New cross-border WWF project launched to restore wetlands and rivers in the Baltic region

A major three-year initiative, funded by the EU’s Interreg Central Baltic Programme, has officially kicked off with five organisations in three countries partnering up to restore wetlands and rivers across the Baltic region. The project aims to demonstrate how the innovative Catchment Officer Approach can scale up restoration efforts. Focusing on six key sites across three river catchments (land where water drains into a river, lake or sea), the project takes a catchment-wide approach to tackle nutrient runoff and promote healthier water systems throughout the region.

This project highlights the importance of cross-border cooperation to combat issues like eutrophication and biodiversity loss. By improving the health of rivers and wetlands, the initiative supports the EU and HELCOM objectives of restoring degraded ecosystems, improving water quality and promoting sustainable water management.

Why ecosystem restoration is crucial

Nutrient runoff—mainly nitrogen and phosphorus—has been a major driver of eutrophication in the Baltic Sea, where excess nutrients cause harmful algal blooms and dead zones, damaging marine ecosystems. These nutrients primarily originate from land, and historic changes to the landscape, such as draining wetlands and straightening rivers, have worsened the issue. Restoring wetlands and natural river systems is crucial for slowing water flow and filtering nutrients before they reach larger water bodies, reducing their harmful impact and improving water quality.

The role of Catchment Officers: Turning plans into action

One of the core aspects of the project is the introduction of the Catchment Officer Approach, which serves as a bridge between stakeholders, including landowners, municipalities, and environmental agencies. A catchment approach makes it possible to have an overview of the full catchment area, with the catchment officers helping to identify where measures can and should be implemented to best reach the goals for the catchment, and ultimately the Baltic Sea. Catchment officers are vital in implementing concrete restoration actions, overcoming gaps between policy and practice, and ensuring that plans for reducing nutrient runoff turn into effective on-the-ground solutions.

“Restoring degraded ecosystems is key to reaching many of our environmental goals linked to biodiversity and water quality. One of the main reasons we are falling behind on these goals is lack of implementation – on the ground restoration work. Catchment officers are key to turning this around – working directly with landowners, getting them on board, and helping them access the technical and financial support needed to take action. They’re the driving force behind making a real impact.”

– Anu Suono, Landscape Programme Manager for the Baltic Sea Programme at WWF Sweden.

Five key partners collaborating for success

The project brings together five key partners from across the region:

WWF Sweden: Leading the project implementation and capacity-building activities. 

• WWF Sweden will coordinate the project, establishing the frameworks and tools needed for project execution and overseeing its operation. They will facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration between partners, ensure effective communication, and aid in capacity building efforts. WWF Sweden will lead workshops, cross-border policy dialogues and the creation of a roadmap. 

Nyköping’s River Conservation Association (NVVF): Leading efforts in Sweden to manage wetland restoration projects.

• NVVF will lead the restoration of wetlands in two diverse pilot areas in the Nyköping catchment area. The association will also help run knowledge development activities, such as workshops and events, to increase awareness of catchment coordination and the Catchment Officer Approach.

Pasaules Dabas Fonds (PDF): WWF-affiliated office in Latvia, focusing on habitat restoration and nature conservation in the country.

• As the idea of wetland restoration and catchment officers is relatively new in Latvia, PDF will first focus on gathering data on and monitoring the effectiveness of existing constructed wetlands, and will then work with improving a previously constructed wetland to be more efficient in nutrient removal. The information collected will be used to communicate the benefits of wetlands and catchment-wide management to decision makers and the general public through workshops and study trips. This work will pave the way towards a catchment based restoration in Latvia.

Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies: Contributing academic expertise in environmental science and sustainable agricultural practices.

• Using their academic expertise within constructed wetlands, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies will collaborate with PDF to reconstruct the first constructed wetland in the Baltic States, which will act as a learning platform for restoration methods in Latvia. The University will oversee the monitoring of constructed wetlands, and will additionally assist in building and testing a digital tool which can be used by stakeholders to simplify the wetland planning process. 

The Estonian Fund for Nature: Playing a pivotal role in enhancing river conservation and biodiversity in Estonia.

• The Estonian Fund for Nature will focus on a combination of awareness-raising initiatives and practical, effective restoration. They will organise pilot development workshops aimed at engaging both project partners and stakeholders, as well as study trips across Estonia to aid in knowledge sharing between initiatives. The organisation will additionally plan and execute restoration activities in three pilot streams or rivers in the Kasari river catchment, monitoring the projects’ effectiveness along the way.

Key deliverables

As part of this project, several key tools and resources will be developed to ensure its success and future scalability:

• Six pilot actions restoration sites across three countries will be implemented to improve nutrient retention and reduce runoff, while demonstrating and refining the Catchment Officer Approach.
• Catchment Officer Toolkit featuring best practices, workshop insights, and guidance on monitoring and evaluation to support catchment officers in their roles.
• A strategic roadmap will be created to integrate catchment officers into national water management plans, ensuring long-term impact on nutrient reduction efforts.

The ambition of the project is to not only make a tangible difference in nutrient reduction and ecosystem restoration but also to set a blueprint for future efforts across the Baltic Sea region.

Quick facts about this project:

• The Interreg BaltCOP project will run from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2027 and has a total budget of €2,336,088. It is funded by the EU’s Interreg Central Baltic Programme (ERDF funding 80%).
• WWF Sweden is the lead partner on the project. The project partners include the Estonian Fund for Nature, Nyköping’s Rivers Water Conservation Association, Pasaules Dabas Fonds (in association with WWF), and Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies. 
• The project includes restoration activities in Estonia, Latvia and Sweden.