Recommended reading on successful River Restoration project
Rivers: Engaging, Supporting and Transferring knOwledge on River Restoration (RESTORE) - including a ‘Laymans Report’ River restoration in Europe: the art of the possible - is recommended reading as LIFE+ proposals are currently being developed for the 2015 call.
RESTORE is a LIFE+ project that ran from 2010 to 2013. It launched with six European partners and the objective of making connections between river restoration professionals in Europe and joining existing national efforts on river restoration. Research carried out prior to RESTORE had shown that the main problem faced by river restoration professionals is often not a lack of expertise but a lack of access to shared experiences and knowledge. To address this issue, RESTORE worked to share and promote information on the best and most effective means of carrying out river restoration in Europe.
The final report was submitted March 2014, but the freely available ‘Laymans Report’ provides links to various portals and sources of information including European Centre for River Restoration and RiverWiki - an interactive tool for sharing best practices and lessons learnt for policy makers, practitioners and researchers of river restoration schemes from around Europe. The active database holds 867 river restoration case studies from 31 countries.
‘RESTORE’s case studies, conference findings and feedback show flood risk management can offer multiple benefits and river restoration should be considered as a priority while balancing competing economic, social and environmental interests. Reconnecting floodplains to the river, and managed realignment in estuaries increases flood capacity in a sustainable way. However, this change in approach is dependent on convincing people, industries, agriculture and businesses that moving from controlling floods to managing the risk is necessary. This is a long term approach requiring the engagement, direction, input and consent of these sectors.