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What Do We Expect Our Rivers to Look Like?
Coalition Clean Baltic River Univerity , October 23, 2020
Tobias Schäfer, Berlin Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB Berlin) Living Rivers Foundation Member of the Water Working Group of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) What do we expect our rivers to look like?
1. Rivers are flow >> What do we want to protect?
2. Hydropower and inland navigation >> Against which pressures do we need to defend our? Titel 3. Legal protection schemes for free-flowing rivers in Europe >> Key findings from a study on national legislation in five European countries
4. Vision: Free Rivers for Europe >> A growing network of strictly protected rivers – healthy, dynamic and free-flowing
5. Changing the conversation about rivers > Is 2020 a turning point? Protecting rivers – healthy, dynamic and free-flowing
Protecting free flow – the river‘s essential property and its ability to provide connectivity (in all dimensions)
Protecting fluvial morphodynamics – the river‘s ability to constantly renew itself and shape its bed, banks and floodplains
Protecting freshwater life – the river‘s ecosystem health, representing a mosaic of aquatic and terrestrial habitats and corridors across the land Titel
Protecting the pathways rivers create, and allowing the river to renew itself – this is what river conservation is all about.
Hans van Klinken What do we expect our rivers to look like?
Titel Freshwater Biodiversity Crisis – Europe is a hotspot
Species loss and biodiversity decline is most dramatic in rivers and other freshwater habitats
Freshwater molluscs and fish are the most endangered groups on the globe
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Stockholm Resilience Centre 2009 Seppo Leinonen, seppo.net Freshwater Biodiversity Crisis
Chopped els (Anguilla anguilla) from a hydo-electric station in Norway Frode Kroglund Titel
Both species are critically endangered.
If the eel is important, why do we kill it? Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) - Frode Kroglund U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters CC BY 2.0, WikiCommons (6461814405) Nordseeschnäpel (Coregonus oxyrhynchos) – lost around 1940
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www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/10028057 What do we expect our rivers to look like? Short film impression #1
Save The Vjosa River https://vimeo.com/230555750
Titel Europe as a focal point of the global boom of dam construction
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Zarfl et al. (2014): https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271996520_A_Global_Boom_in_Hydropower_dam_Construction/download
https://www.euronatur.org/aktuell/detail/news/europes-rivers-are-damned-by-dams/ Hydropower and Inland Navigation - Main drivers of the freshwater biodiversity crisis Negative environmental effects include:
• Fragmentation of river systems through barriers
• Habitat loss and degradation
• Loss of river dynamics and sediment flow
• Disconnection between river and floodplain
• Reshuffling of biodiversity by connecting river basins Titel
Hydropower and inland navigaiton are the opposite of what we consider ecosystem services!
Living rivers depend on the engergy that hydropower is aiming to extract from them. Green energy from small hydropower?! An example from Romania
Das ist Wahnsinn (3): Rumänien Titel What do we expect our rivers to look like? The front page shows... yes no don‘t know a hydro-electric power station? x
a river? x
a Natura 2000 site in favorable x conservation status?
A large coalition of environmental organisations rejected the draft in 2017:
There is very little scope for new hydropower in any of the EU’s water courses and in particular no room for Titel new hydropower plants in Natura 2000 sites or in rivers containing Natura 2000 sites or EU protected species.
These sites should rather be the nucleus for a network of free-flowing rivers and streams with high ecological value that should be expanded through the decommissioning and removal of ecologically harmful infrastructure. Benefits of hydropower: No rivers, no fish?
A search in the executive summary produced zero (!) results for these words: fish river flow stream ecology Titel nature
Search results for „fish“ from the Policy Report (31 S.):
Multipurpose benefits: “hosting fishing and aquaculture business” What do we expect our rivers to look like? Short film impression #2
Stop E40! https://vimeo.com/280552490 Titel Inland navigation – Mostly a fairy tale
Apart from the Rhine, no river in Germany is of any signifcance for transporting goods!
Barely visible as a waterway: The Oder river
Titel Elbe river navigation
Doom and gloom already in the making
Due to navigation projects, incision of the river bed has been continuing at a speed of 1 -1.25cm per year over the last 100 years,.
This process is observed along 300km of the Elbe river in Germany Titel (Elbe-km 75 – Elbe-km 370
>> dramatic effects on the river bed and on the Elbe floodplains Inland Navigation Projects in Germany – Just another “Billions down the drain“ example
TitelDer Spiegel
1.300.000.000 DM were spent for the Saar-Canal in the 1980s. Evaluators summarized that „water sports will cheer“. Titel
„Experts say the canal will pay off within just 2000 years.“ Der Spiegel What do we expect our rivers to look like?
