Sélune: the demolition of the Vezins dam on the way

It is a historic moment for Sélune! In recent days the cranes are at work on the left side of the dam and started the deconstruction of Vezins dam itself.

By the end of May the machines were present on site to dismantle the old hydroelectric power plant and make work to be transparent to floods. In this way in June three big openings (4X5meters each) were realized and the three bottom sluices open allowing passage of centennial floods.

In a few weeks another gear will come into action. Already installed at the foot of the dam this crane and 55 meters long articulated arm will dismount the central part of the dam.

Work are schedulde throughout the summer and until the fall.

The international media cover the Selune case : among others the international network of WWF, the BBC, AL Jazeera, La Vanguardia and Eldiario in Spain, Dennik N in Slovakia will report on the spot.

More about the project and the steps that led to this decision, see our dedicated page

 

New Poutès : the three sluices will be removed at the end of this summer

The work for the new Poutès in the upper part of the Allier basin (France) is ongoing. And we will soon have an important momentum in the history of the Poutès dam. Indeed, at the end of the summer, the three sluices, each 14x5m and 20 tons, will be removed from the structure.

Since the end of May, the reservoir is completely emptied, revealing the old bed of the Allier river.

The bottom sluice gate is fully open. The machines will soon invest the area. A platform that will remain until 2021 (expected end of works) will be installed in front of the dam to allow work on the structure. A crane will then take the sluice, put them on the platform, where they will be cut before joining a revaluation workshop. The reservoir will be refill during the winter 2019. The removal of a part of the dam itself will then continue during spring of 2020 after the smolts downstream migration.

See schedule for work until 2021, and the history of Poutès dam in our dedicated webpage

Reminder, the Poutès dam will be lowered by 10 meters (now it is 17m) and completely retrofit to facilitate fish migration and sediment transport.

© Louis Sauvadet – APS – 31 mai 2019

Successful “Big Jump” actions for Hasankeyf and Tigris River! Resistance continues against Ilisu Dam!

Successful “Big Jump” actions for Hasankeyf and Tigris River! Resistance continues against Ilisu Dam!
Following a call by the Initiative to Keep Alive (HYG) and the Mesopotamia Ecology Movement (MEM) for the “Big Jump” ecology activists in Hasankeyf, Turkey and the world protested the controversial Ilisu Dam on the 14th of July. This action day (“Big Jump” is an int’l action day since 2002) is the continuation of the growing activities of the last 1,5 months against the Ilisu Dam which is almost ready for the filling of its reservoir. So in the actions in more than 25 places the participants requested the immediate stop of the mega dam which would also devastate the Tigris region along the Tigris also in Iraq.
The most actions have been done within Turkey which is a positive development as it shows the growing solidarity wave of the people fighting the Ilisu Dam. In the follwong nine towns people gathered at rivers and lakes: Kırklareli, Antalya/Alakır, Antalya/Sarısu, Çanakkale/Gökçeada, Çanakale/Bozcaada, Balıkkesir/Kazdağları, Ankara/Seğmenler Park, Rize/Findikli, Nevsehir/Avanos, İstanbul/Sariyer, Batman River, Hasankeyf. The actions in Turkey have been coordinated by the HYG, MEM and also by the Hasankeyf Coordination which is a new turkey wide structure to coordinate the activities against the Ilisu Dam! Several unions, profession organizations, ecology movements, cultural associations, movements for the right to cities have set up the Hasankeyf Coordinationon July 5, 2019.
The international places which joined the “Big Jump” for Hasankeyf are as follows according to our knowledge until now: Hamburg, Berlin, Mainz, Nürnberg and Wendland from Germany, Katalonya – Manlleu, Rome, London, Kopenhagen, Zürich, USA -Washington/Port Townsend, Brasil – Rio de Janeiro, Sîne/Iran, Sarajevo/Bosnia, Baghdad. The most activists who organized these international actions have joined in the last years. In the most cases activists jumped into their rivers or lakes. In Berlin an art action has been done at the central historical church Gedächtniskirche with the artists Zehra Dogan.

24-26 sept.2019 : International conference on dam removal Register now !

The final program is well on the way ! The last major speakers have already confirmed their participation like the French Ministry of Environment and the French National Federation of Fishing, as well as representatives of the State of Massachusetts (US) and the Danish University (DK).

Of course, Sélune river – the erasing of its dams but also the future of the valley- will be the feature project with varied presentations from State, scientists, local actors !

You will learn more about French and European state of the art in establishing ecological contuinity with a focus on removal and the current results of Amber project. And also about the economic benefits of dam erasures.

Many interesting examples will be introduced by speakers from France, Spain, Japan and Finland, etc.

