R2: Let’s give rivers a new life to save our own

In recent centuries, Europe’s rivers have faced increasing exploitation and transformation, gradually losing their ability to host a rich wildlife andto undergo natural cycles that maintain the hydrological balance of our landscape.Today, cleaner and more sustainable modes of moving goods and generating electricity than waterways are available, less invasive projects should be systematically favored. We need rivers to take on an entirely different role which they can only play if they are protected and, if needed, restored – wherever possible and as soon as possible – to their natural state.

This requires the conservation and large-scale management of wetlands and river valleys, from the sources to the estuary, over the entire catchment area, ensuring their “ecological flow” both in terms of volume and chemical composition,and
promoting permanent grasslands and flood plain and wetland forests. Such nature-based solutions are effective, environmentally friendly and low-cost ways to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Rivers, streams and their valleys are important habitats and wildlife corridors, connecting water and land habitats in increasingly fragmented landscapes. They enable short-distance movements and long-distance migration of various animal species. Rivers and river valleys should be kept unobstructed by dams and other infrastructure, preserved and restored to their natural state wherever possible. Where barriers are already built, the obligations for owners of such facilities must be strengthened in order to better protect migratory fish. In addition to removing barriers, solutions for helping fish pass such barriers must also be introduced. Rewilding rivers and river valleys goes hand in hand with the aims of protecting and restoring carbon sinks and improving the water-retention potential of our landscapes. It also improves a number of other ecosystem services provided by rivers, such as: water self-purification which is essential as we face the risk of drinking-water shortages; nature-based flood protection that involves giving rivers room to freely overflow; as well as recreational and cultural functions.

Rivers, streams and their valleys are important habitats and wildlife corridors, connecting water and land habitats in increasingly fragmented landscapes. They enable short-distance movements and long-distance migration of various animal species. Rivers and river valleys should be kept unobstructed by dams and other infrastructure, preserved and restored to their natural state wherever possible. Rewilding rivers and river valleys goes hand in hand with the aims of protecting and restoring carbon sinks and improving the water-retention potential of our landscapes. It also improves a number of other ecosystem services provided by rivers, such as: water self-purification which is essential as we face the risk of drinking-water shortages; nature-based flood protection that involves giving rivers room to freely overflow; as well as nourishing, recreational and cultural functions.

Rivers, streams and their valleys are important habitats and wildlife corridors, connecting water and land habitats in increasingly fragmented landscapes. They enable short-distance movements and long-distance migration of various animal species. Rivers and river valleys should be kept unobstructed by dams and other infrastructure, preserved and restored to their natural state wherever possible.This is crucial also in order to preserve the natural sediment contribution that form and maintain Deltas, which are unique areas in terms of biodiversity, but also exceptionally rich agricultural areas. Obstruction causes lack of sedimentation, resulting into net loss of particularly valuable land. Rewilding rivers and river valleys goes hand in hand with the aims of protecting and restoring carbon sinks and improving the water-retention potential of our landscapes. It also improves a number of other ecosystem services provided by rivers, such as: water self-purification which is essential as we face the risk of drinking-water shortages; nature-based flood protection that involves giving rivers room to freely overflow; as well as recreational and cultural functions.

Rivers and their ecosystems are threatened by national and European plans for the development of class IV international river waterways as a part of the European TEN-T Network. In this context, it is of concern that, from 2021, the European Green Deal Roadmap is planning ‘initiatives to increase and better manage the capacity of railways and inland waterways’. In particular, we consider as inadmissible the E40 Waterway project extending more than 2 000 kilometres across Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. It will cause irreversible hydrological changes, flooding in certain areas and re-draining in others, destruction of river-related ecosystems, as well as the inevitablespread of radionuclides accumulated after the Chernobyl disaster.

The project is also extremely questionable from the economic aspects. Due to the climate change many rivers have a much lower water flow than they used to or completely dry out in the summer time, thus being unusable for transport. Investments into their restructuring are mostly wasted, also because they are based on an old geography of the water flow that does not correspond to the present reality.

While existing inland waterways in countries like Belgium and The Netherlands can play a role in reducing CO2 emissions by taking heavy trucks and lorries off the roads, and by electrifying vessels for transport on inland waterways, the development of new river transport is much more expensive, slower and more carbon-intensive than rail. For example, the feasibility study procured bythe Czechian government for the controversial Danube-Oder-Elbe Canal project was widely criticised by experts for having serious flaws, such as omitting significant external costs and downplaying environmental risks to unique habitats protected by EU legislation, whilst largely exaggerating benefits to local economies, flood protection, or reducing carbon emissions.

