Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Restore4Life (Restoration of wetland complexes as life supporting systems in the Danube Basin)
Reporting period: 2023-06-01 to 2024-11-30
Wetlands in Europe have dramatically declined, with about 80% lost in the last century due to urbanization and agriculture. This has led to biodiversity loss, water quality issues, and diminished flood and drought management. Fragmented efforts to address restoration at local, regional and national scales compound these challenges, highlighting the need for a unified approach.
Restore4Life aims to establish an online Wetland Restoration Decision Support System to promote large-scale wetland restoration across Europe. This system will provide tools and frameworks to restore and manage wetlands effectively, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange among diverse stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers and citizens. It will empower communities to co-design and engage in restoration projects by establishing Communities of Practice and developing an online Citizen Science toolbox and an innovative wetland education program. Furthermore, the system will provide wetland managers and stakeholders with optimized indicators and approaches to identify holistic future-oriented restoration goals. The decision support system will also offer business plans and guidelines that support local enterprises in adopting nature-based solutions derived from restored wetlands. The Restore4Life Decision Support System will effectively support the transition toward a sustainable, carbon-neutral and climate-resilient society in Europe, paving the way for Phase 2 of the EU mission Restore Our Waters.
Restore4Life aims to establish an online Wetland Restoration Decision Support System to promote large-scale wetland restoration across Europe. This system will provide tools and frameworks to restore and manage wetlands effectively, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange among diverse stakeholders, including scientists, policymakers and citizens. It will empower communities to co-design and engage in restoration projects by establishing Communities of Practice and developing an online Citizen Science toolbox and an innovative wetland education program. Furthermore, the system will provide wetland managers and stakeholders with optimized indicators and approaches to identify holistic future-oriented restoration goals. The decision support system will also offer business plans and guidelines that support local enterprises in adopting nature-based solutions derived from restored wetlands. The Restore4Life Decision Support System will effectively support the transition toward a sustainable, carbon-neutral and climate-resilient society in Europe, paving the way for Phase 2 of the EU mission Restore Our Waters.
Restore4Life encompasses five technical work packages (WP), focusing on different aspects of the Decision Support System. During the first 1.5 years, a Wetland Restoration Wiki was developed in WP1, offering a framework to evaluate restoration success through aspects like ecological health, governance and community engagement. This framework lays the foundation for effective planning, implementation and long-term evaluation of wetland restoration. A complementary survey provides tools to assess project goals, restoration techniques and indicators, highlighting the importance of community involvement and effective governance.
WP3 evaluates holistic restoration approaches in 10 wetland sites across the Danube basin, with restoration activities implemented in four sites in Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, and Romania. Significant progress was made in developing and testing wetland assessment indicators, encompassing remote sensing and field data. Furthermore, we developed wetland-specific citizen science methods and tested them in various sites, evaluating their applicability and transferability among European wetlands. We also crafted user-friendly manuals for publicly available carbon sequestration models and developed models for water quality assessments and the evaluation of wetland restorations using remote sensing data.
Enhancing society’s understanding of the ecological and socio-economic benefits of wetland restorations and fostering citizen stewardship is pivotal for the success of wetland restorations. WP2 aims to empower stakeholders and the community in this effort. We established Communities of Practice at the four implementation sites and crafted a concept for an online Citizen Science Toolbox based on a comprehensive inventory of 9,737 wetland-related citizen science methods. We also developed two apps—Wetland4Life and Solution4Life - for citizens and stakeholders to classify wetlands and assess their restoration potential, with testing planned for 2025. Additionally, we created a database of educational materials and identified ten impactful activities centred on wetland ecosystem services. These activities are currently developed, embracing the innovative "5E" Instructional Model —Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, Evaluate— and integrated into an engaging Danube storytelling framework.
WP4 focuses on assisting local enterprises to adopt nature-based solutions derived from restored wetlands. We conducted PESTLE analyses with local stakeholders at the implementation sites to identify the challenges and benefits of wetland restorations and opportunities for increasing local revenue. Our findings include a matrix of potential economic benefits for private small and medium-sized enterprises and the generation of public environmental goods. We also performed a comprehensive overview of methods for measuring and valuing biodiversity to engage the business sector in conservation efforts.
All models, tools and approaches developed in Restore4Life will be tested for their transferability, replicability and scalability within our ten Restore4Life wetlands and in associated regions. In WP5, we selected five regions—Armenia, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, and Ukraine—through a competitive Open Call. We designed a conceptual framework to create actionable roadmaps tailored to each region and established strategic partnerships between implementation sites and associated regions to enhance knowledge sharing.
