New European Green Deal Project For Large-Scale Restoration Of European Wetlands
An ambitious project to tackle largescale restoration of Europe’s wetlands has been launched, with €23 million funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Green Deal Programme. WaterLANDS (Water-based solutions for carbon storage, people and wilderness) will restore wetland sites across Europe which have been decimated by human activity, and lay the foundations for scalable protection across much wider areas.
WaterLANDS will undertake hands-on restoration of specific wetland sites, covering an initial 10,500 ha, and create best practice models that can be applied to wetland restoration at other sites. By engaging with local communities and stakeholders, the project will ensure that wetland restoration results not only in environmental gains, but also social and economic benefits for the communities involved.
The five-year project is led by UCD and brings together 31 other organisations from research, industry, government and non-profit sectors in 14 European countries.
Commenting on the project’s significance, Research Fellow in Planning and Environmental Policy, UCD, member of the UCD Earth Institute and WaterLANDS project coordinator, Dr Craig Bullock said: “Previous attempts at wetland restoration have often been toolocalisedor too fragmented to make a significant difference to the re-establishment of wetland ecosystems and species. In WaterLANDS, we aim to co-create a more effective means of restoration which captures ecological, social, governance and financial aspects, to connect habitats and communities across Europe, ensuring both thrive for many generations to come.”
Comprised of diverse ecosystems including peatlands, fens, riparian marshes and coastal estuaries, wetlands are home to 40% of the world’s species. They also store and capture carbon, remove environmental pollutants, and protect communities from flooding. Wetlands are particularly vulnerable to damage from human activities. Europe has already lost up to 90% of its original wetlands, resulting in massive biodiversity loss, water and food shortages, devastating floods and fires, coastal subsidence and erosion. The large-scale, integrated approach developed in WaterLANDS will address these challenges to ensure the resilience and health of both wetland habitats and the communities who rely on them.
The UCD team on WaterLANDS includes Project Coordinator Dr Craig Bullock and Deputy Coordinator Dr Shane McGuinness, who will be leading this ambitious 5-year project. Dr Louise Dunne, Caitriona Devery, Dr Florence Wilson and Dr Aparajita Banerjee are also part of the UCD project team. The project will be hosted byUCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy andUCD Earth Institute.
Funding for WaterLANDS is part of the European Commission’s Green Deal ambition to make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050 with a sustainable economy that leaves no one behind.