A massive slab of wartime concrete blocked the Pčinja River in Kumanovo, North Macedonia for more than 70 years. A 53-meter-long and 30-meter-wide (174 by 98 feet) structure of reinforced concrete packed with salvaged railway steel impeded the free flow of water and fish for at least 70 kilometers (44 miles) upstream. It was considered a safety hazard by the local Shuplji Kamen community. In late 2025, the barrier was demolished after efforts by the nation’s Eko-svest environmental organization. It was the first large-scale removal of its type in North Macedonia. It was also one of 603 obsolete river barriers, including dams, weirs and culverts, removed from European rivers in 2025, according to the 2025 Dam Removal Europe report. Researchers estimated removing those objects reconnected more than 3,740 km (2,324 miles) of rivers across the continent, a new single year record for dam removal in Europe. “Barrier removal [is] one of the biggest ecological ‘easy wins’ available today,” Chris Baker, director of Wetlands International Europe (WIE) wrote in a statement. “These obsolete barriers no longer provide any benefits, yet they continue to degrade rivers.” According to WIE, there are roughly 1.2 million barriers in place today that fragment Europe’s rivers, of them more than 150,000 are “considered obsolete.” Since 2020, nearly 2,300 dams have been removed across Europe, mostly in Sweden, Finland and Spain. Iceland, along with North Macedonia, carried out its first removal in 2025. Iceland removed an old hydroelectric dam that was no longer in use. The barrier…This article was originally published on Mongabay

Brazil’s Congress has passed a bill prohibiting environmental agencies from using satellite images to restrict the commercial use of illegally deforested lands. Instead, areas suspected of illegal deforestation will have to be confirmed by authorities on the ground. Supporters say satellite-only enforcement infringes upon farmers’ right to a fair defense. Its critics, which include the environment ministry, warn the measure will weaken environmental protection and create unsafe conditions for IBAMA, Brazil’s federal environmental police. The bill, passed May 20, could jeopardize around 70% of IBAMA’s actions in the Brazilian Amazon, Jair Schmitt, director of environmental protection with IBAMA, told Agência Pública.  IBAMA currently uses satellite imagery to detect illegal deforestation and issue land-use restrictions, which prohibit farmers from selling products from illegally deforested land. DETER, the satellite monitoring system run by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, processes georeferenced forest cover imagery every 15 days to identify deforestation hotspots and send alerts to IBAMA, which can immediately block the area from commercial activity. If the bill is signed into law, officials would need to send inspectors to the site in person to take immediate action. On the ground enforcement is already a significant challenge. Brazil has about 1,250 agents to patrol a forest roughly the size of Western Europe. IBAMA officials warn banning satellite technology makes enforcement in such remote areas significantly slower and more expensive. “It’s like wanting to put down our cellphones and go back to sending messages by fax,” Schmitt told Mongabay journalist Fernanda Wenzel.  Between January…This article was originally published on Mongabay