Deltas form at the mouths of rivers, where they deposit sediment and merge with another body of water such as the sea. Deltas are biodiversity hotspots, host diverse ecosystems and act as natural buffers for extreme weather They filter water that flows downstream, reducing the impact of river pollution. They are particularly vulnerable to climate change and require urgent adaptation measures such as the restoration of wetlands.

The Global Wetland Outlook published by the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands portrays a worrying situation as it reports that Europe lost 35% of its inland and coastal wetlands since 1970. Most damages are being recorded in Mediterranean Europe, where almost half of the natural wetlands have disappeared.

Yet, rivers and wetlands are critical for life on earth since they provide a wide range of ecosystem services such as food, biodiversity, water, and climate regulation. Nevertheless, available data point both to their continuous degradation as well as to limited and slow-paced efforts to restore their natural functions.

The 2022 IPCC report in particular highlighted that the world and Europe have a rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future. The rise in weather and climate extremes has led to some irreversible impacts, as natural and human systems are pushed beyond their ability to adapt. It calls for the implementation of urgent actions for the restoration of degraded ecosystems, to mitigate the impacts of climate change, notably by restoring degraded wetlands and rivers.

Join our webinar to learn from inspiring solutions, good practices, guidance and recommendations backed by real-life examples from deltas and coastal regions from Interreg Europe projects.