threat of 3,000 planned hydro projects.

No money= No dams. Tell international banks to stop investing in the destruction of Europe’s last wild rivers. #savetheblueheart
Sign the petition: pat.ag/TheDamTruth

More info and to participate :  « Save the Blue Heart of Europe »

Logo ERN, petit format

France launches River Revolution in Europe (Pressrelease ERN/WWF intl.)

Paris, 21 November – With thousands of proposed dams threatening Europe’s few remaining free flowing rivers, France’s decision to remove two large dams could signal the start of a new era on the continent – with countries focussing on reviving their rivers and on large scale dam destruction rather than construction.

Eight years after the idea was initially discussed, the French government agreed last week to remove the 35 metre-high Vezins and 15 metre-high ‘La Roche qui boit’ dams from the Selune river in Normandy in 2018.

read the Pressrelease by ERN and WWF intl.

 

France (Selune River) : French Minister Hulot confirme the removal of two large dams

The french Minister Nicolas Hulot announce the removal of the Vezin dam (35m) and the Roche qui boit dam (15m). The works starts in spring 2018 !
Read ERNs /WWF intl. Pressrelease in english (21 November) 
For more information :

Visite ERN’s ” Sélune libre” Website ( in french only)

Read the official Press release by the Ministery (14 november, pdf) in french

Read the official Press release by French NGOs (pdf) in french

more information on  “Sélune libre” in french by the friends of the Sélune (Facebook)

 

Dam Removal Europe : New Workshop in UK (25/26 September)

Workshop on dam and weir removal in the urban environment – 25 & 26 September 2017

Birmingham, England, UK

more information (DRE Website)

*ERN is cofounder of Dam Removal Europe Platform

 

Poutès Dam (France) : Major works in progress before partial dismantling of the dam

Since June the craft are busy in the reservoir of Poutès dam. The lowering of the water level of the reservoir made the Allier return to its former bed. The work in progress is part of phase 1 of the site and allows the sediments to be raised and stabilized in the upstream part of the reservoir.