Wetlands International European Association

Introduction

Wetlands International - European Association’s proposal for the next three years aims to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of EU 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 European Green Deal and the EU’s global commitments.

Objectives

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

Halt and Reverse Habitat and Species Loss

• Help 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 catalyse reaching free-flowing rivers restoration targets.

Improve Water Resources and Soil Quality

• Strengthen 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 and on peatlands.

Achieve EU Climate Objectives on Mitigation and Adaptation

• Help achieve zero emissions by embedding ambitious targets.
• Mobilise 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 reduce the impacts of increasingly frequent European floods and droughts.

Ensure Sustainable Green Deal Transition

• Ensure Fit for 55 related legislation contributes to solving both the climate and nature crises together.
• Greening the EU’s global footprint to prevent GHG emissions and the degradation and loss of wetland ecosystems, vital for human development and security.