19 April 2021 –
new
Potential
of Barrier Removal to Reconnect Europe’s
Rivers report analyses a sample of 30,000
barriers on large and medium-sized rivers in Europe, and
assesses their reconnection potential for the whole
continent, the EU27, and by country. The conclusions are
based on the length of river which could be reconnected, and
the ecological quality of reconnected rivers which could be
achieved through barrier removal.
The
scale of river fragmentation makes Europe the
In Europe, over 85% of barriers are small structures
such as weirs, ramps, fords and culverts. All
barriers, whatever their size, impact on river health;
changing a river’s natural flow, blocking routes for