The United States built more than 90,000 dams in a century, cutting rivers off from their own fish, sediment and floodplains. Removing them is now proving to be a powerful way to rewild rivers. On the Klamath, where four dams came down in the largest removal project in US history, over 400 miles of habitat reopened and Chinook salmon were spawning there within months. On the Elwha in Washington, the removal of two dams between 2011 and 2014 released about 21 million cubic yards of trapped sediment, rebuilding a delta that had been eroding for a century. Rivers also reconnect with floodplains and shoreline forests.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.