Swiss river conservationist Roberto Epple receives EuroNatur Award 2018

Radolfzell, Mainau Island (Germany).
October 10, Roberto Epple, president of the European Rivers Network (ERN), received the EuroNatur Award 2018 on Mainau Island (Lake Constance) for his outstanding personal dedication to protecting the rivers of Europe. “The passion that Roberto Epple brings into his efforts for Central European river landscapes is exemplary for our conservation work and further encourages us to never give up, even if the opponent seems too strong. With his unswerving love for the rivers he is an inspiring example for us”, EuroNatur president Christel Schroeder states a reason for the choice of this year’s award winner.

Read the complet Pressrelease including a link to HD Photos :
20181010_Preisverleihung Roberto Epple_engl

 

Launch of the « ProtectWater » campaign

European rivers and lakes are under attack ! Act now to protect them ! Participate in the European Commission’s public consultation !

This is the appeal of the online campaign #ProtectWater, lunched today by WWF, the European Environmental Bureau, European Anglers Alliance, European Rivers Network and Wetlands International, who together form the Living Rivers Europe coalition.

During the first step, the campaign uses provocative scenarios and imagery around the future of beer to encourage citizens in Europe and beyond to participate in the European Commission’s public consultation on the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), which is running until 4 March 2019.

This consultation is the only opportunity for the general public to have its say during the evaluation of the law, and the campaign provides an easy tool for citizens to express their support to keep this law strong and effective.

Read presse release

Campaign page and link to participate to the public consultation

#ProtectWater #ProtectBeer

New report : Bringing life back to Europe’s waters, the EU water law in action (LRE/ERN)

The WFD is one of the most ambitious, holistic pieces of EU environmental legislation ever to pass.
The new report by WWF, EEB, the European Anglers Alliance and European Rivers Network shows, where political will exists, the WFD provides an effective framework for addressing the main pressures facing rivers, lakes, wetlands, streams and groundwater.

This report published for the EU Water Conference on 20 and 21 September in Vienna where it will set the course for the future of European water protection as decision-makers come together to take stock of Member States’ progress in sustainable water management and implementing the EU’s water legislation, and discuss whether the existing EU legislation is still “fit for purpose”. It is a critical time in the current “fitness check” process for the Commission to gather views from Member States, their agencies and a variety of stakeholders.

Download the report

Brussels – 20 September 2018 , Media Release from WWF

“Bring life back to Europe’s rivers and lakes”, WWF urges Member States ahead of critical water conference in Vienna

 As EU Member States, the European Commission and other stakeholders gather in Vienna today, WWF calls for their clear commitment to saving Europe’s rivers, lakes and wetlands, and for a full implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), the most important legal instrument for protecting Europe’s freshwater bodies.

The EU Water Conference on 20 and 21 September will set the course for the future of European water protection as decision-makers come together to take stock of Member States’ progress in sustainable water management and implementing the EU’s water legislation, and discuss whether the existing EU legislation is still “fit for purpose”. It is a critical time in the current “fitness check” process for the Commission to gather views from Member States, their agencies and a variety of stakeholders.

For WWF, it is clear that the current EU water law is ambitious and effective, and are disheartened by Member States’ lack of political will to make it work on the ground. An amendment to the law as a result of the fitness check process would simply allow Member States to side-step their legal obligation to bring all European waters into good condition by 2027 at the latest and to protect them from deterioration.

“A weakening of the legislation would be a declaration of bankruptcy of European environmental policy,” said Martina Mlinaric, Senior Water Policy Officer at WWF’s European Policy Office said. “Having missed the original objective of bringing all European waters to good health by 2015, Member States are now feeling the pressure, but, instead of doubling their efforts, many governments are now desperately searching for an easy way out of their commitments and are using the fitness check process to achieve that.”

As part of its fitness check, the European Commission will soon launch a public consultation, asking both European citizens and experts to provide their own opinions and assessment of the EU water law. The results of this consultation will contribute directly to the European Commission’s assessment of the legislation.

“An objective and transparent evaluation involving the public is critical. We therefore urge all stakeholders and European citizens to stand up for our rivers and lakes and make their voices heard” said Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office. “As WWF, our message to Member States and the European Commission is simple:  Bring life back to Europe’s rivers, lakes and wetlands – defend the EU water law!”

