Completed

“La Conchuela” is a commercial olive orchard located about 10 km west of Córdoba, Andalusia, near the A-431 road. Over seven years, it served as a long-term experimental site to assess alternative soil management practices (specifically no-tillage and temporary spontaneous cover crops) to reduce soil erosion and runoff. Results showed that these practices significantly improved soil moisture retention, reduced erosion, and enhanced biodiversity, without compromising yields.

More recent studies confirm and expand these findings. Spontaneous cover crops have been shown to enhance carbon sequestration (up to 642 kg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹), nutrient retention (N, P, K), and support vegetation diversity. Ongoing research highlights their contribution to maintaining soil organic carbon and resilience under drought conditions, which are increasingly frequent in the Guadalquivir basin. The site is also referenced in broader Andalusian initiatives promoting regenerative olive farming, including the Living Lab Andaluz launched in 2024 to monitor soil health across olive groves in the region.

This case illustrates the long-term viability and scalability of green cover and no-tillage practices in Mediterranean tree crops, especially on rolling terrain vulnerable to erosion.

The Holter-Hammrich project combined several natural water retention measures: floodplain restoration, meadow and pasture rehabilitation, and reduced tillage. Located in north-west Germany within the Weser river basin (DE4000), it supports Lower Saxony's otter and wetlands protection programs and contributes to WFD goals. Since its implementation, the 240 ha flood retention polder—activated in 2011—has enhanced flood protection and become a key habitat for over 60 bird species and other wildlife, including the returning European otter. It now also serves educational and recreational purposes, with a 7 km nature trail and observation points. The project stands out for its integration of ecological, hydraulic, and public engagement goals, achieved through multi-stakeholder cooperation involving environmental agencies, water managers, local authorities, and farmers.

Measures to attenuate runoff were installed in the small Belford catchment, in northeast England, in order to reduce the risk of flooding to the village downstream. The installations involved a network of small measures to capture and delay runoff from the rural catchment, including detention basins and overland flow features, as well as sediment capture measures to improve water quality.

However, since the implementation, the features were not maintained by the landowner, and have been then decommissioned. The measures that were implemented are no longer functional.

The Scarpe in Arras (long canalised) was renatured (2009–2012) to balance navigation, recreation and ecology. Actions included removal of sheet piling, gentle bank reprofiling, mixed bio-engineering (hemp bundles, vegetated geonets, gabion mattresses where needed), riparian restoration (invasives removal, seeding, pollarded white willows), controlled access, and creation of a lagoon.
The project treated 1,760 m of banks and built two reedbeds (≈1,000 m² and 1,450 m²). In the same programme, a 1.4 ha pike spawning area at Fampoux was re-opened and reconnected to the Scarpe. Governance shifted in 2012 via a VNF→Arras Urban Community (CUA) convention; FDAAPPMA 62 manages the spawning sites. Baseline surveys were done in 2010 with a five-year follow-up planned.
Total cost €1,321,310 (studies €132,277; works €1,189,032), co-funded by Artois-Picardie Water Agency 51%, ERDF 48%, CUA 1%.
The reach remains actively managed. In 2022 the environmental authority (MRAe) reviewed a 10-year dredging plan (~180,000 m³) to secure a 1.65 m navigation draft, notably around the Saint-Laurent-Blangy water-sports base, and requested stronger WFD compliance, better fish/European eel assessment, and a catchment-scale response to upstream sediment inputs. Together, the restoration and ongoing management aim to diversify habitats while keeping the canal’s socio-economic uses.

The project focuses on post-fire water retention management in the broader area of Ancient Olympia, Elia, Peloponnese, Greece. It involves afforestation of mountainous areas and the temporary installation of wooden structures using locally available timber to retain water, stabilize slopes, and reduce erosion. These natural measures aim primarily at flood control and risk mitigation, with secondary benefits for biodiversity conservation.

Recent scientific studies (2022–2025) have confirmed the effectiveness of these interventions. Field measurements showed that post-fire treatments in Olympia significantly improved soil infiltration capacity, up to 300% higher in deposition zones compared to eroded ones two years after implementation. Satellite-based erosion models (using Sentinel-2 and RUSLE) also indicated a sharp increase in soil erosion after wildfires, which was partly mitigated by restoration works that reduced erosion rates by approximately 18%. These findings demonstrate the long-term hydrological benefits of such nature-based solutions under Mediterranean conditions.

Key success factors remain the strong engagement of decision-makers, the willingness of local stakeholders, positive public perception, and the availability of expert knowledge and tools. The project is an example of adaptive, evidence-based post-fire watershed management in a culturally and environmentally sensitive region.

