After decades of protest by communities, local government, WWF and other environmental organizations, the Spanish Supreme Court has stopped the destructive Biscarrués dam in the Pyrenees.
The construction of the dam would have resulted in severe environmental impacts by destroying one of the last free flowing sections of the Gallego river. Fragmenting rivers is extremely harmful to both people and nature – ranging from blocking the migration of fish to trapping sediment needed to protect deltas from rising seas – and WWF is working around the world to restore freely-flowing rivers. The decision also sets an important legal precedent for the application of the Water Framework Directive – which commits all EU countries to ensure their rivers, lakes and wetlands are in good shape by 2027. More welcome news has come with the launch of the new EU biodiversity strategy. This is a potential game changer for Europe’s freshwater environments, with the most eye-catching target being the restoration of at least 25,000km of rivers by removing barriers and re-establishing floodplains and wetlands.
