AbstractThe basic tenet of nature conservation is the protection and management of the environment so as to maintain its wildlife. Much of the effort is presently expended in securing the continued existence of rare, endangered or threatened species, communities, and habitats.River regulation involves considerable environmental manipulation. This extends beyond the modification of discharge regimes through the need for ancilliary operations, including the construction of dams, channel modification and transfer of water between catchments. The imposition of regulation modifies the natural environment in which the original communities of organisms became established. Where the ecological requirements of these organisms are destroyed or modified beyond the limits of their adaptations or tolerances they are unable to survive. The communities are thus changed and replaced by others, perhaps of lesser conservation value. Since the aims of nature conservation and river regulation are intrinsically incompatible the best that can be hoped for is that regulation schemes are designed, constructed, and operated so as to ameliorate environmental damage.