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 :

Photo du Prince Philip au Bec d'Allier en 1988

Tribute to Prince Philip, lover of rivers

Photo: Prince Philip visiting the Bec d’Allier, in 1988. Copyright Pierre Jeannin

In 1988, a formula which will make date : ” Vive la Loire Sauvage “

Many people have learned, on April 9th, the death of Prince Philip, husband of the Queen of England, Elizabeth II. But fewer remember the important role he played in the protection of the Loire, at the time of the fights led by the Loire Vivante Committee against 4 major dam projects* (more info here, only in french). On October 14, 1988, during a visit to the Bec d’Allier (confluence of the Loire and the Allier), the Prince launched for the first time the famous phrase “Vive la Loire Sauvage”. During this press conference, he said that “the ambitious plans to develop the Loire Valley have attracted a lot of attention, outside of France. And have caused, I must say, some concern. …] We would like to see a reasonable compromise between human interests and the maintenance of conditions that allow the systems and species of the natural environment to survive. […] A reflection is worthwhile to ensure that future generations will not have to bear the consequences of hasty decisions and the cost of unnecessary mistakes. ”

As President Emeritus of WWF International, he was supporting the opponents of the dams, giving a nice media boost to the fight, which was ultimately victorious since the dams were not built.

A commitment also on the Danube

This commitment of the Prince to rivers predates the fights on the Loire… Indeed, as early as 1984, he was present on the Danube, between Vienna and Budapest, a still wild part of the river, threatened at the time by dam projects, and now a National Park!

If we had asked him “Draw us a Salmon”, no doubt this great Prince would have done it with pleasure…

It is with emotion that we pay this tribute to the man in love with rivers that he was.

Dam Removal : Publication of the Synthesis of the Selune Conference

The French Office of Biodiversity has just published and put online a booklet (in french only) entitled “When rivers take their course again – Notes on the removal of dams and weirs, on the Sélune and elsewhere”.

This booklet presents the synthesis of the international symposium organized from 24 to 26 September 2019 by European Rivers Network, in partnership with the French Office of Biodiversity (OFB) and its resource center on rivers, the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE), the National Federation of Fishing in France, the Seine-Normandy Water Agency and Dam Removal Europe, in Rennes, Avranches and the Sélune valley.

The purpose of this book, based on this unprecedented experience, is to disseminate knowledge on dam removal, the responses of rivers and biodiversity, and the conditions for success of these operations that profoundly transform the territories. Indeed, this dam removal project carried out on the Sélune River in Normandy is exceptional in terms of the size of the structures dismantled, the ambition of the scientific program undertaken for fifteen years, and the controversies it has generated.

Auteur(s) :Laurent Basilico, Jean Marc Roussel, Josée Peress, Corinne Ronot, Stéphane Fraisse,

Éditeur(s) : Office français de la biodiversité – OFB – Février 2021
Nombre de pages : 76

Au sommaire

I – Du « tout-barrages » vers la continuité écologique

  • Une fragmentation généralisée des cours d’eau
  • Impacts écologiques des barrages : quelques rappels
  • L’effacement de barrages : du militantisme aux politiques publiques
  • Un mouvement associatif plus actif que jamais
  • Éclairage – « SOS Loire vivante », un combat pionnier
  • Ce que dit la réglementation, en France et en Europe
  • La vie après l’effacement : des connaissances encore parcellaires

II – Le projet de la Sélune, vitrine et laboratoire

  • Genèse et enjeux d’un projet hors-normes
  • Éclairage – La gestion sédimentaire du chantier de Vezins
  • Un programme scientifique hors du commun (2012-2027)
  • La dynamique fluviale : effet des barrages et premières réponses
  • Communautés d’espèces : quelles dynamiques post-effacement ?
  • Éclairage – L’Observatoire de la Sélune : des données accessibles à tous
  • Végétation des berges et paysages agricoles de la Sélune
  • La dimension sociale et l’avenir du territoire

Première brèche dans le barrage de Vezins, l’un des ouvrages démantelés sur la Sélune (juin 2019, ERN).

III – Contributions d’ici et d’ailleurs à la « boîte à outils » mondiale

  • Hydromorphologie, habitats : quelles réponses des rivières ?
  • Poissons migrateurs : quelle(s) recolonisation(s) ?
  • Des bénéfices écologiques aux bénéfices économiques
  • Financement et conduite des projets : du national au local
  • Éclairage – En Corée du Sud, une mobilisation massive pour sauver les « Quatre rivières »
  • Après les barrages, écrire l’avenir des territoires

Allier river (France) : The work on the Poutès dam in the spotlight

The work of the New Poutès on the Allier river has recently been highlighted in the french national medias.

At first, an article, by Martine Valo, was published in the famous daily newspaper Le Monde on 25/02/2021, entitled “Le barrage de Poutès s’ouvre pour laisser filer vers l’Atlantique les saumons sauvages de l’Allier”.

