Freshwater rewilding

1.10 Other initiatives

In Europe, a wide range of initiatives promote river rewilding as way of restoring natural ecosystems and enhancing biodiversity. The Living Rivers Europe (n.d.) coalition, led by WWF and other environmental organisations, focuses on advocating for the implementation and enforcement of the EU Water Framework Directive. This initiative aims to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems by addressing issues such as unsustainable agriculture, hydropower and flood defence.

Another important project is SmartRivers, managed by WildFish, which employs citizen science to monitor river health through invertebrate sampling. This helps fill the gap in national monitoring efforts, providing valuable data on water quality and biodiversity that can drive local and national conservation actions. Both initiatives highlight the importance of community involvement and scientific research in achieving sustainable river management and rewilding goals (Wildfish, n.d.).