Legal Protection Schemes for Free-Flowing Rivers in Europe (Dec. 2019)

Overview report by Tobias Schäfer prepared for The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The research for this report was guided by the aim of compiling a catalogue of rivers in Europe that enjoy a permanent legal comparable to a designation as Wild and Scenic River under the US Wild and Scenic Rivers Act from 1968. There has been no prior study comparatively addressing the question of strict legal protection of free-flowing rivers in Europe.

The findings of the study were presented by Tobias Schäfer at the International Conference on River Protection in Southeast Europe organized by WWF and The Natur Conservancy in Podgorica on Oct. 2-3, 2019 and at the Coordination NGO Meeting on River Protection and Restoration organized by EEB, TNC and WWF in Brussels on Dec. 16, 2019.