Do we expect our rivers to be photoshopped?
Titel What do we expect our rivers to look like – a romanticist view
Sueddeutsche Zeitung (2017): „Main-Danube-Canal a !!! complete failure“
Titel It‘s a rather rare sight: A freight ship on the Main-Danube-Canal.“
???
Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz Mariordo , CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3160633 Once upon a time...
Titel Inland Navigation in Central Europe – A Three25penny Opera?
Inland navigation projects -- Pirate Jenny style:
Yet, one fine day, There will be roars from the harbour, …
And a ship, eight sails shining, Fifty-five cannons wide, Sir, Waits there at the quay. Titel Marianne Faithfull singing “Pirate Jenny”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyqK1TuFmnA
Slavnostní otevření průplavu Rýn-Mohan-Dunaj dne 25. září 1992 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaWTSMogx-4 Titel Free-Flowing Rivers for Europe
Conclusions from two online river film sessions with panel discussion at EU Green Week 2020, Oct. 21, 2020 Compiled by session co-moderators Tobias Schäfer (IGB Berlin and Living Rivers Foundation) and Michael Bender (flow : europe and EEB Water Working Group)
Session 1: Keep the Wild Wild! Prospects for a European network of protected rivers - healthy, dynamic and free-flowing: The EU Biodiversity Strategy provides new prospects for the vision of a European network of strictly protected rivers. This river conservation policy needs to aim at both protecting and restoring the key properties of rivers: Free flow, sediment dynamics, and connectivity in all dimensions.
Rivers and floodplains need to be recognized as biodiversity hotspots: In order to gain a better understanding and achieve better management, freshwater ecosystems should be regarded as a third realm next (to marine and terrestrial). In light of the sharp decline of freshwater life, defending dynamic and free-flowing rivers against infrastructure projects including inland navigation projects (such as E40 Waterway or along the Oder) is a key challenge for biodiversity policies in the EU and globally.
Living rivers depend on the energy hydropower is aiming to extract from them: As shown by a recent study on freshwater fishes in the Mediterranean Basin, hydropower is a key threat to freshwater biodiversity through imposing barriers and degradation of river and stream habitats. The European Environmental Bureau (EEB) along with other European NGOs is advocating a stop for new hydropower projects in the EU, as their environmental damage outweighs potential energy gains from electricity generation.
Legal protection schemes for free-flowing rivers can find inspiration from existing examples: Examples for effective strict legal protection of free-flowing rivers against barriers and dams can be found in Slovenia (Soca River), Finland, Sweden, Spain. A Vjosa Wild River National Park as recently announced for Albania could spark a new way of protecting dynamic river landscapes. An inspiration from the US is the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. All over the world, initiatives for legal protection ofTitel free-flowing rivers are connecting.
Session 2: The Dam Removal Challenge Restoring free-flowing rivers combines with protecting the last wild ones: Dam removal is real - the removal of barriers is already happening, and the EU Biodiversity Strategy goal of restoring 25.000km of rivers to a free- flowing condition offers great opportunities for reconnecting fragmented habitats and re-establish connectivity throughout river systems. Prioritization for removal projects to gain maximum ecological benefit is starting to be carried out; funding for barrier removals is increasingly available from EU funds.
Biodiversity objectives need to be addressed in the River Basin Management Plans under the WFD: Priorities for removing fish migration obstacles and other aspects of protecting of aquatic biodiversity need to be integrated into the current drafts of the River Basin Management plans under the Water Framework Directive.
Protecting the pathways rivers create, and allowing the river to renew itself – this is what river conservation is all about Legal Protection Schemes for Free-Flowing Rivers in Europe
Overview report commissioned by TNC prepared by Tobias Schäfer, Living Rivers Foundation, Berlin December 2019
Key findings:
1. We already have a system of legally protected rivers in the EU > Slovenia, Finland, Sweden, Spain Titel > new approaches are evolving in Portugal, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia
2. The existing approaches are based on national legislation, were established in different decades and are rather disconnected from each other
3. A European approach is needed to combine river protection and river revitalization (dam removal) more strategically Legal protection of free-flowing rivers in Europe - Overview
Titel Free rivers for Europe
Vision:
Establishing a network of strictly protected healthy, dynamic and free-flowing rivers in Europe - Conserving river landscapes with outstanding value for aquatic biodiversity and Europe‘s natural heritage
In light of the widespread failure to protect rivers from dams and hydro-electric power plants (in spite of the WFD‘s non-deterioration obligation and even in National Parks and Natura 2000 sites!), what are we going to do?
