Removed Barriers

European rivers are full. Of fish? No, barriers. Over 1 million barriers are blocking our rivers but as shown in the map above more and more are removed each day.

As is shown on the European Dam Removal Map*, many dams have been removed. However, we are only scratching the surface here. Over 1 million barriers are still blocking the European rivers. The amount of removed dams is a good development but there is still a big challenge to remove all the barriers and to create free flowing rivers in Europe.

This data is compiled from many different databases. We apologise for any irregularities and if you have any data or you are missing a dam, please contact us:

Contact

Yellow markers indicate the dams removals with an available case study.

Data used for the map above is made available thanks to: Show more

Austria:

  • Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Regions and Tourism
  • Blattfisch

Belgium:

  • L’environnement en Wallonie – SPW

Cyprus:

  • Water Development Department of Cyprus

England:

  • Environment Agency (EA)
  • The Trent Rivers Trust
  • Tyne Rivers Trust
  • Don Catchment Rivers Trust

Estonia:

  • Ministry of Environment of Estonia

Finland:

  • Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE)
  • Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres)
  • South Karelian Foundation for Recreation Areas
  • WWF Finland

Germany:

  • Regierungspräsidium Gießen
  • Institut für Binnenfischerei e.V. Potsdam Sacrow (IfB)
  • WWF Germany

Italy:

  • Centro Italiano per la Riqualificazione Fluviale (CIRF)

Lithuania:

  • Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania

Montenegro:

  • WWF Adria

Netherlands: 

  • Federatie Dommelvisrecht

Norway:

  • Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE)
  • Bærum Municipality
  • Norconsult AS

Poland:

  • Regional Water Management Authority in Rzeszów (RZGW Rzeszów)
  • Kazimierz Wielki University

Portugal:

  • Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF)
  • Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE)
  • University of Evora

France (This database does not distinguish between naturally removed and man removed):

  • Service d’administration nationale des données et référentiels sur l’eau (SANDRE), (this database does not distinguish between naturally removed and man-removed barriers)
  • Syndicat Mixte Interdépartemental de la Vallée de la Lèze (SMIVAL)
  • Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura
  • Syndicat Mixte des Basses Vallées Angevines et de la Romme (SMBVAR)
  • Bretagne Grands Migrateurs
  • Syndicat Interdépartemental d’Aménagement du Guiers et de ses Affluents (SIAGA)
  • Agence de l’Eau Artois-Picardie
  • Fédération du Pas de Calais pour la pêche et la protection du milieu aquatique (Peche62)
  • Fédération du Nord pour la pêche et de la protection du milieu aquatique (Peche59)

Scotland:

  • Forth Rivers Trust

Slovakia:

  • WWF Slovakia
  • Slovak Water Management Enterprise S.E.

Spain:

  • Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic challenge (MITECO)
  • Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental ‘IHCantabria’
  • Gipuzkoa Provincial Council
  • Cantabrian River Basin Authority
  • Segura River Basin Authority
  • Guadalquivir River Basin Authority
  • Basque Water Agency (URA)
  • Catalonia Water Agency (ACA)

Sweden (This database does not distinguish between naturally removed and man removed):

  • Jönköpings Fiskeribiologi AB
  • Länsstyrelsen i Jönköpings län
  • County Administrative Board of Norrbotten

Ukraine:

  • WWF Ukraine

Wales:

  • Natural Resources Wales (NRW)

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Mapping dams in European rivers

Barriers in European rivers

The above map is a result of the AMBER project which aims to map all barriers in European rivers. The map has two tabs, one is called “App” this is all the data collected by Citizen Scientists using the “Barrier Tracker“, a smartphone app designed to give all citizens a chance to track barriers in their river.

The other tab is called “Atlas”, this is a collection of official data gathered by scientists from the AMBER project and is frequently updated. That is why some countries might not show any barriers yet.