Environmental flow: definitions, methods and adaptation to the Andean region

Abstract

A response to the increasing demand for water for the production of electricity and for domestic, industrial and irrigation uses, due to global population growth, is the creation of dams. These, however, can generate modifications in the physical and chemical habitats, producing changes in the existing biological communities and in the ecological function of rivers, possibly including the disappearance of sensitive species and benefits to human populations. The concept of environmental flow emerges as a need to restore and conserve the ecological integrity of rivers. In this paper, we review the main definitions and scope of the concept, and we also present the methods of environmental flow assessment. After an analysis of the South American situation, we make a suggestion of adaptation to the Andean region for one of the most important environmental flow assessment method.