Rivers are home to a wealth of biodiversity and provide vital water for local communities, but today they are among the most threatened habitats on the planet. In Austria, where some 5,500 power stations generate 60 per cent of the country’s electricity, the massive expansion of this form of energy has caused fish populations to fall by up to 95 per cent and left 62 per cent of the 76 native species extinct or endangered.
Damming the last remaining unspoilt rivers would barely increase the security of the electricity supply by between 1 per cent and 2 per cent. Despite this, plans are afoot to build four new power stations in the Schladming-Dachstein tourist region: a run-of-river power station in the Talbachklamm gorge and three run-of-river power stations on the River Enns.
To prevent this, this citizens’ initiative, backed by over 6,000 supporters, is campaigning to defend the free flow of these watercourses. Drawing on its collaboration with international activists and NGOs that have halted more than 3,000 dam projects in Europe and championed the protection of rivers such as the Vjosa, the group is demanding strict conservation measures to counter infrastructure projects that are incompatible with nature.
