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The Conversation
The Conversation
Environment
Josie South, Assistant Prof. Ecology, University of Leeds

The surge in hydroelectric dams is driving massive biodiversity loss

Canadapanda / shutterstock

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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