The Asian River Restoration Network was established in Nov. 2006 to support the exchange of information relating to environmental restoration of rivers and watersheds. JRRN has a role of ARRN secretariat currently.
Go to ARRN website
< World's WATERFRONT:WORLD Category： Europe >
River straitening and drainage development for preparing farmlands started in the late 19th century. By 1968, 95 % of the river was modified and 4000-ha farmland was transformed to cultivated field. But its effects on the environment and the restoration plan were investigated for twelve years, and based on the results, the interested parties negotiated to reach an agreement. In June of 1999, the biggest restoration works in the north Europe started, with the budget of 35 million dollars. It included land acquisition, as well as projects regarding soil, water, and roads, and was called “Skjern River restoration project.”
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By JRRN-secre | Category: Restoration Project,Europe | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2008.03.31 19:43
The scenery of Rhine River in Netherlands has dramatically changed by centuries of human activities such as creating banks that decreased anti-flood fields; agricultural use of anti-flood fields; river course improvement for transportation; and massive wastes disposal. It resulted in deterioration of Rhine River’s environment. In 1970s, the aquatic life in the river was contaminated by harmful chemicals, and the river was called “sewage in Europe.”
Especially after 1986’s chemical factory fire in Sandos, Switzerland, the water quality was deteriorated. People grew conscious on environment, and created “Rhine River activity plan” targeting at “salmon living river by 2000.”
By the end of 1980s, thanks to the efforts by the surrounding local governments, the environment was recovered to a level to be quoted as a hygienic excellence.
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By JRRN-secre | Category: Restoration Project,Europe | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2008.03.31 19:24
From 1860s, there was a river development in upstream of Rhine (Basel – Bingen) aiming at flood prevention and inland river transportation. In 1930s, river improvements were done for hydraulic power generation and inland river transportation. Treaty of Versailles after the World War I gave France a right on Rhine River, and France established a new channel for river transportation, parallel to Rhine River. As a result of these changes, anti-flood fields were diminished and flood frequented in the upstream region. Given the situation, a comprehensive Rhine River flood control plan was proposed. By restoring and conserving anti-flood fields, Rhine River’s flood control functionality (estimated 270 million m2) is expectedly recovered. Governmental agencies and NGOs operate focusing on water quality improvement, free fish inhabitation and relocation, and habitat variety improvement.
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By JRRN-secre | Category: Restoration Project,Europe | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2008.03.31 19:23
Mersey River was polluted as the industrial revolution proceeded, and for two hundred years, it had been deemed as the most polluted river in Europe. Its water environment started to improve in 1960s. The financial and environmental restoration activities were started for the Mersey River basin that had the problems of declining economy, devastated cities, and environmental issues.
From 1980, as a project to clean up the river mouth, a 15-year investment plan (170 million pounds or 34 billion yen) for cleaning the sewage wastewater was started by the government. From 1985, this effort was continued as Mersey River Basin Campaign, run mainly by the environment ministry. It is a 25-year program with the total budget of four billion pounds invested by the government and companies. It is a “world-encouraging advanced example” and is highly evaluated in EU as well as in UK.
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By JRRN-secre | Category: Restoration Project,Europe | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2008.03.31 19:21
The primary elements to decide the ecological environment of a large river and the neighboring floodplains are the scope, the period, and the dynamics of hydrologic connection between the river and the floodplains via the surface layer current and the groundwater. That hydrologic connection has been badly lost in all the large rivers in Europe, due to water channel improvement constructions and to dam constructions. For Danube River which flows along the jurisdiction of Austrian “alluvium area national park,” as the first step of restoration strategy for freely-flowing river, a large-scaled pilot project has been in progress to restore the hydrologic and ecological completeness of the system between the river and its floodplains.
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By JRRN-secre | Category: Restoration Project,Europe | Comment(0) | Trackback(0) |
Date: 2008.03.31 19:17