Let‘s engage in a discussion and shape a vision for a network of protected free riversTitel in Europe:
# What can we learn from Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and Spain, the only EU countries with effective legal river protection schemes against hydropower and dams?
# How can we build a European network of protected rivers, similar to the US Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to protect and restore vital river landscapes, and turn the tide for freshwater life? Wild and Scenic Rivers in the US
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• Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968) “certain selected rivers […] shall be preserved in a free-flowing condition […] and protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.“ Dam Removal – Inspirations from the US
Titel Free rivers for Europe
Two essential components are missing in European river policy today:
1. An over-arching strategic planning approach that indentifies the need for strict river protection and restoration action across the EU, based on ecoregions;
2. A clear and EU-wide protection approach that strictly protects wild and free rivers from dams and other damage, and aims at enhancing the Titel vitality, natural dynamics and ecological value of these rivers, in order to keep them free and flowing for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. What do we expect our rivers to look like? Short film impression #3
Parker‘s Top 50 Favorite Things About Northwest Rivers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPmCo0riO5g
Titel Changing the conversation about rivers
Titel Titel Koskiensuojelulaki (35/1987): Finland‘s River Rapids success story
The year 1987: Finlands‘s rivers are going to be dammed entirely. Well, not entirely… One small group of indominable Fins still holds out against the hydro-electric invaders
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… and achieves for 53 river rapids strict protection from being dammed !!! 1) i Partakoski och Kärnäkoski i Savitaipale kommun; 2) i Kermankoski i Kermanvirta i Heinävesi kommun; 3) i Karvionkoski mellan Varisvesi och Kermajärvi i Heinävesi kommun; 4) i Konnuskoski mellan Konnusvesi och Savivesi i Leppävirta kommun; 5) i Pielisstråten i vattendragen ovanför Pankajärvi i städerna Lieksa, Nurmes och Kuhmo; 6) i Nurmijoki mellan Haapajärvi och Säleväjärvi i Sonkajärvi kommun; 7) i Keyritynjoki och Puntinjoki i Juankoski, Nilsiä och Rautavaara kommuner; 8) i Tiilikanjoki i Rautavaara kommun; 9) i Vaikkojoki i Juuka och Kaavi kommuner; 10) i Koitajoki mellan riksgränsen och Kahvisaari i Ilomants kommun; 11) i vattendraget Haapajoki-Ukonjoki i Ilomants kommun och Lieksa stad; 12) i Kymmene älvs nedre lopp fram till området nedanför Koivukoski i Kotka stad; 13) i Kymmene älv mellan Hirvijärvi och Tammijärvi sjöar i Pyttis och Strömfors kommuner; 14) i Ahvionkoski, Kultaankoski och Pernoonkosket i Kymmene älv i städerna Anjalankoski och Kotka; 15) i Kivijärvistråten i Lemi, Luumäki, Savitaipale och Valkeala kommuner samt i städerna Anjalankoski och Kouvola; 16) i Kalkis fors mellan Päijänne och Ruotsalainen i Asikkala kommun; 17) i Arvajastråten i kommunerna Kuhmoinen och Längelmäki samt i Jämsä stad; 18) i Kuusaankoski, Luijankoski och Kapeenkoski mellan Kuhnamo och Saravesi i Laukaa kommun och Äänekoski stad; 19) i Huopanankoski och Keihärinkoski mellan Vuosjärvi och Pihkurinselkä i Viitasaari kommun; 20) i Kolima forsled från Kärnänkoski till Kymönkoski i Viitasaari kommun; 21) i Naarakoski mellan Naarajärvi och Kuhnamo i Äänekoski stad; 22) i Saarijärvistråten, uppåt från Leuhunkoski