River transportation: Clean alternative

or destruction for waterways?

Transport over water is a

relatively clean method of
moving goods from one point
to another.
Processes of developing
Rivers for Navigation
Dredging
Channelling
Straightening

Dredging
Dredgingis
anexcavationactivity or
operation usually carried out at
least partly underwater, in
shallow seas orfresh waterareas
with the purpose of gathering up
bottomsedimentsand disposing
of them at a different location.
This technique is often used to
keep waterways navigable.

Channelling
Reducing the length of the channel by
substituting straight cuts for a winding
course is the only way in which the
(effective) fall can be increased. This
involves some loss of capacity in the
channel as a whole, and in the case of
a large river with a considerable flow it
is very difficult to maintain a straight
cut owing to the tendency of the
current to erode the banks and form
again asinuouschannel.

Straightening
Straightening, in simple terms
involves the moving of mud
and sand along a river course
until the bends of the river are
filled and its main channel is
excavated sufficiently enough
to contain the volume of water.

Of 230 major rivers in the

world, around 60% are
considered to be seriously
or moderately 'cut-up'.
This has often been done
with the aim of improving
river transport.

The cost of shipping and the value of rivers

Shipping goods by rivers is assumed to be an
environmentally friendly mode of transport. It emits less
CO2 than road transport.
But truly sustainable transportation will not be achieved if
the valuable ecosystems services our rivers provide are
ignored. Some of the services that are lost when we try to fit
a river to the ships (instead of the ships to the river) include:
Storage and retention of water for domestic, agricultural,
and industrial use
Flood control
Provision of food from fisheries and livelihoods for small-scale
fishing
Groundwater recharge
Nutrient reduction.

Irreversible impacts
Inland shipping infrastructure projects alter natural river
function and habitat through physical modification such
as water pumping, channelizing, dredging, and gravel
and sand extraction. This makes deep, straight, and
uniformly banked waterways that partly cut the river off
from its floodplain.
Vessel operations also create waves that disturb other
water users. Young fish are directly affected by waves
since their swimming capacity is low. High traffic
intensity leads to lowered animal diversity along the
rivers shores.
Inadvertent species introductions, spills, and ship
collisions pollute and damage aquatic habitats.
Accidental pollution involves oil and in some cases
hazardous substances.

Opportunities for innovations and sustainable

alternatives
Before making irreversible changes on river systems to
improve navigation, other approaches should be
explored, including:
Ship technology:Adapt vessels to the conditions of
particular rivers. For instance, low draught ship design
allows for operation on inland waterways without the
draught restrictions of conventional vessels.
River information systems (RIS):Information
services for river navigation increase the safety,
efficiency, and competitiveness of river transport.
Inter-modal techniques:Smooth and efficient
connections from ships to other modes of
transportation increase the quality and
competitiveness of inland waterway transport.