Ongoing

The LIVEDRAVA project, funded by the LIFE programme, transformed 61 ha of former wastewater basins at the Ormož sugar factory into semi-natural wetlands on the Drava River in eastern Slovenia. Since 2017 the site has been legally designated as the Ormož Lagoons Nature Reserve (≈66 ha) and is managed by DOPPS–BirdLife Slovenia under an operational management plan. Management focuses on dynamic water-level control and conservation grazing with water buffalo to maintain open reedbeds and wet meadows. Visitor facilities now include several bird hides built from shipping containers and an educational trail; in 2023 an interpretation centre within the regional “Drava Natura 2000” initiative opened in Ormož. Post-LIFE actions have consolidated the site, including the purchase of adjacent land (1.09 ha) and restoration of additional species-rich grasslands in 2022–2023. The reserve lies within the Mura-Drava-Danube UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and has become an important hub for migratory and breeding wetland species.

Domestic rainwater harvesting in Malta is the long-running Alter Aqua programme. Launched in 2011 in Gozo by GWP-Med with national partners, Alter Aqua installed and reinstated RWH in public buildings - first four Gozo schools for toilet flushing, plus additional school and farm systems - and a greywater unit at Gozo Stadium; it then expanded to Malta. By late 2024 the programme restored historic cisterns (e.g., Birgu) and launched a Reservoir Trail. In 2025 the new “Alter Aqua RECAP” phase adds a focus on domestic greywater recycling. EWA reports the programme now replenishes ~20 million L/year.
Malta’s policy context is distinctive: all buildings must incorporate a rainwater cistern, with sizing/drainage rules in Technical Document F; the 2024 Green Stormwater Infrastructure Manual links building guidance to practical use. A national Domestic Cisterns Restoration Scheme administered by the regulator (REWS) supports household upgrades and has been extended to 31 Dec 2025.
Overall, Malta pairs a deep cistern heritage with modern retrofits, incentives and education ; making RWH effective for non-potable uses and strengthening water resilience on a scarce island setting.

WETREST (LIFE05 NAT/SK/000112) in the Záhorie Lowland (western Slovakia) focused on wetland restoration and public awareness, funded by the LIFE programme together with the Ministry of Environment. Implemented by the State Nature Conservancy with SVP and BROZ (2005–2008), it improved hydrology across eight Natura 2000 sites. A fish pass was built on the Rudava at Veľké Leváre to re-establish fish migration.
Since then, restoration has continued: in 2022 BROZ and partners re-naturalised ~2.2 km of the lower Rudava near Veľké Leváre under the Interreg Alpine–Carpathian River Corridor, removing concrete lining and re-meandering the channel; the river became ~180 m longer, with works completed on 22 Sept 2022.
New actions under LIFE-IP Natura 2000 SK (2024–2025) will block ~10 km of drainage ditches with 366 small dams, create ~10 ha of wetlands, and repair two sluices in the Rudava and Kaltenbruk sites to retain water and support priority species. Complementary efforts in the Morava floodplain near Malé Leváre (2022–2024), led by Green Foundation with BROZ and NINA, targeted the restoration of at least 210,000 m² of degraded wetlands and awareness-raising.

The Babina polder (~2,100 ha) was reconnected to the Danube in 1994, with recovery monitored by the Danube Delta National Institute. Within a few years, site-specific biodiversity redeveloped and ecosystem services such as nutrient retention and fish recruitment became evident; the reopened polder also supports reed harvesting, grazing, fishing and ecotourism.
Recent evidence shows how the system has evolved after three decades: remote-sensing analysis in the Matița–Merhei complex (including Babina Lake) detected a decline in open-water area between 2006 and 2018 (−13.4% at Babina) alongside expansion of aquatic vegetation, indicating sedimentation and succession.
In 2022, the reserve authority and DDNI implemented dredging of key links (Babina–Matița and Babina South–Ocolitor Pardina) to improve hydraulic connectivity.
Ongoing biological monitoring includes fish surveys that sampled Babina and Merhei lakes in 2016, underscoring the role of the restored complex for recruitment and fisheries.
Overall, Babina remains a flagship deltaic restoration now managed adaptively to sustain connectivity and habitat mosaics.

DANUBE FORESTS, coordinated by BROZ and funded by the LIFE programme, preserves the remaining floodplain forests of the Slovak Danube inland delta and introduces sound, sustainable forest management. Since then, a wider EU-LIFE effort has reconnected side-arms and restored wetlands while agreeing a new operational water regime: over 75 ha of wetlands and 18.5 km of tributaries have been brought back to life, supported by an operational manual that integrates Natura 2000 needs into water-management decisions.

