Can environmental impact assessments alone conserve freshwater fish biota? Review of the Chilean experience

Lacy, Shaw Nozaki; Meza, Francisco; Marquet, Pablo A.

doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2016.12.006

Cited by 21 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…We recommend optimizing design for all species simultaneously due to the uncertainty arising from several factors. Firstly, environmental impact assessment (EIA) baseline data on the resident fish community may be unavailable, incomplete or unreliable (Lacy, Meza, & Marquet, ). Secondly, the set of resident species considered in Fish‐Net is representative of the community that could be encountered at a given site in Chile and the wider TSH.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Model results shown for three representative fish body lengths (TL). Circles represent mean "most likely" (best) estimate of experts incomplete or unreliable (Lacy, Meza, & Marquet, 2017). Secondly, the set of resident species considered in Fish-Net is representative of the community that could be encountered at a given site in Chile and the wider TSH.…”

Section: Nature-like Bypassesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Fish‐Net: Probabilistic models for fishway planning, design and monitoring to support environmentally sustainable hydropower

et al. 2018

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The construction of fishways for upstream and downstream connectivity is the preferred mitigation measure for hydropower dams and other riverine barriers. Yet empirical evidence for effective design criteria for many species is missing. We therefore assembled a group of international fishway designers and combined their knowledge with available empirical data using a formal expert elicitation protocol and Bayesian networks. The expert elicitation method we use minimizes biases typically associated with such approaches. Demonstrating our application with a case‐study on the temperate Southern Hemisphere, we use the resulting probabilistic models to predict the following, given alternative design parameters: (i) the effectiveness of technical fishways for upstream movement of migratory fish; (ii) habitat quality in nature‐like bypasses for resident fish; and (iii) rates of mortality during downstream passage of all fish through turbines and spillways. The Fish Passage Network (Fish‐Net) predicts that fishways for native species could be near 0% or near 100% efficient depending on their design, suggesting great scope for adequate mitigation. Sensitivity analyses revealed the most important parameters as follows: (i) design of attraction and entrance features of technical fishways for upstream migration; (ii) habitat preferences of resident fish in nature‐like bypasses; and (iii) susceptibility of fish to barotrauma and blade strike during turbine passage. Numerical modelling predicted that mortality rates of small‐bodied fish (50–100 mm TL) due to blade strike may be higher for Kaplan than Francis turbines. Our findings can be used to support environmentally sustainable decisions in the planning, design and monitoring stages of hydropower development.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nature-like Bypassesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fish‐Net: Probabilistic models for fishway planning, design and monitoring to support environmentally sustainable hydropower

et al. 2018

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“…The EIA does includes citizen engagement, where stakeholders (i.e., local communities, indigenous groups, and NGOs) are invited to is restricted to whether the EIA fulfils regulations set under Chilean environmental law. The EIA process is further complicated by a lack of procedural precision, the limited ability of the government to modify conditions for development, and limited scientific information on river ecosystem functioning (Lacy et al, 2017).…”

Section: Environmental Legislative Framework Guiding Hydropower Devmentioning

confidence: 99%

River science and management issues in Chile: Hydropower development and native fish communities

Habit

García²,

Díaz

et al. 2018

River Research & Apps

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The magnitude of hydropower developments in emerging regions threatens the sustainability of their riverine landscapes. Fragmentation of river networks by multiple barriers and the imposition of new hydrological regimes influences the ability of these river ecosystems to absorb and adapt to these developments and other stressors. Direct transfer of paradigms built from a restricted geographical base to a global context is fraught with issues because of regional differences in eco‐hydro‐geomorphology, biological communities, and nonlinear interactions between the two. In this manuscript, some impacts of hydropower development on Chilean riverine ecosystems are presented. To understand the context of hydropower, we provide the political context of energy development in Chile. Interactions between hydropower generation and Chilean river ecosystems with special reference to native Chilean fish fauna are outlined. Three case studies are presented that considers: (a) habitat alteration downstream of the Rucúe Dam, (b) the effects of daily hydropeaking in the Biobío River, and (c) mitigation strategies to reduce habitat alteration upstream of the San Pedro Dam. These case studies illustrate the expanding scientific knowledge on Chilean riverine landscapes. Finally, new measures to reduce ecosystem impacts of hydropower development on native Chilean fish communities are outlined. Although specific scientific information is available, developing regional ecohydrological models and improving knowledge of ecosystem and sustainability science is required. The scientific approach on which solutions are sought to address present and future river ecosystem problems in Chile are inherently interdisciplinary nature.

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“…Quantitative faunal surveys such as population censuses are rare because they require field effort and time by specialists, rarely available in the completion of the EIAs (Sánchez, 2013). The main problems encountered in the EIAs are the lack of identification of breeding areas and lack of information related to behavior aspects, ecological interactions, key and bioindicator species (Sherer, 2011), as well as methodological problems, ranging from lack of experts to poor experimental design, selection of methods and the absence of methodological standardization in driving of faunal inventories in EIAs (Wegner et al, 2005;Thompson, 2007;Duarte et al, 2017;Lacy et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Terrestrial invertebrates in environmental assessments: A decade of environmental impact studies in the influence area of the Atlantic Rainforest in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Esteves¹,

Paz²

2019

Rev. Bras. Gest. Amb. Sustent.

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Invertebrates constitute a megadiverse animal group and abundant in virtually every terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem, performing functions and providing services indispensable to the environment. In this paper, we evaluated how terrestrial invertebrates were treated in the Environmental Impact Assessments submitted to the environmental agency in Rio de Janeiro, state fully inserted at Atlantic Rainforest biome. We analyzed environmental studies developed by companies with new industrial projects presenting potential environmental impact in the period of 2008 to 2018. Only ten (14%) studies considered terrestrial invertebrates in the biotic diagnostic assessments of fauna. Arthropoda was the only one Phylum considered as terrestrial invertebrates in the studies analyzed, with Class Insecta present in all of them, and Arachnida present in two studies. The insects of the Orders Diptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Lepidopetra, Hemipetra, Orthopetra and Odonata were the most frequent in the studies. The lack of interest in the conservation of terrestrial invertebrates demonstrates the fragility of the public authorities in issues related to biodiversity conservation strategies of these animals and exposes the urgent need for investment in the formation of human resources specialized in biodiversity conservation.

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Can environmental impact assessments alone conserve freshwater fish biota? Review of the Chilean experience

Cited by 21 publications

References 57 publications

Fish‐Net: Probabilistic models for fishway planning, design and monitoring to support environmentally sustainable hydropower

Fish‐Net: Probabilistic models for fishway planning, design and monitoring to support environmentally sustainable hydropower

River science and management issues in Chile: Hydropower development and native fish communities

Terrestrial invertebrates in environmental assessments: A decade of environmental impact studies in the influence area of the Atlantic Rainforest in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

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