The WFD is one of the most ambitious, holistic pieces of EU environmental legislation ever to pass and, as a new report by WWF, EEB, the European Anglers Alliance and European Rivers Network shows [1], where political will exists, the WFD provides an effective framework for addressing the main pressures facing rivers, lakes, wetlands, streams and groundwater. Nevertheless, with only a measly 40% of EU waters currently healthy [2], it is clear that Member States need to seriously step up their game if they are ever to reach the final 2027 good status objective. So far, Member States’ ambition and efforts have been minimal at best, evident through their largely ineffective river basin management plans, programmes of measures, insufficient funding allocation, and excessive use (and misuse!) of the various types of exemptions provided within the law.

There have been meetings between Member States to discuss the future of the EU water law, all of which have taken place outside of the official process [3]. Some of these took place before the Commission’s official fitness check had even started, let alone concluded. This is despite the fact that, since the legislation came into effect, there has been an official, transparent process to support Member States with implementing this law, including NGOs and other stakeholders.

________________________

[1] Bringing life back to Europe’s waters: The EU water law in action, 2018, WWF, EEB, European Anglers Alliance and European Rivers Network (available to download here as of 20 September: http://www.wwf.eu/media_centre/publications/)

[2] European waters – assessment of status and pressures, 2018, EEA

[3] Whilst Member States are free to discuss what they want, these meetings deviate significantly from the established Common Implementation Strategy process, which was designed to involve all Member States, the Commission and relevant stakeholders (such as industry and environmental NGOs), and ultimately support Member States with implementing the Directive. As part of this process, all topics related to EU water legislation must be tackled by the Strategic Coordination Group, which is comprised of relevant stakeholders (including WWF), Member States and the Commission. However, Member States have been taking topics out of this group and discussing them in their own meetings. These meetings also undermine the official fitness check process that the Commission has only recently started, and will clearly establish whether the Directive has delivered or not (and, if not, why not).

Save the Blue Heart of Europe : Another victory for the “Brave Women of Kruščica”

 ++ Women block bridge in Bosnia-Herzegovina for over a year to protect their river ++ New attempt by the investor to vacate the bridge has been successfully fended off ++ Documentary on resistance against dams in the Balkans now available on iTunes ++
 

Press release from “Blue Heart” campaign, Riverwatch, EuroNatur

Kruščica, Vienna, Radolfzell, August 23, 2018. Last Friday, August 17th, residents of Kruščica once again prevented the investor of the planned hydropower plants Kruščica 1 and Kruščica 2 from starting construction works. About 200 villagers and neighbours blocked passage to the bridge, forcing construction workers and their machineries to retreat.

Investor with police protection © Abaz Dželilović

The atmosphere was tense as this new attempt of the investor came almost exactly one year after the women experienced considerable police violence. On August 24th, 2017, Bosnian riot police forces forcibly cleared the drive-up to the bridge; many women who stood peaceful guard on the bridge got hurt, arrested and fined. Fortunately, no violence occurred this time.

Street blockade © Abaz Dželilović

The fact that the investor has made another attempt to start construction works on the power plants shows how important the presence of the brave women continues to be. In June, the competent cantonal court revoked the environmental permit for the dam construction, however, the investor could possibly be granted another permit to continue construction if the application was revised accordingly. Apparently, he is already planning this even without a new court ruling.

Maida Bilal, one of the women of Kruščica, states: “In spite of all the strains, with which we have to cope day by day, we’ll not give up. We stand together shoulder to shoulder to protect our river and its beauty against the construction machinery.”
Ulrich Eichelmann, CEO of Riverwatch, says: “The whole farce around Kruščica could be ended by imposing a construction freeze of the two power plants. We call on the responsible Minister Salkan Merdžanic to finally cancel the concessions for Kruščica 1 and Kruščica 2; otherwise the situation threatens to escalate.”

The “Brave Women of Kruščica” play a prominent role in the documentary “Blue Heart”. This film, which has been commissioned by outdoor clothing company Patagonia, will be screened in Kruščica on the August 24th, 2018 – the anniversary of the violent police operation. As of now, “Blue Heart” is available from iTunes (€ 4.99).

