Dam re-operation to reconcile agricultural and ecological sustainability in semi-arid river basins

Abstract Changes in hydrological regimes due to climate change and river regulation challenge native fish worldwide, fragmenting habitats and facilitating the development of alien and invasive species. We assess the potential of dam re-operation to balance agricultural revenues, native fish habitat and competition between native and invasive fish to reconcile economic and ecological sustainability. Our analysis reveals a trade-off between economic and ecological sustainability, as well as a synergy between native habitat and competition with alien fish species. Although being unable to counterpart climate change impacts alone, we found that dam re-operation can play a significant role as an adaptation measure without investment costs. Moreover, we have found synergies between dam re-operation and drip irrigation. We can state that dam re-operation could play a significant role towards achieving economic and ecological sustainability against climate change, by its own or boosting the impacts of other options.