300 dams demolished for ‘world’s biggest’ revival of river habitat

China has undertaken one of the largest river restoration projects in Asia by demolishing 300 dams and shutting down over 90 percent of small hydropower stations along the Chishui River, a major tributary of the upper Yangtze. This extensive ecological intervention, initiated in 2020 and largely completed by the end of 2024, aims to restore natural water flow, reconnect fragmented aquatic habitats, and reopen migratory routes essential for fish reproduction. The Chishui River, once heavily fragmented by hydro-infrastructure, is now a revitalized sanctuary for rare and endemic fish species, including the critically endangered Yangtze sturgeon. The project has yielded promising results, with researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences reporting successful spawning and hatching of hatchery-bred Yangtze sturgeon released into the river in 2023 and 2024—an unprecedented event since 2000. This recovery is part of a broader strategy that includes a decade-long fishing ban, restrictions on sand