An extra wall could be built outside St Aubin Harbour to stop it silting up so quickly, harbour officials have said.

BBC: St Aubin

Soil erosion in the catchment areas leads to the silting of river beds, which soon offsets the protective value of embankments.

ECONOMIST: From the archive

But only now are some of the dams of the colonial era being restored to use, after years of neglect and silting up.

ECONOMIST: Africa 40 years on

Indiscriminate logging and deforestation have caused the exposed soil to run off into the river, silting it up and reducing its water-flow capacity.

CNN: FIGHTING FLOODS

In a meeting between the Somerset Consortium of Drainage Boards and the agency, it was agreed that de-silting sections of the river Tone and Parrett "could bring the greatest practical benefit".

BBC: Flooding on the Somerset Levels at Glastonbury

Even though hundreds of power ministers and electricity board chairmen have issued hundred thousands of press releases in the past, not one of them concerned the urgent need for de-silting rivers.

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Because this de-silting was not done, their storage capacity dwindled steadily through years and is now only a mere 2 or 3 percent of their original capacity at the time of their commissioning.

FORBES: What Investors Need To Know About Clean Tech In India

It has pleased Albanian archaeologists with a plan to dredge the silting channel that feeds fresh water into Lake Butrint, a wildlife haven, and it has pleased local villagers by persuading a Japanese philanthropist to build a new school.

ECONOMIST: Mediterranean archaeology