Completed

The project aims to secure year-round Danube Commission fairway depths of 2.5 m between Călărași and Brăila, including during low flows. Since 2022 it has been reframed as “BALA II,” a combined navigation–environment scheme led by AFDJ Galați that restores and renaturalises the Bala bifurcation area. The solution raises the Bala bottom sill from 0 m to 6.5 m (MNC), re-activates an old bifurcation branch, and foresees complementary works on the Old Danube reach, in order to stabilise low-water hydraulics while limiting ecological impacts. Key permits and approvals have been obtained: water management approval (June 2022) and an environmental agreement from APM Călărași (Sept 2023). In Sept 2024 the Government approved the project’s techno-economic indicators (HG 1079/2024). Procurement for design and works was relaunched in 2025 (estimated value ~743.8 million RON; 96-month duration). As of August 2025, no award notice is publicly available.

This project improves the conservation status of floodplain bird species protected in the Natura 2000 sites SPA Dunajské luhy (Slovakia) and SPA Szigetköz (Hungary). It is funded by the LIFE Programme. Since 2015, the follow-up LIFE Danube Floodplains (LIFE14 NAT/SK/001306) and partners have restored river connectivity and water regimes by reopening 18.5 km of tributaries, restoring >75 ha of wetlands and advancing earlier, better-timed simulated floods; water-regime improvement now covers ~1,805 ha. Recent actions in Slovakia include reopening 3.7 km of the lower Vojčianske side arm (2023–24), partial reconnection at Kráľovská lúka (2024) and re-excavation/reconnection of the Foki side arm in the Old Danube (~2.0 km; 2025). Monitoring reports note positive responses of rheophilic fish, amphibians and floodplain vegetation; hydromorphological works have restored extensive floodplain forest and riparian habitats (e.g., 482 ha of 91E0* and 115 ha of 91F0). In Hungary’s Szigetköz, the water-replenishment system was extended in 2014–15 and connectivity enhanced with fish passes at Dunasziget (1998), Ásványráró (2015) and at the Mosoni-Danube outlet in Vének (operational 2022).

The Ministry-coordinated programme in Šumava National Park restores natural (pre-drainage) water regimes to mires, stabilising water tables, reducing fluctuations, and re-starting peat-forming vegetation and processes while engaging the public. Design has been refined around the Target Water Table (TWT) and a micro-catchment approach to size/space peat and wooden dams, infill drains, and return small streams to near-natural courses; public outreach and monitoring are integral.
Since 1999 the programme has expanded far beyond early pilots: by 2024, 65 locations in the Šumava region had been hydrologically restored, totaling 2,718 ha, with ~296 km of drainage channels blocked, 36 km of streams and 28 spring areas restored.
Within LIFE for MIRES (2018–2024), the project delivered ~2,181 ha of restored wetlands, 212 km of ditches blocked, 35 km of restored streams, and 28 springs, supported by 1,840 volunteers, strengthening habitat for flagship species such as black grouse and improving landscape water retention.
Overall, Šumava’s mire restoration now couples targeted hydrological design with long-term monitoring and public involvement to secure biodiversity gains and climate-relevant water storage at landscape scale.

Integrated rainwater retention was applied to recover degraded landscapes and local climate in north-eastern Slovakia, using small check dams, retention ponds, rain gardens and re-cultivated logging roads. Coordinated by People & Water (Ľudia a voda) and co-financed by the LIFE programme (LIFE11 ENV/SK/001019), the project worked across the Ondávka micro-region (Humenné district; eight municipalities). Implemented from August 2012, it ended early in May 2015 after loss of co-financing. By closure, 1,148 small barriers, 7 rain gardens and ~1 km of logging roads had been built or re-profiled; planned fishponds were cancelled. Local reporting indicates the measures reduced flood peaks during intense storms in 2013–2014 and were estimated to enhance the “small water cycle” by ~140,000 m³/year. The project also created short-term jobs (e.g., 56 unemployed people engaged in 2013 via the Humenné Labour Office). Since 2015, similar water-retention approaches have been incorporated into regional plans (e.g., the Košice Region’s 2021–2030 landscape and river-basin restoration programme) and referenced in national flood-risk planning updates (2024) covering the area.

Flow-weighted sampling was performed at the inlet and outlet of one of the infiltration trenches beneath the parking lot of a supermarket in Kungsbacka, south of Gothenburg. Monitoring ran from April–June 2012 and five storm events were originally analysed. The trench is part of a larger system serving the Maxi ICA site (≈3.1 ha) with three subsurface macadam trenches; the monitored “trench 1” had ~176 m³ storage with a permitted outflow of 6.17 L s⁻¹ (site cap 15 L s⁻¹). Runoff passes an oil separator and then discharges to stormwater ponds located between the car park and the Björkris residential area (toward Björkrisån/Kungsbackaån). Reported pollutant removals were high for TSS and metals and moderate for nitrogen, alongside clear flow attenuation. A subsequent peer-reviewed paper expanded the dataset to seven events and confirmed these trends. More recent municipal stormwater guidance (2023) highlights the Björkris/Hede ponds as part of the local network; while this corroborates the downstream arrangement, publicly available sources do not document the current maintenance or operational status of the specific trenches.