i Karstula, Kyyjärvi, Multia, Perho, Pylkönmäki och Soini kommuner samt i städerna Alajärvi och Saarijärvi; 23) i Rautalampistråten i vattendraget ovanför Kuhankoski i Hankasalmi, Jäppilä, Kangasniemi, Karttula, Keitele, Kiuruvesi, Konnevesi, Laukaa, Maaninka, Pielavesi, Pihtipudas, Pyhäjärvi, Rautalampi, Sumiainen, Tervo, Toivakka, Vesanto och Viitasaari kommuner, i Pieksämäki landskommun samt i Idensalmi, Kuopio och Pieksämäki städer; 24) i Puuskankoski mellan Pieni Sämpiä och Tuusjärvi i Mäntyharju kommun; 25) i Kiskonjoki-Bjärnå åars vattendrag i Bjärnå, Finby, Karislojo, Kiikala, Kisko, Muurla, Pertteli, Pojo, Sammatti, Suomusjärvi, och Tenala kommuner samt i Salo stad; 26) i Kilpikoski i Kumo älv samt i Kutalanvuolle och Hiedanvuolle i Rautavesi i Vammala stad och Äetsä kommun; 27) i Kuokkalankoski och Herralankoski mellan Ahtialanjärvi och Kirkkojärvi i Lempäälä kommun; 28) i Pihlajavesistråten i städerna Virdois, Keuruu och Etseri; 29) i Myllykoski i Norrmark å i Norrmarks kommun; 30) i vattendraget Lappfjärds å-Isojoki i Kristinestad samt i Bötoms, Kauhajoki, Storå och Östermark kommuner; 31) i Esse ås nedre lopp ända till nedanför Evijärvi i Evijärvi och Pedersöre kommuner; 32) i Perho å från Murickforsen till järnvägsbron i Kronoby kommun och Karleby stad; 33) i Lestijoki vattendrag i Himanka, Kelviå, Lestijärvi, Lochteå och Toholampi kommuner samt i staden Kannus; Titel 34) i Siiponjoki i Kalajoki kommun; 35) i Kalajokis nedre lopp ända till nedanför Hamarinkoski i Alavieska och Kalajoki kommuner samt i Ylivieska stad; 36) i Pyhäjokis nedre lopp ända till nedanför Haapakoski i Pyhäjoki, Merijärvi och Haapavesi kommuner samt i staden Oulainen; 37) i Siikajokis nedre lopp ända till nedanför Pöyrynkoski i Ruukki och Siikajoki kommuner; 38) i Saarikoski och det ovanför belägna vattendraget i Kuhmostråten i Kuhmo stad; 39) i Kiminge älvs vattendrag i Haukipudas, Kiiminki, Ylikiiminki, Pudasjärvi, Puolanka och Utajärvi kommuner; 40) i Ijo älvs vattendrags mellersta och övre lopp i Kuusamo, Posio, Pudasjärvi, Puolanka, Ranua, Suomussalmi, Taivalkoski, Yli-Ii och Ylikiiminki kommuner; 41) i Kuivajoki vattendrag i Kuivaniemi, Ranua och Simo kommuner; 42) i Simojoki vattendrag i Posio, Ranua, Simo och Tervola kommuner samt i Rovaniemi landskommun; 43) i Vähäjoki vattendrag i Tervola kommun och i Rovaniemi landskommun; 44) i Auttijoki vattendrag i Rovaniemi landskommun och Posio kommun; 45) i Käsmäjoki vattendrag i Salla kommun och Kemijärvi stad; 46) i vattendragen ovanför Kemi älvs och Tenniöjokis sammanflöde i Savukoski och Salla kommuner; 47) i Torne älvs-Muonio älvs biflöden i Enontekis, Kittilä, Kolari, Muonio, Pello och Övertorneå kommuner samt i Rovaniemi landskommun och Torneå stad; 48) i Tana älvs biflöden i Enare och Utsjoki kommuner; 49) I Nejdenälvens vattendrag i Enare och Utsjoki kommuner; 50) i Juutuanjoki och de ovanför belägna vattendragen i Enare och Utsjoki kommuner; Sindi Dam Removal in Estonia
2019: Dam Removal in Estonia
Titel Titel Titel Titel Protecting rivers – healthy, dynamic and free-flowing
Protecting free flow – the river‘s essential property and its ability to provide connectivity (in all dimensions)
Protecting fluvial morphodynamics – the river‘s ability to constantly renew itself and shape its bed, banks and floodplains
Protecting freshwater life – the river‘s ecosystem health, representing a mosaic of aquatic and terrestrial habitats and corridors across the land Titel
Protecting the pathways rivers create, and allowing the river to renew itself – this is what river conservation is all about.
Hans van Klinken Titel
Thank you for your attention!