Excavator © Abaz Dželilović

Kruscica women on the bridge © Andrew Burr

Download press release in PDF

Background information

  • This is a joint press release by EuroNatur, Riverwatch, and Center for Environment
  • Please find further information on the film “Blue Heart”, which has been screened in numerous countries on different continents, on the website “The dam truth”.
  • The Patagonia film ‘Blue Heart’ supports the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe”, which aims to protect the most valuable rivers in the Balkans from a dam tsunami of about 2,800 dam projects. The campaign is coordinated by the NGOs Riverwatch and EuroNatur and carried out together with partner organisations in the Balkan countries. In Bosnia & Herzegovina, the local partner is Center for Environment.
  • Photos attached: The attached photo material can be used once in connection with this press release and indicating photo credits. Information about the photos:
  1. Accompanied by police and with heavy construction machinery, the investor of the planned hydropower plants showed up at the village of Kruščica last Friday. © Abaz Dželilović
  2. The villagers were alerted quickly and blocked access to the river. © Abaz Dželilović
  3. This excavator must not stay – it embodies the threat of destruction of the river. © Abaz Dželilović
  4. For over a year, the “Brave Women of Kruščica” keep a bridge over their river occupied in order to prevent the construction of two hydropower projects. The two plants threaten the integrity of this wild river as well as the community’s drinking water supply. © Andrew Burr

 

Contact information

Jelena Ivanić – local Blue Heart campaign coordinator in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Center for Environment
jelena.ivanic@czzs.org, +387/65779467
Cornelia Wieser, international Blue Heart campaign coordinator, Riverwatch
cornelia.wieser@riverwatch.eu, +43 650 4544784
Christian Stielow, press and public relations, EuroNatur
christian.stielow@euronatur.org, +49 7732 927215

EuroNatur Award 2018 goes to Roberto Epple, ERN founder & chairman

Press release from EuroNatur 4 july 2018

2018 EuroNatur Award goes to Roberto Epple, founding President of the European Rivers Network, he has devoted himself for decades to the wild rivers of Europe.

An inspirational river conservationist: Roberto Epple receives the EuroNatur Award in October 2018. © ERN/France

Hydroelectric dams downgrade living river landscapes into a string of species-poor reservoirs. This trend has been resisted with body and soul by Roberto Epple over many years. For this commitment he is being awarded the EuroNatur Award on 10th October 2018.

This native of Switzerland was quick to recognise the importance of intact rivers for man and nature. As early as the 1970s, he was organising small campaigns against the construction of power stations in the Swiss Alps. He drew considerable attention to the issue in his documentary “Resistance on the River“ from 1987, which showed the protests against the construction of a power station on the Danube near Hainburg in Austria.  One of the last big floodplain forests in Europe was designated as a national park as a result of the protest movement. Epple won further acclaim for his commitment for the saving of the Loire in France where he prevented the construction of four large dams and achieved the dismantling of two more.

“The commitment of Roberto Epple to Central Europe’s river landscapes serves as an inspiration for the campaigns being waged by EuroNatur and its partner organisations against the hydroelectric power lobby in the Balkans,” said EuroNatur President, Christel Schroeder, supporting the choice of this year’s prize winner. With this award, Epple joins the ranks of public figures such as Klaus Töpfer, Prince Charles and the American best-selling author Jonathan Franzen. All have received the EuroNatur Award for their exemplary commitment to the European natural heritage.

Again and again, Roberto Epple’s creative campaigns have succeeded in raising public awareness of river conservation. He it was, for example, who initiated the Big Jump, in which people from all over Europe gather on the banks of their rivers, and all go for a swim at the same time. With this collective jump into the water, young and old celebrate European River Swimming Day, and highlight the need for clean rivers, unspoilt by development. On Sunday 8th July at 3pm Central European Time, this event will be again taking place in numerous locations throughout Europe.

Background Information:

  • EuroNatur Award: Former prize-winners include Jonathan Franzen, Dr. Luc Hoffmann, Michail Gorbatschow, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Mario F. Broggi and Gudrun Steinacker. The EuroNatur Award carries no monetary reward, and is awarded for outstanding contributions to nature conservation. The 2018 EuroNatur Award will be presented to Roberto Epple on Wednesday 10th October 2018 at 17.00 on the island of Mainau on Lake Constance.
  • Danube, Elbe, Loire, Ebro and Rhine are just some of the rivers which have featured in Roberto Epple’s life, rivers for which this hydrobiologist, born in St. Gallen in 1945, has fought numerous campaigns to preserve them  in their natural state. His first experiences in the area of communication and the environment were gained in international chemical and textile companies. The passionate defence by many people of the Danube floodplain forests near Hainburg in the 1980’s galvanised this native of Switzerland. Since 1993 Epple has been president of the European Rivers Network (ERN), a network of European environmental and conservation organisations which campaign for the preservation of European rivers.
  • Big Jump: The European River Bathing Day, also known as the Big Jump, started with the Elbe Bathing Day, which Roberto Epple launched in 2002 with the organisation Environmental Action Germany (DUH). Since 2005, Epple has organised the Europe-wide River Bathing Day with the ERN. The goal of the River Bathing campaign is to raise public awareness of the need for protecting waterways, particularly in the framework of the EU Water Framework Directive.