At the end of the second day, you will have the opportunity to visit the “Mont Saint Michel”, and, the day after, to go on field of Selune Valley.

More info and registration

With 150 international NGOs, ERN is mobilizing for MORE SOCIAL & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN EUROPE!

On 20-21 June, EU Heads of State & Government will meet in Brussels to set the direction of the EU from 2019-2024.
We have joined forces with over 150 organisations to call on EU leaders to make Sustainable Europe a reality by prioritising sustainable development for the next five years, and beyond.
>> Read the ONGs’ letter here

ERn France - Alexis Pasquet

the “Georges EMBLANC Award for River Culture ” : Announcement of the winners

Launched for the first time in 2019, the “Georges EMBLANC Award for River Culture, Flood Risk Prevention and Biodiversity”, jointly sponsored by ERN and the EPTB Seine Grands Lacs, aims to reward students, who have achieved during the last three years work on an educational project related to rivers, the topic flood / low water or biodiversity in wetlands and related topics such as climate change.
This prize also pays tribute to Georges EMBLANC, recognized expert of the professional and institutional circles for his knowledge on rivers and freshwater ecosystems. A man of value and conviction, Georges accidentally left us on March 11, 2017 and the prize that bears his name, comes to reward young people, students or professionals committed to serving others or for the protection of nature. This award continues the taste he had for transmitting and sharing knowledge and knowledge on topics that were important to him.

In total, a dozen applications were received and submitted to the jury. After difficult arbitrations given the quality of the files received, 3 laureates were appointed and are awarded their prize on June 4, in Paris, during the meeting between PAPI (Flood Prevention Action Programs). , in the presence of Nicole and Baptiste Emblanc, the wife and son of Georges Emblanc. All our congratulations go to:

– Noémie THOMAS, a graduate of INSA Strasbourg and the National School of Architecture of Strasbourg, winner of the first prize Georges Emblanc 2019 for her thesis on: “Water: urban planning tool for adaptation to change Exploration in the Greater East Region »

– Marion PERNEY, holds a master’s degree in architecture from Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium), and from the Faculty of Architecture, Architectural Engineering and Urbanism – LOCI Brussels, winner of the Second Prize Georges Emblanc 2019 for her dissertation « Resilience of a Floodable Territory – Between Surface and Soffit.

– Arnaud MANRY, graduate of the Master 2 IMSGA specialty “Management of crisis situations” University of Technology Troyes for his thesis “Extreme rain and rapid submersion: Social and economic solidarity in the service of resilience? “.

During the ceremony, the prizes were awarded to the winners by Frédéric MOLOSSI, president of the EPTB Seine Grands Lacs, Roberto EPPLE, president of ERN France and Daniel Marcovitch, co-president of the Mixed Floods Commission. A new edition of the Georges Emblanc Award will most likely be launched in 2020.

France: Biggest dam removal in European history started

Photo : Copyright Vincent M.

 

Sélune River, Normandy, France – In a historic moment for Europe’s rivers, the first, irreparable breach was made today in the 36 metre high Vezins Dam – kick-starting the biggest dam removal in Europe so far.

This landmark event is part of a long-term project to free the Sélune River, and bring salmon, eels and other wildlife back to the river and the famous bay of Mont-Saint-Michel – a UNESCO world heritage site and one of Europe’s prime tourist attractions.

Along the Sélune River in Normandy, the removal of two old, obsolete dams over the next two years – the Vezins and La Roche Qui Boit— will open up 90 km of river, improving water quality, allowing migratory salmon to return to their ancient spawning grounds and benefiting people and nature all along the river.

“The removal of the Vezins Dam signals a revolution in Europe’s attitude to its rivers: instead of building new dams, countries are rebuilding healthy rivers and bringing back biodiversity,” says Roberto Epple, president of European Rivers Network and 2018 Euronatur Award recipient. “Nature can recover remarkably quickly when dams are removed and I look forward to watching salmon swimming past Mont St Michel and spawning in the headwaters of the Sélune for the first time since my grandparents were young.”

Historically, the Sélune River was home to salmon that travelled from the river mouth, near Mont Saint Michel, upstream to mate and lay eggs. However, construction of these two dams stopped the salmon from migrating and this effectively stopped the recreational and commercial harvest of them as populations collapsed. The removal of these dams will help to bring more wildlife and biodiversity back to the river along with other recreational and touristic opportunities.

Artificial barriers (dams) are one of the biggest threats to river ecosystems, resulting in river fragmentation and loss of habitat connectivity. They stop the natural flow of sediments downstream and affect migratory fishes from travelling up- or downstream to complete their lifecycles. These impediments often lead to the decrease or decimation of native fish populations and can harbour other, non-native species in their adjacent impoundments. A new study in Naturerevealed just one-third of the world’s longest rivers remain free-flowing with river “fragmentation and flow regulation are the leading contributors to the loss of river connectivity.”

