The surge in hydroelectric dams is driving massive biodiversity loss

By Josie South, Assistant Prof. Ecology, University of Leeds
Lee Brown, Professor of Aquatic Science, University of Leeds
Taylor Maavara, Senior independent research fellow, University of Leeds

Around the world, free-flowing natural rivers are being fragmented by dams, weirs and other barriers. It’s one of the biggest, yet least acknowledged, causes of biodiversity loss worldwide.

River fragmentation is a key reason migratory fish populations have declined by 81% since 1970, according to a new report by the Living Planet Index – a rate of wildlife loss six times that of animals that live on land or in the sea.

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