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.

Big Jump 2018: Citizens jumping in rivers & lakes across 18 European countries to protect the future of our waters (PR WWF/ERN)

Citizens jumping in rivers & lakes across 18 European countries to protect the future of our waters (PR WWF/ERN)

By Roberto EppleLeave a Commenton Citizens jumping in rivers & lakes across 18 European countries to protect the future of our waters (PR WWF/ERN)

ERN / WWF Press release Monday 9 July – 10.30am

Citizens jumping in rivers & lakes across 18 European countries to protect the future of our waters

Yesterday, thousands of people across Europe jumped into rivers, streams and lakes in more than 160 European ‘Big Jump’ events. Groups of families and friends were jumping to make a statement and protect our rivers and lakes, and to show that Member States must follow the positive spirit of the EU water law which they committed to: “Water is not a commercial product like any other but, rather, a heritage which must be protected, defended and treated as such”, as stated in the introduction of the EU Water Framework Directive.

The public engagement event saw people jumping, diving, wading, kayaking in 18 European countries from Spain to Poland. The Big Jump is an annual event founded by European Rivers Network that has taken place since 2002. WWF offices across Europe organised 48 Big Jump events, and used this occasion to kickstart its #ProtectWater campaign to save the EU Water Framework Directive, a crucial legal instrument to protect Europe’s freshwater ecosystems.

A landmark policy to its core, the Water Framework Directive recognises that, if we are to secure a sufficient supply of good quality water in the future, we must conserve our freshwater ecosystems. “This Big Jump has shown that people love rivers and lakes. It is a place of pleasure, joy and fun. The abundance of wildlife makes these ecosystems a special place for our threatened nature. However, it is very worrying that Member States have been skirting around their legal commitments under EU water laws for the majority of the past two decades. It is high time to understand that water is the base of all life on earth and not a commercial product like any other,” says Andreas Baumüller, Head of Natural Resources at WWF’s European Policy Office.

“Sunday was a fun day out in places that people love but with a serious purpose: Europe’s leaders must do more to protect our wonderful waterways,” stated Roberto Epple, founder of the Big Jump and chair of European Rivers Network.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR

Facts about the Big Jump

Founded by the European Rivers Network in 2002, the Big Jump is an open source event that aims to remind people of how valuable Europe’s rivers, lakes and wetlands are. The Big Jump seeks to inspire people to remember the powerful ties that bind them to freshwater ecosystems, and encourage them to join the fight to save them.

Since 2002, around 200,000 people have taken part before in over 2000 events.

Facts about the WFD

By restoring people’s connection to rivers and lakes, the Big Jump seeks to build support for efforts to protect and restore Europe’s freshwater systems – the goal of the EU’s world-leading Water Framework Directive (WFD). This directive is now under review and the Big Jump 2018 sent a clear message to the continent’s decision-makers to not weaken these laws, but to implement them.

  • The WFD 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;
  • 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;
  • 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.

The Water Framework Directive is currently undergoing its standard review in the form of a ‘fitness check’. Every piece of EU legislation goes through this process. The fitness check will look at the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value of the Water Framework Directive (and its ‘daughters’) and the Floods Directive. This will include a stakeholder consultation and a public consultation, which is expected to be launched in September 2018.

Contact info

Liesbeth Van den Bossche
EU Campaigner – WWF European Policy Office
lvandenbossche@wwf.eu +32 477 81 10 20

Roberto Epple
Chair of European Rivers Network roberto.epple@ern.org +33 6 08 62 12 67

www.bigjump.org

 

Congratulations : nice BIG JUMPs accross Europe !

160 Big Jump in 18 countries ! Congratulations !

United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Turkey and Israel were there ! Thank you very much !

See pictures from few BIG JUMP in our Facebook « Big Jump For Rivers »

Next Big Jump is 14 July 2019, save the date !

 

Big Jump : Today 10 000 citizens jump into rivers

Today 10 000 citizens will celebrate the rivers and jump in the water. More information