The Fish and the dam that brought it to extinction

Gezhouba Dam

Last year we placed these two pictures on the back cover of the Heritage Dammed report to UNESCO to illustrate the role of dams in mass extinction of freshwater biodiversity. We suggested that scientists will wait for 50 year before declaring the paddlefish extinct. We were wrong, by 49.5 years. Here is the article by Lily Katzman of Smithsonian Magazine:

China’s Yangtze River, the world’s third longest river, is home to 378 known species of fish. But the Chinese paddlefish, …

The Dead End

Opinion by Paul Hockenos(CNN)

Climate change is already wreaking
lethal havoc on the world of flora and fauna.

So, all hands on deck to save the
planet, right? We’re behind in the chase and need all the clean energy
resources we can muster to hit the 2015 Paris summit goals and curb global
warming, right?

Actually, no. All renewable energy
sources are neither equal nor welcome. Just because an energy source is zero or
low emissions doesn’t mean that it’s intrinsically
good for the environment — just look at nuclear power, which many
countries (rightly) deem much too …

Disclaimer: This is Amur River between Russia and China, not in Chile

We got this Christmas card from our friends in the Americas and happy to share it with you as New Year gift! Our friends managed to publish this card in the New York Times and, besides spectacular free -flowing rivers, it features our report “HERITAGE DAMMED“.

Have fun , protect our rivers!!! Yours, RwB

The rivers of Chilean Patagonia cascade from snow-capped mountains through sheer rock facades and rolling hills, radiating bright turquoise, deep blues and vivid greens. …

New benchmarking report finds little progress on social and environmental safeguards among key global players in hydropower

Despite the enormous diversity in
size, scale and geography of new dams being built, a relatively small number of
corporations are responsible for their construction. Thus the policies and
practices of these companies have tremendous implications for rivers and human
rights. This report provides context for this situation and features seven
in-depth case studies of dams at final stages of completion. The case studies
are evidence-based and descriptive of on the ground impacts; they cover a wide
geography, and are …

Small Hydro, supported by the International Finance Corporation, blocking Langarica River in a national park in Albania . by Cornelia Wieser

As You, probably, know the main factor preventing rivers in EU to achieve “good ecological status” prescribed by the Water Framework Directive is “hydro-morphological alteration”, in other words – dams, dykes and other water infrastructure. One would expect, that policies of EU countries would be directed at removing and reducing this threat. Reality is shocking:

Europe’s rivers are damned by dams: Plans are drawn …

A long exposure view of Karnali River below Shreenagar village of Humla. by Nabin Baral, Karnali Expedition

The Karnali River is the gateway to the Kailash Mandala region from the Ganges River. It provides a sacred corridor once travelled by Shiva and his wife Parvati on his way to his home in Mt. Kailash. Today, the river corridor is travelled by tens of thousands of pilgrims annually. Of the three major rivers emerging from the Nepal Himalaya—the Koshi, the Gandaki, and the Karnali—the Karnali is the only …