“River restoration is not a luxury. It is a necessity and requires collective effort.” This was the central message of the National Workshop “Towards Free Flowing Rivers in Greece”, which opened the public discussion on the need to remove barriers from the country’s rivers.
With success and encouragingly high participation, the first National Workshop, organized by MedINA, took place on April 2nd and 3rd in Athens. The event brought to the forefront the key practices in the restoration of river ecosystems and mitigation against biodiversity loss. For the first time in Greece, representatives from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, of the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA), researchers from HCMR – Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, engineers, international experts, civil society organizations, and concerned citizens gathered together with a common goal: to shed light on all aspects of free-flowing rivers and their restoration.
The workshop highlighted the importance of removing outdated and non-functional barriers – such as small dams, abandoned irrigation reservoirs, and culverts – a practice widely implemented in Europe and the USA with significant results. However, in Greece, no barrier removal has yet been carried out, and the open dialogue remains limited and often misinterpreted.
Regarding the Nature Restoration Regulation, the workshop focused on the European institutional framework, the legal and administrative challenges of the process at the national level, as well as the need to create clear and measurable goals regarding the removal of barriers. According to the Regulation, EU member states are required to free 25,000 km of rivers, by creating a National Restoration Action Plan, which must be submitted to the EU for approval by September 2026.
Throughout the workshop, it was emphasized that the presence of barriers is not only a technical or energy-related issue, but one with environmental, social, and economic dimensions primarily. The perception of hydroelectric power as a “renewable source” was discussed in the context of a reality where its primary resource, water, is becoming increasingly scarce due to climate change, and where such energy production often leads to the destruction of natural ecosystems.
The participants were informed about the destructive impacts of fragmented river flow ecosystems – some of the most degraded habitats in Europe – and were inspired by examples of best practices in barrier removal from Europe and the USA, with valuable contributions from Laura Wildman (Save the Sound, USA) and Benoît Terrier (Rhône-Mediterranean and Corsica Water Agency).
The issue of cost was also highlighted: While the removal of artificial barriers comes with an economic price, the environmental and social cost of maintaining them is often much higher. Funding tools that can support such initiatives were presented, including the Open Rivers Programme.
As part of the National Workshop, a visit was made to the Rafina Stream, one of the last natural rivers in Attica, where ongoing projects are significantly altering its natural flow. Those who attended, guided by the researcher of HCMR, Stamatis Zogaris, and Emmanuela Terzopoulou (Movement for the Protection & Restoration of the Great River of Rafina), saw firsthand the impacts of interventions on the ecological functions and connectivity of the river ecosystem.
The two-day event concluded with deep reflection, knowledge exchange, and a strong sense of responsibility. Achieving the restoration of rivers requires interdisciplinary work, collaboration, political advocacy, and active participation from civil society. Only through this approach will Greece’s rivers be given a breath of life, benefiting both the natural environment and humanity.
The National Workshop “Towards Free Flowing Rivers in Greece” was funded by the European Open Rivers Programme, Wetlands International Europe, WWF NL and the LIFE programme.