The journey to free-flowing rivers begins long before any barrier is physically removed. The first step – identifying and prioritising barriers – sets the stage for everything that follows. Through our A1 grants, we support projects that focus on this crucial groundwork: mapping rivers, creating barrier inventories, developing prioritisation strategies, and engaging stakeholders to build support for future removals. The insights from these projects provide valuable lessons and best practices for the wider dam removal community:
Stakeholder engagement is essential. Grantees point out that broad and early stakeholder engagement makes the difference between stalled projects and successful ones. Engaging communities, landowners, local authorities, and policymakers from the start prevents resistance later. Local, participatory meetings proved effective in giving communities a voice, creating ownership, and building trust.
“Maintaining constant communication and ongoing discussions with stakeholders throughout the project was critical. This approach allowed for flexibility in addressing concerns early, building institutional partnerships, and ensuring support at all stages of the project.”
Communication must be clear and transparent. Effective communication means being transparent about objectives, timelines, and responsibilities, while also listening actively to concerns. Media campaigns and public outreach help explain the purpose of projects and demonstrated accountability. Clear communication is also important in building social acceptance, which is fundamental since projects supported by the programme must demonstrate they are low risk.
Social acceptance must be actively cultivated. Project teams underline that community support cannot be taken for granted. Gaining acceptance requires deliberate effort through dialogue, trust-building, and inclusion of local stakeholders. Establishing ongoing mechanisms for communication ensures that concerns could be addressed as they arose, reducing resistance and building legitimacy for future actions.
“Engaging with local communities directly can yield significant cooperation, as they often hold crucial knowledge and are willing to collaborate when approached with transparency and respect for their perspectives and experiences”
Knowledge development and dissemination matters. Barrier identification is not just about gathering data – it also produces valuable knowledge that must be shared. Grantees highlight the value of developing and disseminating results widely, including providing policy advice. This ensures that findings influence broader decision-making processes and help create momentum for river restoration at the national and regional level.
Adaptability and innovation are needed on the ground. Projects often encounter practical challenges such as difficult terrain, poor accessibility, and adverse weather conditions. These situations highlight the importance of being adaptable and resourceful. Innovative solutions, such as using drones, help projects collect data efficiently in otherwise inaccessible areas. The most suitable period for inventory is the autumn-winter season, when river flows are lower, making it easier to wade through the riverbed. In addition, the absence of leaves on trees during this period provides better visibility.
The experiences of our A1 grantees show that when projects combine robust data with inclusive engagement, transparent communication, and innovative fieldwork, they lay the strongest foundations for successful removals. At the Open Rivers Programme, we expect all A1 projects to deliver a list of prioritised, low-risk, ecologically strong and viable barriers, ready to move into the barrier removal preparatory stage through a follow-on grant from the programme. In this way, grantees ensure that their work is not only insightful but also directly actionable, paving the way for the removal of barriers.
