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AMBER correspondence in Nature Magazine
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In response to a recent Nature article that states two-thirds of the worlds longest rivers are no longer free flowing, Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, leading the AMBER project says, “The global study grossly underestimates the extent of river fragmentation as it only considers very large dams." The AMBER project shows that there are hardly any free-flowing rivers anymore, at least in Europe.”
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New AMBER research provides the first ground-truthed assessment of stream fragmentation across Great Britain
Results indicate that existing barrier databases underestimate stream fragmentation by at least 68% and that there is at least one artificial barrier every 1.5 km of stream in Great Britain. This leaves only 1% of the rivers in England, Scotland and Wales free of artificial barriers.
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The regional authorities have now officially stopped the plan of building another dam in the Nalon River
The AMBER project has contributed to the decision process to advise and communicate about the high natural value upstream of the Nalon River in Spain.
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When protecting rivers, there is strength in numbers
In Spain, many, if not all of their rivers are fragmented by dams and other barriers. While current barrier databases show where some dams are located, this is not the full picture. Smaller barriers such as weirs, culverts, and fords are crucially missing. Without understanding the full scope of the problem, Spain may have difficulty restoring these once vibrant ecosystems to life. Sara and the AEMS Rios con Vida team are here to help.
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AMBER policy meeting in Brussels
A delegation of the AMBER project met policymakers from the European Commission and representatives of the hydropower industry last Thursday, 4 June. The EC representatives were glad to see that the European map of barriers is developing in the right direction. Their enthusiasm led them to wonder the next steps and an action plan to improve river continuity before 2027.
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Lithuania workshop
On March 20th guests and local speakers presented on river restoration and barrier management expertise from around Europe. Attendees discussed how river restoration practice in Lithuania could be implemented.
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Murcia workshop
This workshop helped to identify the main challenges in the restoration of stream connectivity and to discuss strategies for accelerating the pace and effectiveness of restoration programmes from an adaptive management perspective. It is hoped that this will serve to exchange knowledge and strengthen similar initiatives across Europe to make the best possible use of the available resources.
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AMBER scientists and energy operators such as innogy work together to find and implement solutions.
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Collaborations such as these are crucial to managing our rivers responsibly. Research and tools provided and produced by AMBER help energy operators to invest in structures that will lessen the impact on river ecology and fish migration. In turn, these operators share the knowledge within their networks to make a greater difference for European rivers.
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CROWDWATER
CrowdWater is a citizen science project to collect hydrological data. No installations or sensors are needed for the measurements. Everyone can set-up a new station and contribute data for already existing stations using the free CrowdWater app. All participants can view the data directly in the app and also request the data.
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