47
© The Author(s) 2016
R.F. Hüttl et al. (eds.), Society - Water - Technology, Water Resources
Development and Management, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-18971-0_4
Chapter 4
A Global View on Future Major Water
Engineering Projects
Klement Tockner , Emily S. Bernhardt , Anna Koska , and Christiane Zarfl
Abstract Human activities have altered how the world functions. During the past
decades, we have globally, fundamentally, in the long-term, and in most cases irreversibly modifi ed all spheres of earth. This new epoch, often referred to as the
Anthropocene, is just in its early stages. Indeed, there is general agreement that the
transformation of our globe takes speed, with consequences that we can hardly imagine but that may threaten our own survival. This goes along with the general idea that
major infrastructure projects are a sign of technological progress and believed to stimulate economic development and to improve living conditions for humans. In the
present essay, a representative inventory of future major engineering projects, either
planned or under construction in aquatic systems worldwide, shows that the rapid
transformations of the Anthropocene are particularly evident in the freshwater domain.
Worldwide examples of very large dams, major interbasin water-transfer and navigation projects, as well as large-scale restoration schemes, underline the dimensions of
and the challenges associated with future megaprojects that will change our freshwater environment. Opportunities to mitigate the consequences of megaprojects based
on the lessons learnt from projects in other infrastructure sectors range from ecological engineering to smart water investments that are adjusted to the respective national,
social, economic, and environmental conditions.
K. Tockner (*)
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) ,
Müggelseedamm 310 , 12587 Berlin , Germany
Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy , Freie Universität Berlin ,
Altensteinstraße 6 , 14195 Berlin , Germany
e-mail: tockner@ibg-berlin.de
E. S. Bernhardt
Department of Biology , Duke University , Durham , NC , USA
A. Koska
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) ,
Müggelseedamm 310 , 12587 Berlin , Germany
C. Zarfl
Center for Applied Geoscience , Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen ,
Hölderlinstraße 12 , 72074 Tübingen , Germany
© The Author(s) 2016
R.F. Hüttl et al. (eds.), Society - Water - Technology, Water Resources
Development and Management, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-18971-0_4
Chapter 4
A Global View on Future Major Water
Engineering Projects
Klement Tockner , Emily S. Bernhardt , Anna Koska , and Christiane Zarfl
Abstract Human activities have altered how the world functions. During the past
decades, we have globally, fundamentally, in the long-term, and in most cases irreversibly modifi ed all spheres of earth. This new epoch, often referred to as the
Anthropocene, is just in its early stages. Indeed, there is general agreement that the
transformation of our globe takes speed, with consequences that we can hardly imagine but that may threaten our own survival. This goes along with the general idea that
major infrastructure projects are a sign of technological progress and believed to stimulate economic development and to improve living conditions for humans. In the
present essay, a representative inventory of future major engineering projects, either
planned or under construction in aquatic systems worldwide, shows that the rapid
transformations of the Anthropocene are particularly evident in the freshwater domain.
Worldwide examples of very large dams, major interbasin water-transfer and navigation projects, as well as large-scale restoration schemes, underline the dimensions of
and the challenges associated with future megaprojects that will change our freshwater environment. Opportunities to mitigate the consequences of megaprojects based
on the lessons learnt from projects in other infrastructure sectors range from ecological engineering to smart water investments that are adjusted to the respective national,
social, economic, and environmental conditions.
K. Tockner (*)
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) ,
Müggelseedamm 310 , 12587 Berlin , Germany
Department of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy , Freie Universität Berlin ,
Altensteinstraße 6 , 14195 Berlin , Germany
e-mail: tockner@ibg-berlin.de
E. S. Bernhardt
Department of Biology , Duke University , Durham , NC , USA
A. Koska
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) ,
Müggelseedamm 310 , 12587 Berlin , Germany
C. Zarfl
Center for Applied Geoscience , Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen ,
Hölderlinstraße 12 , 72074 Tübingen , Germany