Interreg Europe: Public-private governance of rivers and wetlands restoration and conservations as blue-green infrastructure (RIWET)

Interreg Europe

Apr 2024 – Jun 2028

Lead Partner – Province of Drenthe (Netherlands) 

Valencia County Council (Spain)

LIMNE Foundation (Spain)

University of Latvia (Latvia)

Cesena Municipality (Italy)

Institute for ichthyological and ecological research (Slovenia)

Goulandris Natural History Museum – Greek Biotope/ Wetland Centre (ΕΚΒΥ) (Greece)

Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship (Poland)

ELY Centre for South Ostrobothnia (Finland)

Municipality of Përmet (Finland)

The Rivers Trust Ireland (Ireland)

According to the European Environmental Agency, only 40% of the EU rivers, lakes, and coastal waters have good ecological status. Only 12% of the floodplain area has low habitat loss and the Ramsar Convention shows that Europe has lost 35% of its inland and coastal wetlands since 1970. Nature stewardship agreements are used in 23 EU countries to sum efforts towards conserving and restoring nature between public authorities, landowners, land users, and a range of civil society groups.

The RIWET project focuses on public-social-private partnerships to increase the contribution of local communities in the restoration, management and stewardship of rivers and wetlands to answer questions like: Can municipalities, regions and public agencies restore river and peatland areas in a more efficient and perhaps even less costly way by engaging communities, civic organisations and other landowners? What are the best tools and strategies for these partnerships?

12 partners and 4 associated policy authorities from 11 regions from across Europe and more than seventy stakeholders will form the RIWET cooperation between 2024-2027 to co-design policy innovations for long-term transformational change. These will contribute to improving policies like national river basin plans, regional natural area strategies or municipal restoration funds or a new river nature park in an urban plan. In all these cases, the engagement of different society groups, civic organisations, farmers and other land users is central to more innovative and effective public policies.

RIWET contributes to these challenges through policy learning and capacity building in each participating region, guided by focus themes that discuss and identify best practices via regional, international, and online exchange activities. The final results for RIWET will secure policies for better efficiency and quantity of river and wetland ecological restoration through long-term alliances between public, social, and private actors.

Ukraine is experiencing challenging times; protecting natural values during such a period, tackling climate change, and linking nature protection to traditional management and the local economy is essential.

Address the challenges and determine solutions to improve governance in public-social-private partnerships (Quadruple Helix) to increase local community roles (including citizens, farmers, and other land users) in restoration, stewardship, and management of rivers, lakes, wetlands, and peatlands, which are core components of the blue-green infrastructure at the national, regional, and local levels.

Project objectives:

1. Conservation, restoration and risk management of blue-green infrastructure, which includes the establishment of new protected areas, restoration of degraded habitats (like wet meadows and peatlands), improvement of management protected areas and local community plans;
2. Community-based participation and engagement in wetlands management and surrounding catchment areas, which includes the involvement of volunteers in the restoration of wetlands and the number of local communities involved in support of traditional management;
3. Policy and public drive for blue-green infrastructure and aquatic environments, such as Ecosystem and Nature-Based Solutions, to protect wetlands and manage critical nature areas.

Restoring wet meadows in climate change environment

The Ramsar Site “Narcissi Valley” (256 ha) is not only a critically important biodiversity hotspot for Ukraine, but its wet meadow habitats are also severely endangered within the broader Black Sea Basin landscape. This site hosts the largest population of the rare Narcissus poeticus in the Central European lowlands, alongside 19 other plant species and 24 animal species listed in the Red Data Book of Ukraine and on international conservation lists. Climatic changes in the hot lowlands of the upper Tisza River basin have altered the hydrological regime, resulting in drier conditions and a decline in traditional grass mowing and grazing. These changes have encouraged the growth of bushes and trees, leading to frequent fires and a 70% decline in the narcissus population over the last decade. Summer heatwaves, reaching up to 42 degrees Celsius, and extensive water usage upstream have significantly changed the composition of wet grasslands. Furthermore, the war has severely diminished human and technical capacities. It appears inevitable that without enhanced conservation measures, the site may lose its unique natural values and its Ramsar status. Conservation management activities have been implemented and are ongoing, primarily aimed at raising the groundwater table, restoring the flooding regime, increasing the water retention capabilities of habitats, mowing grass after fruiting, eliminating bushes and trees, restoring wetland habitats, and establishing water buffalo grazing. Read more…