From the archive
29 Oct 2026
Before anyone could take a machine to the weirs on the Giovenco, a river in Italy's Central Apennines, a long list of offices had to agree. Mario Cipollone, who leads the Rewilding Apennines team, describes sign-off at several levels: town councils, the region, and national bodies where a river crosses a regional line. The Giovenco also needed a national park's agreement and heritage clearance. Application to demolition took around three years.
In 2024 the team took out five barriers on the Giovenco and reconnected 11 kilometres of river. In September 2025 they removed a dam 30 metres long from the Liri, the river the Giovenco runs into. Screenings and local events have built support along both rivers, and anglers back the reconnection as well as the team's work on native Mediterranean trout. Last year 21 European countries between them removed more than 600 barriers, opening up over 3,700 kilometres of river.
A sixth weir on the Giovenco is next, and the first round has changed the method. Last time the feasibility study came first and the detailed executive plan followed it. This time the two will be drawn up side by side. Doing them in parallel could take months off the schedule and avoid a wait for money between one stage and the next.
Before a weir comes out, trace its owner and check whether it still does any job. Then list every body that must approve the work. On the Giovenco that included a national park and the heritage authorities. Draft the feasibility study and the detailed works plan side by side, not in sequence. On the first river, application to demolition took about three years.
Rewilding Europe · Read the source