LIFE projects leading the way on restoring Europe’s wetlands

Just like people, wetlands come in all shapes and sizes. Freshwater or salty, tidal or inland - healthy estuaries, lakes, rivers, swamps and underground aquifers are vital for both healthy people and a healthy planet.  

Wetlands and people are intimately interconnected and interdependent, and we all rely on them for our mental and physical well-being - that's the theme of this year's World Wetlands Day celebrated on 2 February.  

'We want to restore and upgrade wetlands around big cities because they are climate buffers and are hotspots for biodiversity,' says Natalie Sterckx, a campaigner at Belgian environmental organisation Natuurpunt. 'These wetlands ensure that heavy rain is collected, doesn't cause floods and is released slowly during times of drought. We also partly depend on them for drinking water.'   

Natuurpunt is part of the Belgian Biodiversity Alliance, which manages LIFE Wetlands4Cities - a five-year, EUR 7.7 million LIFE project which aims to create five new urban wetlands around Mechelen in Belgium and the Dutch city of Tilburg.   

'They are fantastic places for people to come walking or just to enjoy nature,' adds Natalie. 'And they're a kind of green air conditioning which ensures the cities are cooler and less humid.' 

According to the EU's Biodiversity Information System for Europe (BISE), there are more than 174,000 km2 of wetlands in Europe, most of which are "poor or degraded", - partly due to a "profit-driven approach to wetland resources" such as peat extraction and intensive farming. BISE also points out that more than half of Europe's wetlands are still deteriorating.   

'During the Covid-19 pandemic I noticed how our neighbourhood nature was so very important,' says Natalie. 'It became clear how much we really enjoy green areas. We should cherish and protect them.'   

The essential link between healthy natural wetland ecosystems and the benefits for local communities is also at the heart of LIFE MarshMeadows. This LIFE project, which runs across three Natura 2000 sites in Lithuania and Latvia, aims to create or restore more than 1500 hectares of wetlands whilst showing that local people can also profit.   

Natural, healthy floodplain meadows does not mean they are left untouched or are unprofitable. A recent open day, for example, demonstrated how cattle fodder, grass biomass pellets, and beef cattle from floodplain meadows are being exported by a local company in the Nemunas river delta in Lithuania, which itself participates in wetland management.   

Inga Račinska, project manager at the Latvian Nature Foundation - one of the LIFE MarshMeadows partners - points out that good management is essential for healthy floodplain meadows. 'A natural meadow depends on the respectful cooperation of man with nature,' she says. 'In recent decades natural meadows have gradually disappeared from the landscape of Latvia. They are turned into arable land or are abandoned and overgrown.'

According to the Baltic Environmental Forum (BEF) - which has been involved in 17 LIFE projects in the region - wetland habitats depend on good management by farmers and rural communities. Many marsh meadows, for example, are so remote that they make mechanical mowing too expensive - but grazing cattle on them is more sustainable both financially and environmentally. 

'Grazing delivers better impact for nature because the meadows are more diverse in vegetation and provide better habitat for species,' notes Ieva Savickaite, BEF's Project Coordinator. 'Grazing is the only  management that makes economic sense, and we only restore those grasslands where farmers confirm their long-term commitment.'   

Besides LIFE Wetlands4Cities and LIFE MarshMeadows, there are currently dozens of LIFE projects across the EU helping to restore, manage and protect our wetlands. World Wetlands Day is a great opportunity for them to showcase their invaluable work and the part they play in the success of the EU Directives on habitats and on birds; the EU biodiversity strategy; the new EU Nature Restoration Law; the European Green Deal; and the EU Climate Change Adaption Strategy. 

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