Going, Going, Gone: Endangered Species Being Dammed
 
Huffington Post, February 8, 2010
 
In a reversal of the animated movie Madagascar, all of the world's
Kihansi spray toads suddenly found themselves living in the Bronx Zoo,
far from their home at the base of a waterfall in Tanzania. The tiny
toads were no match for a dam that destroyed not only their life in
the wild, but a beautiful waterfall too. "Maybe the story will have a
happy ending," The New York Times wistfully mused.
 
The UN has declared 2010 the Year of Biodiversity as a wake up call on
the state of the planet's endangered plants and animals. "The latest
data from scientists indicates to us that the loss of species is
occurring at anywhere between 100-1000 times faster than has
traditionally been the case," says Achim Steiner, head of UNEP.
 
The number-one cause of species extinction is habitat loss. The number
one habitat type with the highest loss of biodiversity is thought to
be freshwater ecosystems.
 
The dam-building industry is probably not planning a big celebration
for Biodiversity Year. In fact, if it was up to them, they might
rename it "the Year of see-no-evil." Or maybe simply "Don't Ask, Don't
Tell Year." Although dams are one of the leading causes of aquatic
species extinction, we don't even know exactly what has been lost.
Most of the time, there is no marking of the passage of loss, no
requirement on dam owners to account for species at risk after the dam
is built.
 
In the past sixty years or so, we've dammed most of the world's major
rivers, resulting in huge hydrological changes, and major disruptions
to the web of life once supported by free-flowing waters. Gone are the
famed river dolphins of the Yangtze, thanks to Three Gorges Dam - the
first human-caused extinction of a dolphin species. Most of the damned
species are less charismatic than the Baiji dolphin, but no less
important in the big web of life.
 
Tragically, many governments are planning big, destructive dams in
biodiversity hotspots. Brazil's President Lula wants to build the
world's third biggest dam in the Amazon. He says the Belo Monte Dam
won't proceed without an $800 million "mitigation fund" to compensate
indigenous people living in the dam's way, and to address the
project's environmental impacts. But species on the edge can't use
money, they need habitat. The Kihansi Spray Toad can tell you all
about that; the millions spent have not brought back its water world.
 
Asia's Mekong is another species-rich ecosystem that is threatened by
a wave of big dams (the species at risk include another dolphin, and
many, many fish that provide the bulk of protein for the region's
people). The most remarkable animal that could fall to the walls of
concrete now being built or planned by China, Laos, Burma and Vietnam
is the giant Mekong Catfish, a grizzly-bear-sized creature that breaks
all records for freshwater fish. More than a thousand fish species
live in the Mekong River system, a biodiversity second only to the
Amazon. The river's fisheries support some 40 million people, and
bring in $2 billion a year.
 
We can't do anything once a species is lost. But we -- the species
with almost total power over this planet -- can most definitely do
better at preserving our fellow species, and stop pushing others over
the brink. For freshwater species, that means letting rivers flow;
restoring and preserving wetlands; ending the pollution of waterways,
and preventing diversions that dry up lakes and rivers.
 
Everyone on our planet needs healthy rivers. It's time to get serious
about protecting these lifelines, and just say no to destructive
dams.
 
[Lori Pottinger, International Rivers, Editor of World Rivers Review]