Public-private governance of rivers and wetlands restoration and conservation as blue-green infrastructure
Prpject Summary
The INTERREG Europe RIWET project “Public and Private Governance Partnership in the Conservation and Restoration of Rivers and Wetlands as Blue-Green Infrastructure” aims to identify challenges and solutions in governance issues within public-private partnerships, including local communities, regarding the conservation, restoration, and management of rivers and wetlands.
The project will address questions on how authorities can effectively implement related measures, ensuring higher participation and commitment from related services, landowners (e.g., farmers), local communities, and civil society organizations. The aim of the project is to provide answers on the best approaches and tools for forming the most effective partnerships among stakeholders. The project will enable partners to co-design innovative initiatives to improve existing policies, ensuring a long-term transformation.
Project duration: 2024 – 2028
Funding: The RIWET project is exclusively funded by INTERREG Europe.
Partnership Structure
Coordinator: Province of Drenthe (NED)
Partners:
Province of Drenthe (NED), Valencia County Council (ESP), LIMNE Foundation (ESP), University of Latvia (LAT), Cesena Municipality (ITA), Institute for Ichthyological/Ecological Research (SLO), Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeship (POL), ELY Centre for South Ostrobothnia (FIN), Rivers Trust (IRE), Goulandris Natural History Museum – Greek Biotope/Wetland Centre (GNHM-GWBC) (GRE).
Associated Partners:
- Special Managing Authority of the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027, Greece
- Relevant central departments: Ministry of Rural Development and Food (MRDF), Ministry of Environment and Energy (MEE), Organization for Natural Environment and Climate Change (NECCA)
- Relevant regional services
- Research institutions: ELGO-DIMITRA, Agricultural University of Athens, School of Agricultural Sciences of Thessaly, Faculty of Agriculture AUTH, School of Forestry and Natural Environment AUTH
- Agricultural cooperatives
- Environmental Organizations and N.G.O.
The Role of EKBY
EKBY, in close collaboration with the Managing Authority of the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of Greece, will focus on the specialization, improvement, and strengthening of the implementation of CAP 2023-2027 measures related to the protection and restoration of Greek wetlands. Specifically, it will focus on the standards of Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition (GAEC) related to the protection of wetlands as carbon stores (GAEC 2), as water bodies where no fertilizers and pesticides are used in their buffer zones (GAEC 4), and as landscape features that favor biodiversity and count towards the percentage of arable land allocated to non-productive areas (GAEC 8), as well as on the Statutory Management Requirements (SMR) derived from European Directives on nature and water, eco-schemes, agri-environmental and climatic measures and investments.
In this context, stakeholders such as services of the MRDF and MEE, regional agricultural and environmental development services, agricultural cooperatives, universities and research institutions, NGOs, etc., will be involved through many informative and training meetings. These meetings will identify knowledge gaps, obstacles in governance and policy issues, and existing or potential synergies for the implementation of the CAP 2023-2027 predictions for Greek wetlands. Specifically, suitable conditions and stages required to achieve the long-term goal of wetlands protection and implement the predictions will be described. For this purpose, the methodological approach of the Theory of Change will be followed to ensure a long-term transformation in the protection of Greek wetlands, incorporating different perspectives, assumptions, and responses through an open dialogue among stakeholders, leading to a common vision.
Finally, EKBY will develop a guide for implementing the agri-environmental and climate commitments of the CAP 2023-2027 for the protection, management, and restoration of Greek wetlands, including identification elements for farmers and relevant services.
Featured outputs:
- Guidelines on applying environmental and climate-related management commitments for the benefit of wetland protection and restoration (selection criteria, implementation procedure, monitoring).
- Booklet on wetland identification for farmers.
