The AMBER Rapid Barrier Assessment Tool automates the process of calculating barrier passability scores for multiple fish species based on barrier height, slope and depth. The tool is based on the French ICE (Informations sur la Continuité Ecologique) protocol (Baudoin et al., 2014) and produces barrier passability scores ranging from 0 – 1: 0 (total barrier), 0.33 (high-impact partial barrier), 0.66 (medium impact partial barrier), 1 (low-impact passable barrier). The tool also estimates the hydropower potential (Watts) at the site through a simple assessment of discharge and head drop.

The tool is very simple to use and does not require any specific training. It is supplied with a guide to help users install the software and includes step-by-step instructions of how to assess a barrier and produce passability scores and is available on the AMBER website.