poster

Conference debate: The Durance – rivers sick of humans? Is a renaturation possible?

The Durance : a “unnatural” river

We are more than 3 million people who depend on it for our greatest comfort (extraction of aggregates, irrigation, drilling for drinking water, cooling of the nuclear reactors of Cadarache, etc.), for this reason, humans have made it the most developed river in France with kilometers of infrastructures (weirs, dams, reservoirs, bridges, roads and highways, dwellings, warehouses, factories, etc.) per one kilometer of river

Humans put considerable pressure on rivers by exploiting them. It is 90% of the water of the Durance which is diverted to produce electricity for the most part.

Can we keep on in that way taken more than 5 centuries ago and accentuated these last 70 years? Another way of looking at things, another way of behaving with regard to our rivers and in particular the Durance, is conceivable. We are going to debate this, for this we will propose to you beforehand, some lines of thought, notably from the presentations of our guest Roberto Epple (hydrobiologist, founding president of the European Rivers Network (ERN), president of SOS Loire Vivante) but also from the members of our association (SOS Durance Vivante).

For those who wish to know more, you can already visit our website (French only)

Otherwise, we will meet on Saturday, February 26th in Manosque, salle des tilleuls 14h30. We will comply with the sanitary obligations of the moment.

Today is the World Wetland day 2022

Read more

Vichy (Allier, France) : NGOs take the case to court, Minister wants to reduce impacts

The Prefect of the Allier having rejected their appeal, 7 environmental associations supported by a large group of associations are taking legal action against the hydroelectric power plant project on the Allier at Vichy. They demand a thorough revision of the operating conditions to integrate environmental issues, in particular the safeguarding of migratory fish, especially the Loire-Allier salmon. In particular, they demand that the dam be opened 90 days a year during the salmon migration period in Vichy, from mid-February to mid-May. At the end of December 2021, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Barbara Pompili, wrote to the associations. In her letter, she enjoins the Prefect to open a reflection on the impacts of the dam.

> Read the press release of 13/01/22 (french only)
> To learn more, visit the web page dedicated to Vichy

February 1st Webinar (In French only) : Flood risk: memory as an awareness tool

 

With climate change, the risk of flooding is changing. Raising awareness and transmitting the memory of the risk are essential to better live alongside living rivers. Through examples of cities in France and abroad, ERN proposes to review the situation on Tuesday, February 1, from 4 to 6 pm during a webinar.
Detailed program available soon.
>> You can already register by clicking here! (french langage only)

Open Rivers programme funds the removal of small barriers in Europe : Apply before January 5, 2022

1 million barriers fragment Europe’s rivers, contributing to the decline of biodiversity and the deterioration of water quality. The AMBER EU project has revealed that the barriers less than 2 m high represent 68% of all the barriers in Europe, and that their removal is more effective environmentally and better accepted by the population than the removal of large barriers.

The Arcadia Foundation is involved in river restoration based on the AMBER EU study. To this end, the Open Rivers programme was created in October 2021 and will fund numerous small-scale barrier removal projects in Europe until 2023. ERN is involved in the programme as a member of the “Dam Removal Europe” network, which is among the managers of the programme.

The 1st application round is open from November 19, 2021 to January 5, 2022. The funding will be allocated in priority to removal works but also to complementary actions such as studies. To be eligible to funding, organisations must be of general interest (local communities, researchers …). The criteria and procedure for applying are presented on the Open rivers website, as well as the guide for applicants and the application platform. Among the main selection criteria, barriers must be less than 2 m high ; the removal works must be completed after one year; the ecological gains are significant and the local managers approve the project.

ERN is directly involved in the program by disseminating information, by following the proposals and the selected projects in France and by providing support to applicants. If you want advice or support to submit your application, contact us: emma.liberati(at)rivernet.org / 04 71 05 57 88

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.

 

 

 

 

France : Public policies to safeguard the Loire Salmon : a total incoherence !

France: PUBLIC POLICIES TO SAFEGUARD THE LOIRE SALMON: A TOTAL INCOHERENCE!

On the Allier, while EDF is completing work on the “new Poutès”, which will improve the situation of the salmon in the Allier, its own subsidiary, SHEMA, is building a hydroelectric power station that will perpetuate the negative impacts of the Vichy dam, which will reduce to nothing the efforts made upstream. Absurd and revolting!

>>read the complet Press release (in french only) edited by ERN-SOS Loire vivante and other NGO

 

This autumn, on the Poutès dam (river Allier)…

On September 29th, on the almost finished construction site of the new dam of Poutès (Allier),
the installed gates were lifted for the 1st time, just in time for the arrival of the salmons!

Ideal conditions for a free circulation of migratory fish and sediments…

The beginning of the hydroelectric production is planned for Spring 2022.

Read the press release (french)

2021 sept. /New gates have been installed and lifted on Poutes dam!  photo R. Epple ERN

>> More infos on “le Nouveau Poutès”

Loire salmon: The coup de grace in Vichy?

While considerable efforts have been made by the State, local authorities, associations and citizens to safeguard the species, the Prefect of the Allier has just authorized the construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Vichy dam, definitively condemning the possibilities of the re-conquest of the ALLIER by the salmon and directly threatening its survival.
This irresponsible and fatal project must be stopped.
A group of 10 national and local associations, including SOS Loire Vivante, has signed an appeal to the Prefect of the Allier. They are considering legal action, both national and European, to stop this deleterious project and replace it with an environmentally responsible solution.

> Read the press release of the associations (french only)
>> See the appeal (french only)