Working with nature is one of our greatest opportunities to build a more resilient and prosperous Europe. As climate change fuels more frequent and intense wildfires, floods and droughts…

Saar Loop in Germany – the conservation and restoration of global rivers and lakes relies on evidence. Image: Elona Agug | Pexels Creative Commons European Member States filed their draft national …

Image: Tatiana Syrikova | Pexels Creative Commons Today is UN World Lake Day. The event, held annually on 27th August, is a new UN observance recognising the vital role lakes play in supporting fre…

Hunger stone on the Elbe River, Těchlovice, Czechia. Image: Dr. Bernd Gross | Flickr Creative Commons In late July, a mammoth’s jaw and tusks appeared on an exposed Danube riverbank near Ryah…

Kartuzy Lakes, Poland. Image: altotemi | Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0 Nearly half of Europe’s lakes are failing to meet basic ecological standards – and with tens of thousands of degraded waters acros…

Wildflowers on the banks of the Emscher River in Germany. Image: MERLIN On the banks of the Emscher River in Germany, wildflower meadows now bloom where raw sewage once flowed. Along the floodplain…

Wildflowers on the banks of the Emscher River in Germany. Image: MERLIN On the banks of the Emscher River in Germany, wildflower meadows now bloom where raw sewage once flowed. Along the floodplain…

Image: Emir Anik | Pexels Creative Commons By Freshwater Blog editor Rob St John. /// Sit beside a river and it is hard not to be moved. Water flows, light flickers, birdsong echoes. The problem is…

In March 2026, MERLIN scientific coordinator Daniel Hering stood before a Brussels room full of European policymakers and set out what four years of freshwater restoration had found. The evidence i…

Image: Emir Anik | Pexels Creative Commons By Freshwater Blog editor Rob St John. /// Sit beside a river and it is hard not to be moved. Water flows, light flickers, birdsong echoes. The problem is…

The Nature Restoration Regulation is now European law. National Restoration Plans are being written. The targets are set. So why does transformative, large-scale ecological restoration remain so st…

Voting for the Asterix caddisfly opened this week. Image: Indianapolis Zoo A small, easily overlooked insect from the Austrian Alps has found itself in an unlikely global contest this week. The Ast…

Voting for the Asterix caddisfly opened this week. Image: Indianapolis Zoo A small, easily overlooked insect from the Austrian Alps has found itself in an unlikely global contest this week. The Ast…

New research maps the course of successful freshwater restoration in Europe. Image: Tom Fisk | Pexels Creative Commons Europe’s rivers and wetlands are woven into the continent’s identi…

Freshwater ecosystems are vital for biodiversity and human well-being, but remain amongst the most degraded globally. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) offer a promising pathway to restoration, yet impleme...

Rivers support billions of people but are among the least protected parts of nature. A major review shows what needs to be done as climate change accelerates.

Diving into Lake Vansjø. Image: Camilla H.C. Hagman Beneath the calm surfaces of Europe’s lakes, a quiet crisis is unfolding. Once-clear waters are impacted by pollution, algae blooms and habitat l…

New approaches are needed to fund, plan and carry out freshwater restoration in landscapes across Europe. Image: Renato Dehnhardt | Pexels Creative Commons Across Europe, rivers, wetlands and flood…

New approaches are needed to fund, plan and carry out freshwater restoration in landscapes across Europe. Image: Renato Dehnhardt | Pexels Creative Commons Across Europe, rivers, wetlands and flood…

Conservation experts urge better representation for migratory freshwater fish species on the world’s stage.

A Swedish river inhabited by beavers, monitored as part of the MERLIN project. Image: MERLIN Europe’s rivers, streams, floodplains, and wetlands are among the continent’s most valuable natural asse…

A Swedish river inhabited by beavers, monitored as part of the MERLIN project. Image: MERLIN Europe’s rivers, streams, floodplains, and wetlands are among the continent’s most valuable natural asse…

Image: Christian Wasserfallen | Pexels Creative Commons The EU MERLIN project has released two valuable publications this week, focusing on how freshwater ecosystems can be better protected by majo…

Image: eberhard grossgasteiger | Pexels Creative Commons In these early days of 2025 we continue our annual tradition of looking back at our top posts from the previous year. Its been a productive …

Restoring river connectivity and strengthening global cooperation can help reverse steep declines in migratory freshwater fish populations

Image: eberhard grossgasteiger | Pexels Creative Commons In these early days of 2025 we continue our annual tradition of looking back at our top posts from the previous year. Its been a productive …

The landmark Nature Restoration Regulation was adopted by the European Union in August 2024 following a lengthy negotiation process. The Regulation – which compels EU member states to restore their…

The landmark Nature Restoration Regulation was adopted by the European Union in August 2024 following a lengthy negotiation process. The Regulation – which compels EU member states to restore their…

A key message from the MERLIN project is the need for freshwater restoration managers to embrace new forms of funding in order to mainstream their work across Europe. As we’ve explored in previous …

In this podcast we take a tour of the MERLIN Academy, an online platform which offers free resources and training to support researchers, practitioners and policy makers in applying cutting-edge fr…

In this podcast we take a tour of the MERLIN Academy, an online platform which offers free resources and training to support researchers, practitioners and policy makers in applying cutting-edge fr…

The Bilyi River after the removal of an obsolete dam. Image: Danube-Carpathian Programme Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has brought death and destruction not only to towns and cities, but als…

Image: Cottonbro Studio | Pexels Creative Commons As the need to restore Europe’s freshwaters becomes ever more pressing, so too does the demand for funding to support ambitious restoration project…

Image: May Peng | Pexels Creative Commons Freshwater protection and restoration should be at the heart of how farming is managed in Europe, according to new recommendations. Reshaping the Common Ag…

Image: Petr Hamerník | Wikimedia Creative Commons If you’re a long-time follower of the Freshwater Blog, you might remember our Cabinet of Freshwater Curiosities project from more than a decade ago…

Image: MERLIN A free new online learning module offers a wealth of information around bringing people and nature together in freshwater restoration. The module is part of the open-access Academy cr…

Image: MERLIN A free new online learning module offers a wealth of information around bringing people and nature together in freshwater restoration. The module is part of the open-access Academy cr…

Image: Tom Fisk | Pexels Creative Commons Harnessing the potential of natural processes in freshwater restoration can create significant ecological, social and economic benefits, according to a maj…

Image: Tom Fisk | Pexels Creative Commons Harnessing the potential of natural processes in freshwater restoration can create significant ecological, social and economic benefits, according to a maj…

Migratory fish populations have declined sharply in the last fifty years. Image: Petteri Hautamaa – WWF Finland | World Fish Migration Day /// A guest blog by Zeb Hogan and Monni Böhm What do Lake …

The lesser water boatman: the “loudest animal on Earth”. Image: ExaVolt | Wikipedia Creative Commons If you’re a long-time follower of the Freshwater Blog, you might remember our Cabine…

Image: Sasa Peterkovic | Pexels Creative Commons We live in an age of ecosystem restoration. Across the world, communities and policy makers are seeking to help guide degraded or destroyed ecosyste…