Record removal of river barriers in Europe, exceeding 500 for the first time
Ana Tuñas Matilla
Last year, 542 obsolete or disused barriers, such as dams, weirs, and collectors, were removed from European rivers, a record high that represents an 11.3% increase compared to 2023, according to the latest report from Dam Removal Europe, which reveals that Finland has overtaken France and Spain as the European leader in river "liberation."
The actions took place in 23 countries, compared to 15 the previous year, and allowed for the reconnection of 2,900 kilometers of rivers , according to the report by the conservation coalition, which argues that this type of action improves climate resilience and water security , while helping to reverse biodiversity loss.
For the first time, Finland led the way, removing 138 barriers. It's striking that the previous year, it had only removed four.
France dropped to second place, with 128 infrastructure demolitions, compared to 156 in 2023; while Spain dropped from second to third place, with 96 demolitions, one more than the previous year. In 2022 and 2021, the country had led the effort, with 133 and 108 demolitions, respectively.
Behind them are Sweden (45), the United Kingdom (28), Belgium (17), Switzerland (14), Denmark (13), Ireland (11), Germany (8); Italy and Slovakia (5), Estonia (4), Ukraine (3), the Netherlands, Latvia and Poland (2) and Lithuania and Portugal (1).
Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 9 demolitions, Croatia (7), Türkiye (2) and the Czech Republic (2), carried out their first official removals of river barriers.
In the last five years, a total of 1,694 barriers have been removed, according to the document, which highlights that last year's figure is five times higher than that of 2020 (101), when the count began.
Dam Removal Europe (DRE) has been assessing the progress and impact of dam removal as a river restoration measure for five years to defend its effectiveness and, in addition, to counter the spread of hoaxes such as those that proliferated after the floods in Valencia , in which the damage caused was blamed on the removal of dams.
Of the total barriers removed in 2024, 45% were collectors, 43% were diversion dams, and 8% were weirs. The remaining 4% were divided between fords and floodgates. Only 16 of the removed dams were used or originally constructed for hydroelectric power production.
According to the same source, 65% of the infrastructure was less than 2 meters high, 34% was between 2 and 5 meters high, and only 1% was higher than 5 meters.
For WWF-Netherlands Director General Jelle de Jong, the data highlights growing support for dam removal across Europe and a growing understanding by communities and governments of the benefits that reconnecting and restoring rivers brings to people and nature.
"Healthy, flowing rivers are essential for adapting to the climate crisis and boosting biodiversity," he stressed.
However, much work remains to be done, as it is estimated that there are more than 1.2 million river barriers fragmenting rivers across Europe, tens of thousands of which are obsolete and whose lack of maintenance poses a risk of failure .
These barriers, he warned, degrade waterways by blocking the natural flow of water, sediment, nutrients, and species, undermining ecosystem resilience and contributing to nature loss.
For example, since 1970, freshwater migratory fish populations in Europe have declined by 75%, he lamented.
The before and after in the life of a river when artificial barriers are removed
For his part, Codruta Savu, a WWF member and Living Rivers Europe partner, stressed that dam removal is a proven, rapid, and cost-effective solution for restoring degraded rivers and helping communities and species cope with the impacts of climate change .
"We need all European countries to start dismantling barriers if we want to truly transform our rivers and achieve the ambitious goal of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation," which came into force last year and, among its objectives, includes restoring 25,000 kilometers of rivers to normal flow by 2030.
DRE brings together 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. Its goal is to promote the removal of barriers to restore the free flow of Europe's rivers. EFEverde ATM
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