Policy Reports

This legal briefing by Wetlands International Europe supports national authorities, river basin managers, and environmental practitioners in interpreting and implementing Article 9 of the EU Nature Restoration Law, which mandates the restoration of at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030. Europe’s rivers are fragmented by an estimated 1.2 million barriers, many obsolete, impacting water quality, biodiversity, and climate resilience.

IUCN NL, in collaboration with Wetlands Internationl and the University of Évora, has developed a REWET policy brief calling for an acceleration of wetland restoration despite existing knowledge gaps. Even with broad support, restoration is often hindered by perceived “knowledge gaps”, ranging from unclear definitions of wetlands to fragmented data on carbon emissions. Waiting for perfect data should not be an excuse for inaction and, in fact, restoration and knowledge generation must go hand in hand.

As part of the Horizon 2020 Green Deal Call, four flagship nature restoration projects—MERLIN, REST-COAST, SUPERB, and WaterLANDS—are receiving EU funding. On 10 March 2025, these projects convened a high-level workshop at the European Commission in Brussels to present their evidence-based recommendations and scalable solutions aimed at supporting Member States in developing effective National Restoration Plans (NRPs), as required by the Nature Restoration Regulation.

As part of REWET, IUCN NL conducted an analysis on the analysis by IUCN NL highlights the need for clear regulatory frameworks and strategic alignment of restoration efforts across local, regional, and national levels to achieve the greatest impact. Effective restoration at the EU level requires strong coordination among Member States to upscale wetland recovery and climate resilience.

As part of REWET, IUCN NL conducted an analysis of and developed recommendations for EU environmental policy related to wetland restoration. The policy brief underscores the importance of translating global policies into national legislation and local actions to restore healthy wetlands for the generations to come. Political will, financial resources, local and regional stakeholder involvement and policy coherence at various government levels, and across all sectors, are critical enabling factors for successful wetland restoration.

Con motivo del Día Internacional de los Humedales y 50 aniversario del Convenio Ramsar, se ha publicado el informe "Situación actual y perspectivas de conservación y restauración de los humedales españoles hasta 2030".

El “Plan Estratégico de Humedales a 2030” establece la carta de navegación necesaria para llegar a buen puerto, con todas las acciones que se precisan para detener e invertir en España la pérdida y degradación de más humedales y para mejorar sus servicios ecosistémicos. El auténtico reto es lograr su plena aplicación, y es un desafío que afecta al conjunto de la sociedad.