The World
River Happiness Report 2021 (hereafter referred to as “Report”), compiled by
IWHR research team, was launched on March 22, 2022, the World Water Day.
The World River Happiness Report 2021
The research was conducted to inspect the performance of the
world’s 15 major rivers in maintaining flood control security, providing
reliable water resources, constituting livable water environment, boosting
healthy aquatic ecosystem, generating prosperous water culture. The research
findings are expected to assist policy makers in water-related decision-making
and management, as well as raise public awareness in watershed protection.
The research team used the River Happiness Index (RHI), which
is derived from “River of Happiness” it conceptualized -- a “River of
Happiness” is a river that maintains its own health, supports the sustainable
socio-economic development of the basin and the region, allows harmony between
man and water, and brings a high sense of security, gain and satisfaction to
the people in the watershed – to give each of the 15 rivers thorough
evaluations. The RHI consists of five primary indicators, namely Security of
Flood Control, Reliability of Water Resources, Livability of Water Environment,
Health of Aquatic Ecosystem, and Prosperity of Water Culture.
In 2020, the research team first applied the RHI and the
calculation methods in the evaluation of major rivers and lakes in China. Based
on the research outcomes, the Happiness Report of Rivers and Lakes in China was
released in 2021, reaping positive feedbacks from the society.
The analyses of world rivers reveal that most of them yield
“medium” of happiness. Only the Rhine is graded as “happy” with the highest
score of 86.6, while the other 14 rivers are all graded as “medium”.
Specifically, the happiness of the St. Lawrence, Thames, Colorado, Yangtze and
Mississippi are graded as “medium high”; the happiness of the Danube, Volga,
Yellow, Murray-Darling, Amazon and Congo are graded as “medium”; and the
happiness of the Euphrates-Tigris, Ganges and Nile are graded as “medium low”.
Scores of the 15 rivers
The launch ceremony of the Report was
jointly hosted by IWHR, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), and China Water & Power Press. Distinguished guests
expressed their congratulations on the launch of the Report and expectations
for a future where humans and rivers co-exist in harmony.
Launch ceremony of the Report
Check the Report Abstract for more
research findings: 
World River Happiness Report 2021-Abstract.pdf
World River Happiness Report 2021-Abstract.pdf
(Source: IWHR)
