Comment on ‘An index-based framework for assessing patterns and trends in river fragmentation and flow regulation by global dams at multiple scales’

Abstract

In their article ‘An index-based framework for assessing patterns and trends in river fragmentation and flow regulation by global dams at multiple scales’ (2015 Environ. Res. Lett. 10 015001), Grill et al utilized a graph-based river routing model to simultaneously assess flow regulation and fragmentation by dams at multiple scales. Using global dam data they developed the river fragmentation index and the river regulation index, both based on river volume. Their results indicate that, on a global basis, 48% of river volume is moderately to severely impacted by either flow regulation, fragmentation, or both. Assuming completion of all dams planned and under construction in their future scenario, Grill et al find this number would rise to 93%, an effect they attribute largely to dam construction in the Amazon Basin. They also provide evidence for the importance of considering small- to medium-sized dams.We find this approach interesting and the analysis straightforward, but in this response note some limitations to the Asia-specific data on which the analysis is based. China and India are not only the two most populous countries, but are home to the vast majority of the world’s largest dams and reservoirs, numbers which will rapidly increase in the future. Grill et al however, limit their modeling and subsequent basin assessment (flow regulation and river fragmentation) to less than ten percent of existing and forthcoming dams in those two countries. While we suspect this is due to data limitations, it results in what we feel are significant misinterpretations of the future of dams and rivers across much of Asia.