>> See the article of Le Monde of 25/02/2021

It was followed closely by two reports in the television news of France 2 and TF1 of which here are the extracts:

>> Extract from the 8:00 pm news of March 04, 2021 on FR2 (3’29)

>> Extract from the 8:00 pm news of March 07, 2021 on TF1 (3’54)

See our pages for more infos on Poutes Dam

03/22/2021 Debate on Vichy dam (France): one more hydroelectric power station on a highly migratory river?

SHEMA (a subsidiary of EDF) plans to install and operate a hydroelectric power station on the Allier on the left bank of the Vichy dam-bridge. The project, still little known by the citizens, is sensitive because it will impact the Loire and Allier, a major axis of migration of the Salmon whose protection is at stake at the European level !
To give you an opinion on this project, SOS Loire Vivante-ERN, the Association Saumon Sauvage, the association Protection du Saumon, Allier Sauvage, the FRANE and other partners offer you
a webinar-debate (only in french, no translation sorry)
on March 22nd
4pm to 6pm.

Registrations are open (only in french, no translation sorry)
>>More information by clicking here

VJOSA FOREVER: Support the National Park Project

THE FUTURE OF EUROPE’S LARGEST UNSPOILT RIVER IS AT STAKE

The Vjosa, one of the last wild rivers in Europe, is in danger. Patagonia is launching a campaign to support the project to create a national park on the Vjosa, which could protect the entire river and its tributaries.

On this occasion, a 6′ short film has been released to explain the issues at stake and to mobilise the citizens of Europe to preserve this magnificent valley.

>> See the film (6′)

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 

 

Documentary “Salmons and Men”

Photo : Saumon atlantique dans la rivière Allier. • © Stéphane Granzotto

Directed by Stéphane Granzotto, this film was broadcast on France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in November 2020.
This documentary is about the Atlantic Salmon (Loire Allier strain), and focuses on the journey of the species on the Allier River, a tributary of the Loire River (France). Among the obstacles presented, the Vichy dam or the Poutès dam and its redevelopment in favor of the migration of the Salmon.

Film again available in full on vimeo : To be seen here

 

“Prix Georges Emblanc 2020” : Four prizes awarded and seven winners rewarded !

The Georges Emblanc Awards for “River Culture, Flood Risk Prevention and Biodiversity” of the EPTB Seine Grands Lacs and ERN France aim to reward academic works carried out on rivers, natural risks and protection of aquatic environments. For this second edition, about fifteen applications have been received.

On December 9 and 10, 2020, on the occasion of the 13th edition of the National Forum of Major Risks – IRISES organized by the IdealCo network, the EPTB Seine Grands Lacs gave the Georges Emblanc prizes for its second edition in the presence of Frédéric Molossi, President of the EPTB Seine Grands Lacs, Daniel Marcovitch, Co-President of the Joint Commission on Flooding (Commission Mixte Inondation), Simon Burner, ERN France’s Director and Nicole Emblanc, wife of Georges Emblanc.

The following are the 2020 laureates

¤ Victor Bourdet for his dissertation as Landscape Designer at the School of Nature and Landscape of Blois “From Marne-la-Vallée to the future NRP: what future for the peri-urban valley of the Grand Morin ? The reconquest of a river to erase the divide between town and country”.

¤ Eric Bonnot for his Master 2 thesis “Water, Resources, Management, Planning” at the University of Lorraine “Diachronic analysis of the course of rivers and developments in flood-prone areas in the lower Moselle basin since the 19th century”.

¤ Manon Lestage for her dissertation as an architect in Bordeaux “Le rapport au fleuve dans le projet urbain. The case of the ZAC Garonne-Eiffel”.

¤ Morgane Russeil-Salvan, Lauryane Arzel, Aurore Mancip, Eugénie Pimont students  in master of journalism at the IEP of Rennes for their long-format investigation on floods and risks, and about marine submersion in french Britain and an original podcast.

By mutual agreement, Presidents MOLOSSI and EPPLE have already announced that in 2021 there will be a third edition of these prizes, which will reward the work of students who perpetuate the spirit of Georges EMBLANC, an ERN France collaborator who died in 2017, a great defender of rivers who worked all his life to make young people aware of the need to live in harmony with nature and others.

National Geographic highlights actions to promote ecological continuity of rivers

Are we finally going to reach a broad awareness of the urgency of restoring the ecological continuity of rivers? The Amber cartography has recently highlighted a staggering number of dams of all sizes that fragment Europe’s rivers (see our news of 05/01 :More than 1 Million). The quantity of small structures and thresholds is considerable. The large dams are no longer the only ones to be pointed at! By displaying the state of degradation of rivers in the eyes of all, this atlas is a very good tool for raising public awareness of the importance of restoring ecological continuity.
In 2020, some prestigious magazines have taken up the cause, such as Nature (2020/12/17) or, in France, the newspaper Le Monde (2020/12/16).  The National Geographic magazine also takes up these figures but points out the fact that in many parts of the world actions are underway to fight against this fragmentation of rivers.  Several examples of levelling or development of dams are cited, such as the Sélune in France. Several members of the Dam Removal Europe movement are interviewed

>> Read the National Geographic article of 2020/12/17