Record Number of River Barriers Removed in Europe in 2024: Report

Record Number of River Barriers Removed in Europe in 2024: Report

European countries dismantled a record 542 dams, culverts, weirs and sluices that had been blocking rivers in 2024 — up 11 percent from the previous year — according to a new report from Dam Removal Europe. Last year 23 countries in Europe removed a river barrier, and for four of them — Croatia, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Czech Republic — it was their first time doing so. “European rivers have been fragmented by more than 1.2 million…

A report from the Association "Dam Remote Europe" says that the removal of 542 obsolet river barriers was more than 2,900 kilometres of rivers in Europe in 2024, with Portugal removing one.

Europe Removes Record Number of River Barriers

Hundreds of dams, weirs, culverts and sluices dismantled in 2024 to help waterways resume natural course.

In 2024, Europe set up 542 bars, establishments, posts and exclusions that blocked watercourses, allowing a record number of rivers to reconnaissance their natural course

Europe’s Great River Unblocking: Quiet Revolution to Revive Nature’s Arteries - https://eutoday.net

Last year, a record-breaking 542 river barriers, from obsolete dams to crumbling weirs, were removed across the continent. It is a remarkable leap—an 11 per cent increase from 2023—and a powerful signal that Europe is finally heeding the call to restore its waterways to something resembling their natural form. The scale of this hydrological healing effort, spearheaded by countries including Finland, France, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom,…

The environmental organization WWF Portugal today set a record for removing more than 500 obsolete river barriers in Europe, but stressed that “Portugal remains unmovable in the face of the European trend”. In a report by the coalition “Dam Removal Europe” it is said that the removal of 542 obsolete river barriers reconnected more than 2,900 kilometers of rivers in Europe in […] The content WWF sets record for river barriers removed and Portugal…