Controlled “simulated floods” are now released via the Dobrohošť inlet, with flows up to 120 m³/s tested in 2023 and implemented again in spring 2024 to refresh the inland delta. In 2024 the Vojčianske side arm was reopened and in 2025 the Foki arm in the old Danube bed was restored, improving connectivity, habitats and local water retention. Further actions continue under Dynamic LIFE Lines Danube (AT–SK) and LIFE RESISTANCE, which also tackles invasive plants. Several areas proposed by DANUBE FORESTS have since been formally protected (e.g., Foráš PR, Pečniansky les protected area, Ostrovné lúčky).

Since 1992, the city of Heilbronn (Germany) has implemented a field margin programme to reduce erosion, improve water infiltration, and promote biodiversity in the agricultural landscape. Farmers receive compensation for yield losses and maintenance work. The programme includes various strip types, such as grasslands, hedgerows, and orchard rows, planned according to local soil and biodiversity maps. Recent efforts highlight synergies with education (school orchards), pollinator protection, and landscape aesthetics. The initiative is embedded in the city’s ecological corridor strategy and contributes to soil, water, and habitat conservation.

So far, it has been found that the field margins have a significant positive impact on soil erosion and species composition. The partridge protection strips in particular have had a positive effect on the partridge population.

The project has grown over the last 30 years in terms of area and number of contractual partners. Although some contractual partners withdrew a few years ago, the area has not changed significantly. New applications for new areas are still recieved.

The Exmoor Mires project is part of a wider Upstream Thinking programme initiated by the local water company South West Water (SWW) to use land management to tackle problems of water quality and quantity across South-west England. The benefit to SWW is in potentially reducing the costs of water treatment. Demonstration of success will allow SWW to approach the regulator (OFWAT) for permission to develop PES schemes to deliver these benefits in future. The Exmoor Mires project involves peatland restoration through blocking historic drainage ditches with a target of restoring 2000 ha by 2015. The primary benefits of the project have been to reduce runoff (32%) and increase water storage (additional 364 m3/ha). The success of the project has been aided by the land ownership and public engagement by the Exmoor National Park Authority and support from other public agencies and research from universities.

The initiative is aimed at the recovering and maintenance of a cultural and historical heritage with the promotion of new agricultural activities (not necessarily for economic purposes). A large part of terraces are no longer used today, as landowners either emigrated or are too old to take care of them. As a consequence, these terraces are increasingly degraded. The Committee "Adotta un terrazzamento" (Adopt a Terrace) acts as a mediator among landowners and people interested in "adopting" a terrace": with a contribution of 10 euros, any private citizen can be assigned a terraced plot to establish a vegetable garden. In exchange, the private citizen commits to restore and take care of the terrace at his/her disposal. The recovery of the terraces permits the valorization of the local resources, combining social/economic aims with the need to safeguard infrastructures that prevent hydro-geological instability.

During recent years the construction of sediment capture ponds as a part of the drainage system has become a good practice measure in the forests managed by Latvian State Forests. Therefore, some of the environmental impacts of this measure have been monitored to justify its costs. The results indicate differences between monitoring sites set up on mineral or peatland soils as well as between different measured parameters. Additionally, it seems that the effectiveness of the measure depends on the skills and quality of the work carried out by professionals constructing the ponds.

Since 2012, several studies led by the Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava" have evaluated the water quality outcomes at multiple sites. Results show that sediment capture ponds are generally more effective at reducing total suspended solids (TSS) than at retaining nutrients such as nitrogen or phosphorus. Performance varies between sites and years, but TSS reductions of over 60% have been recorded in some cases. However, nutrient retention has been inconsistent and often negligible.

Recent demonstrations under the LIFE GoodWater IP project have tested alternative designs, including ponds with woodchip filters or peak flow control features. These trials further confirmed that pond shape, design, and local hydrological conditions greatly influence performance. Overall, sediment ponds remain a key component of water protection in Latvian forest drainage systems, but may need to be complemented with additional structures or adapted designs to maximise effectiveness.

The Sutlansko Lake area is a wetland with a high biological diversity. The Vonarje reservoir was initially built in the early 1980s for drinking water supply, irrigation and flood protection along the transboundary Sutla/Sotla River between Croatia and Slovenia. The reservoir was later drained due to difficulties in managing its water quality and sedimentation. Since then, it has operated as a dry retention basin for flood protection. At the bottom of the reservoir, wetland ecosystems gradually developed. For this reason, the area of the reservoir on the Slovene side has been designated as a Natura 2000 site.

In recent years, the reservoir infrastructure was modernised through the FRISCO 2.1 project (2017–2019), funded by the Interreg V-A Slovenia–Croatia programme. The project aimed to reduce cross-border flood risks by reinforcing and upgrading the Vonarje dam and associated hydro-mechanical and electrical systems. The works were completed in 2019, enhancing the safety and functionality of the flood retention structure and improving its operational reliability.

The retention basin continues to serve as a key flood protection measure in the rural transboundary basin, offering temporary water storage during flood events while supporting ecological functions. Hydrological and sediment modelling have shown that the structure plays an important role in managing downstream sediment and nutrient flows, despite ongoing pressures from agricultural and point-source pollution.