“Something is wrong in our small waterways”, warns WWF

Less than half of French rivers (43%) are in good ecological condition, according to the NGO WWF. Trout are particularly threatened.

“Regarding the trout population, it has fallen by half in 20 years. For the bird the Great Crested Grebe, the population has fallen by 90%. These are indicators that something is wrong in our little backyards. water”, alert Wednesday May 22 on franceinfo Yann Laurans, director of programs at WWF. The NGO publishes an unprecedented report asserting that the biodiversity of rivers and fresh water bodies is threatened in France. Less than half of French rivers (43%) are in good ecological condition, that is to say capable of supporting aquatic life and birds in good conditions. Small rural waterways are especially affected. On the other hand, WWF notes an improvement for large rivers.

franceinfo: It is especially the small rivers that are doing badly because of human activities, is that correct?

Overall, the large rivers downstream of large cities are doing better. A lot of money has been invested over the past 20 years, around 500 billion euros in the water management system. But all the small rivers in rural areas tend to deteriorate and this is visible in the population of birds and fish that we observe.

For example, regarding the trout population, it has fallen by half in 20 years. For the bird the Great Crested Grebe, the population has declined by 90%. These are indicators that something is wrong in our small waterways. And at the same time, there are many invasive species such as catfish, which is a species that tends to colonize French waters.

The good news, however, is that in rivers like the Seine for example we are seeing the return of certain species that we have not seen for decades. How can this be explained?

This is explained by the considerable efforts that you and I, as water consumers, with our fee that we pay and which is used to finance work, we implemented water purification works which ended up by bearing fruit for most of the year. Except in cases of big storms, the water in the rivers, downstream of large cities like Paris or Lyon, is much better.

The state was catastrophic in the 1960s. It is therefore improving, whereas since the 1960s there has been demographic growth and growth in economic activity. Despite this, we have cleaner water thanks to these efforts.

Does this mean that we have neglected rivers a little too much in our countryside? Were the 500 billion euros for water policy poorly invested?

It’s not that we invested badly. We invested where we could put pipes and sanitation systems for what we call point source pollution, that of cities and large industries. Pollution in rural areas is not the same thing, it is not a matter of pipes which will collect pollution and who will treat it, it is a matter of behavior, of an economic system, of a manner to produce and it is much more difficult to achieve.

To try to improve the situation, are you going to buy land to create wetlands?

Yes, WWF France will commit to a budget of 5 million euros to purchase wetlands which will be offered for sale in order to preserve them and manage them sustainably with local stakeholders. The goal is for them to be emblems of the quality of aquatic environments that can be obtained by managing these environments well.