Completed

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).

Installed in 2006 by Limnos Ltd., the innovative ecoremediation (ERM) system on a polluted tributary of the Glinščica combines a sedimentation pond (to settle coarse particles and reduce flow velocity), a vegetated sand-filled drainage ditch with reeds, and a short meandered channel. Early monitoring (2008–2009) reported strong reductions in nutrients and suspended matter, with effectiveness sustained by routine maintenance (including sediment removal in 2008). The facility remains in place and in use, is maintained by the City of Ljubljana, and is incorporated into local educational activities; project managers confirm it has not been amended. Since installation, additional nature-based solutions for flood retention and stormwater management have been implemented elsewhere in the Glinščica catchment - most notably the Brdnikova dry retention reservoir and works at Podutik - which have helped mitigate recent heavy-rain events. In the technical literature the site is also referenced within a broader “Multifunctional Water Reservoir (MWR) Ljubljana,” where upgrades commissioned in 2014 enhanced ecological and educational functions without changing the ERM’s treatment role.

The LivingFountains project, financed by the European Regional Development Fund and national funds, set out to restore and arrange 32 village water wells and ponds as cultural-heritage monuments in the Karst border area. At project closure, local press reported 34 wells and ponds restored across five cross-border municipalities, led by the Municipality of Miren–Kostanjevica; the three-year project involved 10 partners with a budget just over €825,000, and premiered the 42-minute documentary “Ujeta voda (Captured Water)” together with a public brochure/trail concept. In Šempeter-Vrtojba, four named wells were rehabilitated, Ulica 9. septembra, Krožna cesta, Zapučke, and Cesta na Čuklje ; and, with an additional €8,000 secured within the project, a fifth well at Cesta Prekomorskih brigad was also restored; the contractor was Remont d.o.o. (Ajdovščina).Today, interpretation continues via short themed trails in Miren Kras that tell the story of wells (štirne) and karst ponds (kali) around Kostanjevica na Krasu, Vojščica and Sela na Krasu, indicating ongoing local promotion and upkeep of these features.

The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority’s Fortuna Wetland Restoration Project reconnected the 2,115-ha agricultural polder “Fortuna” to the Danube, restoring the hydrological regime and functions (works completed in 2004). Since then, restoration has scaled up across the Șontea–Fortuna complex. In 2015–2017, the EEA-funded RESTORATION-DD project dredged 13.56 km of secondary channels to re-establish habitat connectivity and migration routes, with monitoring and outcomes reported for c.7,000 ha within the 24,636-ha hydrographic unit. From 2021 onward, ARBDD is implementing a multi-site POIM project (SMIS 2014+ 120889) to improve hydrological conditions in Șontea–Fortuna, Matița–Merhei and Somova–Parcheș; planned works include the Fortuna Canal (5,176 m) among other links, with public communications indicating ~156 km of channels across the complexes. In 2024, environmental procedures were filed for desilting Lakes Fortuna and Uzlina, signalling continued management of water circulation and eutrophication control.

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.

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.

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.

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 Vlăscuța, connectivity with the Prut was re-established by de-clogging the access (366 m) and outflow (176 m) channels and installing two sluices to stabilise lake levels; a birdwatching tower was also built here. The site is a national natural reserve (RONPA0433, 41.8 ha) within the Natura 2000 network (park overlaps ROSCI0105 and SPAs including ROSPA0070). Recent management documents confirm these works and facilities.

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.

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.