This flagship of the national Room for the River programme at Nijmegen set back the dyke at Lent and excavated the Spiegelwaal side channel, creating the Veur-Lent island and an urban river park that can take additional flood flow from the Waal. Completed in 2016, the scheme achieves about 35 cm lower design water levels—exceeding the original 27 cm target—and safely diverts high flows; the channel first overtopped its threshold in February 2016. Since delivery, the area has been reshaped as public space with new bridges and intense recreational use. In 2022 the city decided not to build housing on Veur-Lent, keeping the island largely as parkland (with limited facilities), while planning proceeds nearby. The Spiegelwaal now serves as a pilot in “Connected River” to balance flood safety, water quality and heavy leisure demand; bathing advice has at times been negative due to bacteriological risks. Funding came mainly from the State, with total costs reported at about €351 million.

This project combined several natural water retention measures: restoration of meadows and pastures, reduced tillage, reduced stocking density, and wetland restoration . Located in north-west Germany (Weser basin, DE4000), it was funded under the LIFE Program and aligned with the WFD, Habitats, and Birds Directives. Since 2017, over 30 ha of wetlands have been restored, and a reed polder (>80 ha) is being developed to reduce phosphorus loads. Additional river restoration measures have been implemented in the Hunte and Elze catchments. The project involved a wide range of stakeholders, including conservation bodies, water managers, farmers, and local NGOs. It successfully increased meadow bird populations and fostered constructive stakeholder cooperation. Recent efforts also include fish removal and a shift from technical to nature-based solutions, with key goals targeted for 2027.

Originally implemented under the UNDP/GEF Tisza MSP, the measure rebuilt an existing floodgate at the confluence of a drying bypass channel and the Žiarovnický stream in the Senné depression (Bodrog basin). The gate enables gravity supply to the Senné fishponds NNR in dry periods and during floods, and reduces discharges to the Stretávka pumping station. It was financed by the Global Environment Facility and delivered by Global Water Partnership Slovakia with local authorities.
Since then, complementary works have expanded upkeep and control of the small-hydraulic network. A LIFE project for the Senné & Medzibodrožie SPAs restored water-level control via gates/sluices and dyke repairs, improving the hydrological regime around the ponds and Ostrovik meadows.
Most recently (2020–2023), SOS/BirdLife Slovakia repaired/maintained ~1.69 km of dikes and ~2.17 km of supply canals and improved the water regime across ~814 ha; managers now manipulate existing stavidla annually to sustain wetland habitats. These actions and targets are embedded in the 2022 Care Programme for the SPA.

The Körös-ér catchment lies in a drought-prone part of Hungary and is a heavily modified water body with nutrient inputs from urban and agricultural sources. Recurrent water-logging causes temporary flooding in spring and after cloudbursts. To address both extremes (floods and shortages) the water directorate upgraded control structures, reconnected ~2.5 km of former floodplain at the estuary, improved sluices to allow retention while clearing bottlenecks for flood conveyance, increased urban drainage capacity (via a closed conduit), and added an upstream retention pond. Since completion (2011), management has shifted toward active small-water retention: today water is stored at three points along the Körös-ér - at the mouth (0+000), at 5+850 (betétpallós gate), and at 16+675, where DINPI built a retention structure in 2022 with a lateral sluice and ditch to inundate low-lying grasslands, boosting retained volumes and waterfowl habitat (boards are removed at high water; overtopping is possible). In 2025, under the “Vizet a tájba / Water to the Landscape” programme, managed in-channel storage and controlled inundation were also implemented near 22+884 (≈14 ha, ≈46,000 m³). Fish from the Tisza have re-appeared in reaches previously isolated.

Aquifer recharge with highly polished treated effluents. With a high population density and almost no surface waters, Malta faces chronic over-abstraction: total demand exceeds the sustainable yield of naturally renewable freshwater. Demand comes from domestic and agricultural uses (domestic peaks can exceed agriculture during the tourist season). Groundwater quality is threatened by nitrates and seawater intrusion.

A pilot at Bulebel (2010–2013, MEDIWAT) tested injection of ultra-polished reclaimed water via an injection well under strict quality monitoring. Since then, Malta has pursued MAR within a broader strategy: the EU MARSOL demonstrator (2013–2017) designed an injection-well barrier near the Malta South plant (Ta’ Barkat) to counter seawater intrusion; the national New Water programme is expanding reclaimed-water production (~7 Mm³/yr capacity) and distribution for agriculture, creating seasonal surpluses that can supply MAR. Under the LIFE-IP RBMP (2021–2027), Action C8 is developing a pilot MAR scheme in the Pwales coastal groundwater body using reclaimed water when irrigation demand is low; a 2024 hydrogeological study characterised Pwales to support MAR design.