According to Greensavers, this stream, also known as the Vascão River, rises in the Caldeirão mountain range (between Alentejo and Algarve), flows into the Guadiana River and is included in the Rivers2Restore report, published today by ANP/WWF, in association with WWF, which includes 11 river recovery projects in Portugal, Austria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain, contextualised the environmental association.

The proposed intervention for these European rivers allows “reducing the impact of drought, benefiting people and biodiversity”, through “immediate action” from source to mouth that allows the elimination of existing barriers, “restoring Europe's rivers” and “helping to meet the nature recovery objectives recently agreed by the European Union (EU)”, justified the ANP/WWF in a statement.

“Restoring rivers by removing barriers and allowing the river to flow from source to mouth helps to limit climate disasters such as drought or flooding,” the association argued.

Quoted in the statement, the association's Water Coordinator, Maria João Costa, stated that “the Guadiana basin is one of the aridest and drought-prone in Europe and is home to several endangered species whose habitats need to be restored”.

“Restoring rivers means protecting nature, but also people: healthy rivers play a vital role in preventing droughts, supporting biodiversity and are also essential for ensuring quality and abundant water,” said the coordinator.

The project planned for the Vascão River foresees the “elimination of 17 obsolete river barriers” along its entire route, he specified, stressing that the absence of barriers favors “the functioning of the river ecosystem through the restoration of ecological connectivity and increased availability of habitats”.

Removing these obstacles will lead to “improved fish migration routes”, provide “habitats for other species, such as the European otter”, and improve “water quality and availability”, factors that, he highlighted, can then encourage the creation of more jobs and more tourism revenue.

The ANP/WWF recalled that the “recently approved EU Nature Restoration Law requires Member States to restore at least 25,000 kilometres of naturally occurring rivers in Europe by 2030” and called on Member State governments to include Rivers2Restore projects in their national restoration plans by 2030.

The environmental association also asked the European Commission to encourage national governments to give “priority to the recovery of rivers, namely through the creation of a nature recovery fund”.

“Finally, it is urgent to make climate and water resilience a priority for the next mandate” of the Commission, ANP/WWF also considered.

The association highlighted that the implementation of the 11 projects proposed for Portugal, Austria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia, and Spain will allow for achieving “2,200 kilometres of restored rivers” and “almost 10% of the EU Biodiversity Strategy target”.