We also urge governments in the Balkansall over Europe to stop building small hydropower plants in protected areas and call for a rethink of the subsidy schemes that foster development of small hydropower plants. Constructing these plants means that forests are cut down and river flows are disturbed, damaging river plants and fish. Rivers are also diverted into pipes which dries out the ground and opens the way for potentially deadly erosion. Some villages have lost access to water for cattle or agriculture, while the loss of forests is contributingto more frequent flash floods.

We also urge governments in the Balkans to stop building small hydropower plants in protected areas and call for a rethinkban of the subsidy schemes that foster development of small hydropower plants. Constructing these plants means that forests are cut down and river flows are disturbed, damaging river plants and fish. Rivers are also diverted into pipes which dries out the ground and opens the way for potentially deadly erosion. Some villages have lost access to water for cattle or agriculture, while the loss of forests is contributingto more frequent flash floods.

We also urge governments in the Balkans to stop building small hydropower plants in protected areas and call for a rethink of the subsidy schemes that foster development of small hydropower plants. Constructing these plants means that forests are cut down and river flows are disturbed, damaging river plants and fish. Rivers are also diverted into pipes which dries out the ground and opens the way for potentially deadly erosion. Some villages have lost access to water for cattle or agriculture, while the loss of forests is contributingto more frequent flash floods. Construction of small hydropower plants not only lead to irreversible ecological devastation but can completely destroy livelihoods of entire communities through the destruction of their agricultural land and by causing displacement of these communities.

We also urge governments in the Balkans to stop building dams and small hydropower plants in protected areas and call for a rethink of the subsidy schemes that foster development of small hydropower plants. Constructing these plants means that forests are cut down and river flows are disturbed, damaging river plants and fish. Rivers are also diverted into pipes which dries out the ground and opens the way for potentially deadly erosion. Some villages have lost access to water for cattle or agriculture, while the loss of forests is contributingto more frequent flash floods.

We also urge governments in the Balkans to stop building small hydropower plants in protected areas and call for a rethink of the subsidy schemes that foster development of small hydropower plants. Constructing these plants means that forests are cut down and river flows are disturbed, damaging river plants and fish. Rivers are also diverted into pipes which dries out the ground and opens the way for potentially deadly erosion. Some villages have lost access to water for cattle or agriculture, while the loss of forests is contributingto more frequent flash floods. Dams and small hydropower plants should not be built in earthquake prone areas such as the Balkans.

Water and stream management must be based on science and experience and must respect contemporary knowledge about rivers’ geo-ecosystems. The practice of water-course maintenance must be modernised so that it can be based on‘cooperation’ with the natural processes of river dynamics, which should also include a considerable scaling down of maintenance works. River training, ifany, should use solutions which take into account rivers’ hydraulic, geo-morphological and natural conditions, while water courses regulated according tothe old concepts need to be rewilded on a large scale. Continuation of the technical approach to the management of river systems and their drainage basins will inevitably exacerbate existing problems, droughts, floods and unfavourable changes in our continent's landscape. Rewilding the rivers and streams which were transformed in the past – or, in some cases, simply allowing such rivers to re-naturalise themselves through natural processes – will reinstate their characteristic species and habitats, slow down the run-off from theriver basin, and enhance river valley retention.

'5. Give a protection status for a minimum of 30 % of wild rivers.

It is necessary to give a strong protection status to rivers in an objective of preservation but also of reclaiming degraded space. This protective approach considers the entire river. Giving legal personality to our rivers and wild rivers by relying on processes such as the Water Parliaments is a crucial step to be taken in order to protect these ecosystems.

Water and stream management must be based on science and experience and must respect contemporary knowledge about rivers’ geo-ecosystems. The practice of water-course maintenance must be modernised so that it can be based on‘cooperation’ with the natural processes of river dynamics, which should also include a considerable scaling down of maintenance works. River training, ifany, should use solutions which take into account rivers’ hydraulic, geo-morphological and natural conditions, while water courses regulated according tothe old concepts need to be rewilded on a large scale. Large-scale and long-distance water transfers between basins for economic purposes is an old-fashioned practice with severe ecological consequences that should be discarded by default. Continuation of the technical approach to the management of river systems and their drainage basins will inevitably exacerbate existing problems, droughts, floods and unfavourable changes in our continent's landscape. Rewilding the rivers and streams which were transformed in the past – or, in some cases, simply allowing such rivers to re-naturalise themselves through natural processes – will reinstate their characteristic species and habitats, slow down the run-off from theriver basin, and enhance river valley retention.