Globally, freshwater species populations have declined by 83% on average since 1970. The recently approved Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) reportspecifically recommends conserving and restoring river connectivity to boost freshwater biodiversity. As prescribed by the Water Framework Directive (WFD), each of Europe’s rivers must attain a ‘good’ ecological status and yet 40% of rivers fall short. Removal of old, obsolete dams is a viable option to help reach WFD goals, reconnect and restore rivers and allow fish populations and other wildlife to return and flourish. In fact, many countries in Europe are now removing dams as the economic, environmental and social benefits of doing so far outweigh the alternative of restoring the dam.

It is estimated that over 3,500 barriers have been removed across Europe including the biggest dam removal in Spain last year and an ongoing historical river restoration project in Estonia that will remove 8-10 dam and open up 3,300km of river basin. Moreover, European citizens are also donating funds to see these barriers go as a part of a larger dam removal crowdfunding campaign.

“There are tens of thousands of old, obsolete dams in Europe that can and should be removed,” says Arjan Berkhuysen, managing director of the World Fish Migration Foundation.  “We are hopeful that by removing not only big dams like this but also by removing small barriers through local efforts we can restore these important life sources.”

The unique project will measure the effects of dam removal with ten-years worth of environmental data.

More information :  https://www.ern.org/en/selune-libre/

Dowload Press Release here

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Notes for Editors:

Photographs of the dam and start of its removal are available here, please respect the copyrights.

Contact:
Roxanne Diaz, WFMF Communications Officer, Mob +31 (0) 6 18918786 Email: roxanne@fishmigration.org
Roberto Epple, Chairman ERN European Rivers Network / Friends of the Sélune, Mob. +33 6  08 62 12 67 , Email : roberto.epple@ern.org

Dam Removal Europe The Dam Removal Europe initiative aims to connect local dam removal projects, stakeholders and organizations to better highlight and disseminate the positive impacts dam removal provides for rivers. It is an initiative that allows relevant specialists share knowledge and inspire new visions for a free-flowing Europe. Dam Removal Europe better enables support and guidance for future dam removal projects under the umbrella of the European Dam Removal movement.

ERN European Rivers Network > www.ern.org  ERN is an NGO engaged in the preservation and sustainable management of water and rivers. ERN is based in France and is Freshwater-Partner of WWF France.

Concessions renewal on the franco-swiss river “Doubs” : NGOs want to be consulted !

The concessions of the three hydropower works on the Franco-Swiss Doubs (Le Châtelot, Le Chrain and La Goule) are soon reaching their end (2024, 2028, 2032 respectively).
The renewal of concessions for these works will be granted by the two states on the basis of the new Franco-Swiss agreement currently under negotiation.The French and Swiss environmental and fishing associations are already heavily involved in the environmental monitoring committee of the new water regulation (signed in 2017) which reinforces the principle of coordinating the management of the three concessions in force. Since the Doubs is a watercourse with a very high protection status, it is essential that civil society, through NGOs, is from the beginning associated with the definition of framework conditions for the renewal of concessions.For this reason, several NGOs (FNE, ERN, CPE, FNPF, ANPER-TOS) sent a letter in early June to the French Ministry of the Environment asking for the creation of a support group for negotiations and, of course, the integration of NGOs in this group. A similar letter was sent by Swiss NGOs to the Swiss government.Photo Copyright ERN France: Cascade du Saut du Doubs (classified site) on the French-Swiss border

Success of last Dam Removal Europe seminar – 22- 23 May, Pärnu, Estonia

May 22nd and 23rd, in Pärnu, Estonia, was the “Let it Flow” seminar on dam removal in Europe. Organized by the Dam Removal Europe platform, the World Fish Migration Fundation and the Environment Agency of Estonia The opportunity was given to visit the restoration works on the Pärnu River, the country’s first salmonid river. Including […]

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“Love Flows” : a beautiful film to involved people into the next World Fish Migration Day

This documentary directed by Francisco Campos-Lopez (award winning director) captures the stories of events from World Fish Migration Day 2018 and highlights the understanding of the impacts of dams and the people who are working to make positive differences for rivers. It aims to give these migratory fish a voice by showcasing the celebrations, knowledge, and great visions we have for our rivers.

In March 2019 the movie was selected for the Washington DC Environmental Film Festival.

Participate to the next WFMD on May 16, 2020 ! the objectif is to aiming for over 1000 events and open up rivers from local to global. Let’s do this together and create impact!

More info about WFMD

Watch the video