The Associação Natureza Portugal (ANP)/WWF called for the restoration of the Vascão River, in Alcoutim, after the publication of a new report called “Rivers2Restore”.
This report calls for “immediate action to restore Europe’s rivers and help meet the nature recovery objectives recently agreed by the European Union (EU). Restoring rivers by removing barriers and allowing the river to continue, from its source to its mouth, helps to limit climate catastrophes, such as drought or floods», says ANP/WWF.
«The Guadiana basin is one of the most arid and drought-prone in Europe and is home to several threatened species whose habitats need to be recovered. Restoring rivers is about protecting nature, but also people: healthy rivers play a vital role in preventing droughts, supporting biodiversity and are also essential for guaranteeing quality and abundant water", says Maria João Costa, coordinator of water from ANP|WWF.
For ANP|WWF, the restoration of the Vascão River must involve the elimination of 17 obsolete river barriers along the river, so that river connectivity can be fully recovered.
«This will improve the functioning of the river ecosystem by restoring ecological connectivity and increasing the availability of habitats – without obstacles, there will be an improvement in the migratory routes of fish, colonization of other habitats and other species, such as the European otter -, improving the quality and availability of water, creating more jobs and generating more tourism revenue, and, ultimately, alleviating the drought, so characteristic of this area of the country», says the ANP/WWF.
The recently approved EU Nature Restoration Law requires Member States to restore at least 25 thousand kilometers of natural rivers in Europe by 2030 – the 60 kilometers of natural river Vascão planned by ANP|WWF will make a contribution of 0,24% to meet this objective.
Furthermore, with 60 kilometers of natural course and a continuum from the sources of Serra do Caldeirão to the Guadiana estuary, there is a strong probability that the Vascão will reach an "excellent" ecological status, that is, the quality of the water will guarantee that the fish populations in the region, 88% of which are in decline, can develop and prosper.
ANP|WWF therefore calls on the governments of EU Member States to include Rivers2Restore projects in their national restoration plans until 2030, as well as to facilitate licensing, ensure financing and extend river recovery efforts beyond of these projects.
WWF International asks the European Commission (EC) to support and encourage national governments to prioritize the recovery of rivers, namely through the creation of a nature recovery fund. When analyzing national restoration plans, the EC should also request revisions if the ambition for river restoration is insufficient. Finally, it is urgent to make climate and water resilience a priority for the next term.
“Rivers2Restore” is a compilation of 11 projects in Portugal, Austria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia and Spain selected by WWF which, if implemented, could see 2200 kilometers of rivers restored and thus , achieving almost 10% of the EU Biodiversity Strategy target.
Comments