In recognition of World Water Day 2025, we are proud to highlight the key messages of RESTORE4Cs’ feedback to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence for the European Water Resilience Strategy. Funded under Horizon Europe, RESTORE4Cs plays a pivotal role in supporting the EU’s mission to enhance water resilience through nature-based solutions for climate adaptation and water pollution, with a specific focus on restoring European coastal wetlands.
Role of Coastal Wetlands for European Water Resilience:
Coastal wetlands are vital ecosystems that act as natural sponges, offering cost-effective solutions for climate change mitigation, biodiversity enhancement, and water cycle regulation. RESTORE4Cs’ focus on these critical habitats has shown that restored wetlands can help mitigate climate change impacts, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and improve water quality by regulating water flows and protecting water bodies.
Through extensive fieldwork, including interviews and participatory workshops with over 100 stakeholders across six coastal Case Pilots in Europe, RESTORE4Cs has identified key threats to wetland resilience. These include altered water cycles, the loss of hydrological connectivity, and the intrusion of seawater into freshwater environments due to rising sea levels—factors that compromise freshwater availability in coastal areas, with significant implications for agriculture, tourism, and water security.
By addressing these challenges, RESTORE4Cs contributes to the EU’s broader environmental goals, including climate neutrality, achieving good ecological status for EU waters, and ensuring the conservation of protected habitats and species. Coastal wetland restoration offers a powerful nature-based solution to not only mitigate climate impacts but also preserve vital water resources and protect brackish environments from seawater intrusion.
A Holistic Approach to Water Resilience:
The project’s work extends beyond wetland restoration to tackle the governance, financing, and policy frameworks that underpin water resilience in Europe. By developing standardised methodologies for prioritising restoration actions, RESTORE4Cs aims to advance the effectiveness of wetland restoration across Europe, using cutting-edge tools such as remote sensing, machine learning, and integrated assessment models. These innovations will help stakeholders assess and scale restoration efforts across diverse European and ecological contexts.
In addition to technical solutions, RESTORE4Cs emphasises the importance of engaging communities, stakeholders, and policymakers in the process of restoration. By fostering cross-sectoral cooperation, involving citizens in the stewardship of water resources, and adapting socio-economic structures to new climatic conditions, the project promotes a holistic approach to achieving long-term water resilience, supported by the development of a European Community of Practice for Wetland Restoration.
Advancing Policy and Stakeholder Engagement:
RESTORE4Cs is actively contributing to the development of more robust policies by analysing EU, international, and national frameworks and advocating for better-aligned approaches to support the role of coastal wetlands in climate adaptation and water regulation. The project also engages stakeholders in shaping future restoration strategies, ensuring that social, financial, and environmental perspectives are integrated into decision-making processes.
One of the key outcomes of RESTORE4Cs will be the development of a conceptual model for an integrative assessment framework that quantifies the greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement potential of restored wetlands. This framework will be operationalised through a newly designed digital platform and toolbox, providing decision-makers with critical insights and a comprehensive decision support system for wetland restoration efforts across Europe.
Access the RESTORE4Cs Contribution:
We invite you to learn more about RESTORE4Cs’s contribution to the Call for Evidence on the European Water Resilience Strategy and explore how the project’s findings are shaping the future of water management in Europe. You can access the detailed contribution made by RESTORE4Cs to the strategy via the following link:
Read the full contribution to the European Water Resilience Strategy
As we celebrate World Water Day 2025, RESTORE4Cs continues to drive forward the integration of wetland restoration actions to protect and restore our most precious resource—water—ensuring a more resilient and sustainable future for Europe’s water systems and the communities that depend on them.
