Dam Removal Europe (DRE) has reported a record 542 removals of river barriers across the continent in 2024.

This means over 2,900km of rivers have been reconnected, helping to strengthen climate resilience, enhance water and food security, and reverse nature loss.

The removals happened in 23 countries across Europe, an 11% increase on the previous record of 2023 and 400% higher than 2020 when records began. Four countries, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Czechia, and Turkey joined the DRE movement and removed barriers for the first time, showcasing the growing momentum behind the removal of dams and river barriers.

Jelle de Jong, chief executive of WWF-Netherlands, said, “Another record-breaking year highlights the growing support for dam removals across Europe as well as increasing understanding among communities and governments of the benefits of reconnecting and restoring our rivers for people and nature.

“Healthy, free-flowing rivers are central to adapting to the climate crisis and boosting biodiversity, but Europe’s rivers are the most fragmented in the world. We need to keep scaling up the removal of small, obsolete dams that are blocking our rivers and set new records every year.”

Currently, over 1.2 million barriers, including dams, weirs and culverts, fragment European rivers. Tens of thousands are obsolete and degrading waterways, blocking natural flows of water, sediments, nutrients and species, which undermines resilience and ecosystem services. This contributes to the loss of nature, including a 75% decline of freshwater migratory fish in Europe since 1970.

Codruța Savu from the WWF European Policy Office said, “Dam removals are a proven solution. A quick, cost-effective way to restore degraded rivers and help communities and species cope with the worsening impacts of climate change."

For the first time, Finland topped the count, with at least 138 barrier removals, followed by France, Spain and Sweden. Most of the removed barriers were obsolete culverts and weirs, which can be dismantled cost-effectively, and have a significant cumulative impact.

“It is extraordinary to see countries like Finland and France removing over 100 barriers each, but it is particularly inspiring to see so many new countries joining the movement. We need every European country to start dismantling barriers if we are to truly transform our rivers and achieve the ambitious target in the EU Nature Restoration Regulation,” said Savu.

The EU Nature Restoration Regulation came into force in 2024. Among its many goals is an ambitious target to restore at least 25,000km of fragmented rivers to a free-flowing state by 2030, primarily through barrier removals.

As an example of a 2024 DRE project, five barriers were removed along an 11km stretch of the Giovenco River in Italy, restoring its natural flow for the first time in decades. The reconnected river will once again be able to support migratory fish and other species, while its natural dynamics will create healthier habitats for insects, birds, and iconic species like the otter, as well as reducing erosion and building resilience to floods.

Barrier removals will also be a key in achieving the goals of the global Freshwater Challenge, which the EU has joined, and which aims to ensure 300,000km of degraded rivers are under restoration by 2030.

Dam Removal Europe (DRE) is a coalition of six organisations, which include the World Wildlife Fund, The Rivers Trust, The Nature Conservancy, the European Rivers Network, Rewilding Europe, and Wetlands International Europe, with a continuously growing European network.

The overall ambition of DRE is to restore the free-flowing state of rivers and streams in Europe and to establish and mainstream barrier removal as a holistic restoration tool.