WP3 evaluates holistic restoration approaches in 10 wetland sites across the Danube basin, with restoration activities implemented in four sites in Austria, Slovakia, Serbia, and Romania. Significant progress was made in developing and testing wetland assessment indicators, encompassing remote sensing and field data. Furthermore, we developed wetland-specific citizen science methods and tested them in various sites, evaluating their applicability and transferability among European wetlands. We also crafted user-friendly manuals for publicly available carbon sequestration models and developed models for water quality assessments and the evaluation of wetland restorations using remote sensing data.
Enhancing society’s understanding of the ecological and socio-economic benefits of wetland restorations and fostering citizen stewardship is pivotal for the success of wetland restorations. WP2 aims to empower stakeholders and the community in this effort. We established Communities of Practice at the four implementation sites and crafted a concept for an online Citizen Science Toolbox based on a comprehensive inventory of 9,737 wetland-related citizen science methods. We also developed two apps—Wetland4Life and Solution4Life - for citizens and stakeholders to classify wetlands and assess their restoration potential, with testing planned for 2025. Additionally, we created a database of educational materials and identified ten impactful activities centred on wetland ecosystem services. These activities are currently developed, embracing the innovative "5E" Instructional Model —Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, Evaluate— and integrated into an engaging Danube storytelling framework.
WP4 focuses on assisting local enterprises to adopt nature-based solutions derived from restored wetlands. We conducted PESTLE analyses with local stakeholders at the implementation sites to identify the challenges and benefits of wetland restorations and opportunities for increasing local revenue. Our findings include a matrix of potential economic benefits for private small and medium-sized enterprises and the generation of public environmental goods. We also performed a comprehensive overview of methods for measuring and valuing biodiversity to engage the business sector in conservation efforts.
All models, tools and approaches developed in Restore4Life will be tested for their transferability, replicability and scalability within our ten Restore4Life wetlands and in associated regions. In WP5, we selected five regions—Armenia, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, and Ukraine—through a competitive Open Call. We designed a conceptual framework to create actionable roadmaps tailored to each region and established strategic partnerships between implementation sites and associated regions to enhance knowledge sharing.
During the first 1.5 years, Restore4Life achieved significant results towards its objectives.
The "Cookbook" to develop road maps for wetland restoration will assist stakeholders, decision-makers and the community in successfully restoring wetlands across Europe. It provides comprehensive strategies and recommendations and demonstrates best practices to guide restoration initiatives effectively.
The Citizen Science protocols enable the public to assess wetland ecosystem services, thus supporting scientists and wetland managers in monitoring and data collection. The protocols further promote environmental education and stewardship, enhancing the understanding of the significance of wetland restoration and its benefits for society.
The restoration success LSTM model (Version.01) provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating restoration success, regardless of climatic and hydrological variations and extremes during the post-restoration phase. This tool supports wetland managers and stakeholders in assessing the effects of restoration measures, highlighting significant improvements and facilitating adaptive wetland management.
Restore4Life also developed a method for cost-effective conservation and ecological screening of small water bodies in wetlands using UAV photogrammetry. By focusing detailed monitoring on pre-selected freshwater patches using UAV-based ecological indicators, available funds can be managed effectively.
Further results are in their final stages, such as the Restore4Life apps, the GreenSpace4all game, and a water quality model using geospatial data.
The "Cookbook" to develop road maps for wetland restoration will assist stakeholders, decision-makers and the community in successfully restoring wetlands across Europe. It provides comprehensive strategies and recommendations and demonstrates best practices to guide restoration initiatives effectively.
The Citizen Science protocols enable the public to assess wetland ecosystem services, thus supporting scientists and wetland managers in monitoring and data collection. The protocols further promote environmental education and stewardship, enhancing the understanding of the significance of wetland restoration and its benefits for society.
The restoration success LSTM model (Version.01) provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating restoration success, regardless of climatic and hydrological variations and extremes during the post-restoration phase. This tool supports wetland managers and stakeholders in assessing the effects of restoration measures, highlighting significant improvements and facilitating adaptive wetland management.
Restore4Life also developed a method for cost-effective conservation and ecological screening of small water bodies in wetlands using UAV photogrammetry. By focusing detailed monitoring on pre-selected freshwater patches using UAV-based ecological indicators, available funds can be managed effectively.
Further results are in their final stages, such as the Restore4Life apps, the GreenSpace4all game, and a water quality model using geospatial data.