Restoring wetland sites
Researchers from the UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy and UCD Earth Institute are coordinating a 5-year project to restore wetlands sites and upscale restoration across Europe. It will contribute to the restoration of wetland sites which have been damaged by human activity, and lay the foundations for protection across larger areas.
WaterLANDS is engaging with local communities and stakeholders to undertake hands-on restoration of specific wetland sites. This engaged research approach allows the project to focus not only on environmental gains, but also social and economic benefits for the communities involved. The project will also engage with policy and governance considerations to ensure a longer-term legacy is built.
The project uses both co-creation and co-design across multiple work packages to achieve its goals. Using this approach, they are creating best practice models that can be applied to wetland restoration at other sites.
Led by Project Coordinators Dr Craig Bullock and Dr Shane McGuinness, both Research Fellows from UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, this ambitious project brings together 32 organisations from research, industry, government and non-profit sectors in 14 European countries, through €23 million of funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Green Deal call.
WaterLANDS (Water-based solutions for carbon storage, people and wilderness) undertakes hands-on restoration of specific wetland sites, covering an initial 10,500 ha, and creates best practice models that can be applied to wetland restoration at other sites.
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, not to mention the myriad cultural and heritage connections communities have with these areas.
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.
Read more about it on the WaterLANDS Project website and follow them on Twitter and LinkedIn.