Wetlands International European Association

Introduction

WI-EA’s proposal for 2022 aims to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of the EU's environmental and climate objectives. The activities proposed in this application combine EU level advocacy with innovative wetland solutions, national and/or local level implementation, knowledge development, training, capacity building, and outreach to help achieve the ambitions of the Green Deal and the EU’s global commitments.

Objectives

WI-EA will work to create momentum for wetland solutions by focusing on the following key areas:

1. Biodiversity Protection

   • Halt and reverse the EU’s loss of habitats and species by helping achieve the EU Biodiversity Strategy’s 30% protected area target and legally binding nature restoration targets.
   • Support management of migratory waterbirds with international flyway-scale monitoring.
   • Establish a new Trans-European Swimways Network as a visible flagship to protect migratory fish and catalyze free-flowing rivers targets.

2. Water and Soil Quality Improvement

   • Improve the quality of the EU’s water resources and soils by strengthening implementation and enforcement of freshwater-related Directives.
   • Scale up solutions such as barrier removals.
   • Protect and improve high-carbon soils by pioneering climate-friendly alternatives to drainage-based agriculture on peatlands.

3. Climate Objectives Achievement

   • Achieve EU Climate Objectives on Mitigation and Adaptation by helping achieve zero emissions through embedding ambitious targets.
   • Mobilize finance and deliver knowledge and know-how for the conservation and restoration of peatlands.
   • Deploy and upscale “natural sponges” as innovative nature-based solutions to address increasingly frequent European floods and droughts.

4. Sustainable Green Deal Transition

   • Ensure that the Green Deal transition is sustainable by ensuring Fit for 55 related legislation contributes to solving both the climate and nature crises together.
   • Green the EU’s global footprint to prevent GHG emissions and the degradation and loss of wetland ecosystems.