River networks are among Earth’s most threatened hot-spots of biodiversity and provide key ecosystem services (e.g. supply drinking water and food, climate regulation) essential to sustaining human well-being. Climate change and increased human water use are causing more rivers and streams to dry, with devastating impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Currently, over half the global river network consist of drying channels and these are expanding dramatically. However, drying river networks (DRNs) have received little attention from scientists and policy makers, and the public is unaware of their importance. Consequently, there is no effective integrated biodiversity conservation or ecosystem management strategy of DRNs facing climate change. A multidisciplinary team of 25 experts from 11 countries in Europe, South America, China and the USA will build on EU efforts to investigate how climate change, through changes in flow regimes and water use, has cascading impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem functions and ecosystem services of DRNs. DRYvER (DRYing riVER networks) will gather and upscale empirical and modelling data from nine focal DRNs (case studies) in the EU and CELAC to develop a meta-system framework applicable to Europe and worldwide. It will also generate crucial knowledge-based strategies, tools and guidelines for cost-effective adaptive management of DRNs. Working closely with stakeholders and end-users, DRYvER will co-develop strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change effects in DRNs, integrating hydrological, ecological (including nature-based solutions), socio-economic and policy perspectives. The end results of DRYvER will contribute to reaching the objectives of the Paris Agreement and place Europe at the forefront of research on climate change.

DANUBE_lifelines supports the objective of the Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’ to protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity. The key components of the project include knowledge creation, demonstrating effective solutions, as well as co-creation with stakeholders. The project generates new insights and perspectives on fish migration, habitat quality, and migration corridors improving the status of migratory fish species in the Danube River Basin. It demonstrates measures for protecting and restoring habitat availability, accessibility, and connectivity by removing barriers and pressures and implementing nature-based solutions. Engaging with local actors and national stakeholder groups, conducting training and communication activities, and developing an action plan and roadmap for the replication and scale-up of solutions are also integral parts. DANUBE_lifelines is based on a transboundary, multi-scale and -actor approach that covers several relevant migratory fish species. A basin-wide approach highlights the restoration and conservation needs of migratory fish and their habitats across the Danube River Basin. Furthermore, the project provides a portfolio of solutions for different river sections, including tributaries of the Danube, tailored to local needs and conditions covering the Upper Danube, the Middle and the Lower Danube/Delta. In these regions, integrated approaches are pursued, demonstration activities are learned from and applied, and the conservation of species such as Danube salmon, Pontic shad and sturgeons is improved. Key outputs include the Danube Fish Migration and Connectivity Atlas, identification of hotspot and strict conservation areas for migratory fish, efficiency of restoration measures, mapping the contribution of the Danube Basin to the 25,000 km free-flowing rivers target, an action plan for habitat restoration and conservation, and guidelines and recommendations for replicability.

NAIAD aims to operationalise the insurance value of ecosystems to reduce the human and economic cost of risks associated with water (floods and drought) by developing and testing - with key insurers and municipalities - the concepts, tools, applications and instruments (business models) necessary for its mainstreaming. We will do this in detail for 8 demonstration sites (DEMOs) throughout Europe and develop tools and methods applicable and transferable across all of Europe. The assumption is that Natural Assurance Schemes can reduce risk, especially to drought and flooding, and this risk reduction can be assessed and incorporated within insurance schemes. NAIAD´s conceptual frame is based on three pillars: (i) to help build a resilience approach to risk management through nature based solutions, (ii) the operationalisation and testing of scientific methods using a source-to-sea in DEMOs, (iii) the uptake of nature based solutions that are cost-effective and provide environmental, social and economic benefits. Trans-disciplinarity and stakeholder engagement are at the core of NAIAD for two reasons: first, because the conceptual and assessment methodologies combine physical, social and cultural and economic aspects, integrated into tools and methods but second, and most importantly “road tested” and validated with the stakeholders and end users themselves at the DEMOs. NAIAD will contribute to providing a robust framework for assessing insurance value for ecosystem services by (i) enabling full operationalisation through improved understanding of ecosystem functionality and its insurance value at a broad range of scales in both urban and rural context; (ii) making explicit the links between ecosystem values and social risk perception; and (iii) the application of developed methods and tools in water management by relevant stakeholders, especially businesses, public authorities and utilities.