| Civil engineering
Below: Number of barriers removed per country in 2023. Dam Removal Progress 2023
France 156 Spain 95 Sweden 81 Denmark 72
UK 36 Switzerland 15
Estonia 10 Austria 8
Finland 4 Slovakia 3 Poland 2 Portugal 2 Belgium 1 Latvia 1 Lithuania 1
Dam Removal Europe
Dam Removal Europe (DRE) is a coalition of seven organisations: the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), The Rivers Trust, The Nature Conservancy, the European Rivers Network, Rewilding Europe, Wetlands International, and the World Fish Migration Foundation. DRE’s aim is to restore the free-flowing state of rivers and streams in Europe and to establish barrier removal as a restoration tool. More information and the report Dam Removal Progress 2023 can be found at
www.damremoval.eu
future disasters: “Obsolete barriers do nothing but harm the river, increase nature loss and pose a growing risk since they were built to cope with very different climatic conditions. It’s time to re-think the way we manage our rivers by removing all obsolete barriers and letting as many rivers as possible flow freely. A river that does not flow freely is slowly dying.” DRE’s report does not include obsolete barriers that had fallen into decay and collapsed naturally or functional barriers that suffered structural failure due to extreme precipitation. In 2023 at least three of such incidences occurred across Europe in Norway, Northern Ireland and Slovenia, triggering landslides and floods that forced downstream communities to evacuate. DRE says it compiles information on these incidences to raise awareness, which can also be used to make well informed decisions and assist in the prioritisation of barrier removal projects.
NB: River connectivity is a central topic of the EU Nature Restoration Law which includes an obligation to remove man-made barriers to help restore the free-flowing condition of at least 25000km of rivers in Europe by 2030. On the 27 February 2024, the European Parliament approved the Nature Restoration Law, following the provisional agreement reached by European member states in November 2023. It now must be adopted by the Council, before being published in the EU Official Journal and entering into force 20 days later.
Future plans Looking ahead, there are several significant barrier
removal projects on the horizon for the near future. Croatia is set to proceed with the removal of eight barriers, including parts of old mills and remains of older infrastructure. Romania is also gearing up for its first barrier removal scheduled for May, a move anticipated to enhance river connectivity and ecosystem health. In Spain, the Catalan Water Agency plans to commence dam removal in Colonia del Rio in June, continuing its proactive approach towards river and ecological restoration in the country.
Top: The removal works of a weir at Starohorský Potok, Slovakia in autumn of 2023 © SVP š.p
Below: Before and after removal of Garlogie Dam in Scotland. ©SEPA
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