The project’s objective was to improve the conservation status of aquatic bird species in Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park (Galați County, RO) through scientific inventory, monitoring, site restoration, awareness-raising, implementation of the park management plan, and the designation of Natura 2000 SPAs. Partners were the University of Bucharest, the Romanian Ornithological Society and Romsilva – Galați Forestry.

At Pochina, two Prut–lake channels were cleaned and re-profiled (supply L = 362 m; evacuation L = 235 m), with small dykes/footbridges to maintain levels and enable gravitational flushing of sediments; a birdwatching tower was installed. Pochina is a national natural reserve (RONPA0432, 74.8 ha) located near Rogojeni (Suceveni Commune) and lies within the park’s Natura 2000 framework.

In the Xiropotamos River Basin, near the town of Naoussa in Central Macedonia, Greece, a set of natural water retention measures was implemented to address severe erosion, flash flooding, and reduced water availability. The area, affected by deforestation and land degradation, required restoration to stabilize soils and improve hydrological regulation.

The project, initiated in 2004 and approved under national environmental terms in 2013, combined afforestation, riverbed reshaping, and small-scale retention structures. Around 70 hectares of degraded land were reforested with native tree species to reduce runoff and increase infiltration. In parallel, a 2 km stretch of the river was reprofiled to reduce its slope, and a series of check-dams and retention basins were constructed to slow water flow and trap sediments.

Implementation was led by the Municipality of Naoussa with the support of a private contractor, and the public development agency AN.KO A.E. contributed to forest technical works in the mountainous upstream areas. The intervention stands out as one of the first in Greece to combine forest hydrological engineering with landscape restoration at basin scale.

The project helped decrease peak flows, reduce sediment transport, and improve local water retention. It also provided environmental co-benefits by restoring vegetation cover and stabilizing the catchment. Its approval under Greek environmental regulations highlights its formal recognition and alignment with national water and forest policy objectives.

The intensive urban development of the Bezannes joint development zone (ZAC), near Reims, has led to the artificialization of 172 hectares of land, along with a growing need for stormwater management. Vegetated swales were implemented in the southern part of the area, while in the north, stormwater is collected and directed to a facility that includes an artificial wetland, an artificial lagoon, and a reed bed filter.
The construction of this facility, initiated by the Greater Reims Urban Community (project owner) and Sinbio (project manager), aimed to incorporate a nature-based solution to manage stormwater inflows upstream of the Muire River, improve the quality of discharged water, and create a 5-hectare natural space that would benefit both local residents and biodiversity called Parc de la Roselière.

This project illustrates a shift from traditional civil engineering to ecological engineering, combining water regulation, pollution control, biodiversity enhancement, and public amenities.

On the Lower Danube between Silistra and Brăila, the LIFE project RESTOREWETLANDS (LIFE06 NAT/RO/000172) ran from 2006–2011 (eligible budget €1,017,396; EU contribution €489,209) to preserve, restore and sustainably manage the Small Islands of Brăila. Targets covered ~2,949 ha: planting alluvial forest on 449 ha, removing Amorpha fruticosa (planned 212 ha; achieved 237 ha), and restoring the natural hydrological regime on ~2,500 ha (incl. 1,366 ha of lakes). Forest and invasive-species actions met goals; however, prolonged floods limited lake works—Fundu Mare was only partial and the Navodari action failed.
The hydrological concept envisaged keeping permanent water via sluices in two zones (Egreta, Fundu Mare) and de-silting in a third (Navodari), with later expansion to other lakes; the plan also set out monitoring of siltation, banks and habitats.
Post-project reviews note that dredged channels re-closed where maintenance lapsed, reducing connectivity—an unexpected negative outcome.
Follow-up at Fundu Mare under EEA/SEE funding installed two sluices and channel works serving four lakes (~837 ha of open water); the park also maintains two educational water routes through light de-silting and removal of floating invasive vegetation.
Governance and planning have been updated with a Management Plan published by the park administration in 2024.

Reconstruction of dams and sluice gates, blocking of drainage ditches and creation of a hydrological network to route water from the Little Carpathians through the Šúr Fen National Nature Reserve (near Svätý Jur), funded by the LIFE programme (LIFE03 NAT/SK/000096). The works were prepared and initiated in 2003–2007 and complemented the intake built in 2001 on the Šúrsky Canal (rkm 10.197), which diverts water into the reserve when canal flow exceeds Q5 (up to ~7.4 m³/s). The Danube Flood Risk Management Plan (2015) describes a system of inverted siphons, canals and an aqueduct enabling year-round supply and water level management inside the fen. Project materials detail the refurbishment of control structures (e.g. on the Blahutov Canal), conversion of a drainage canal to irrigation, and raising water levels in the Čierna Voda to limit peat drawdown; interpretation and a nature trail were also delivered.
Since 2017–2018, management has reintroduced wood-pasture grazing in the Panónsky háj (southern part of the reserve) with local partners. Recent monitoring (2023–2024) reports marked increases in wild bee abundance in restored areas, indicating positive ecological response.