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MERLIN Podcast: Bringing Europes freshwaters back to lifeAuthor: MERLIN project
Europes freshwaters are in an alarming state. Water pollution, habitat destruction and the ongoing effects of climate change have caused significant biodiversity loss and ecological decline across the continent. There is a pressing need for major freshwater restoration projects which tackle these declines and bring rivers, streams, peatlands and wetlands back to life. MERLIN is a major European Union funded project which is investing millions of Euros to help mainstream freshwater restoration across the continent over the coming years. This podcast follows the MERLIN project in this journey. It offers a behind the scenes look at some of the continents most ambitious freshwater restoration projects carried out through cutting-edge aquatic science and conservation. Language: en Genres: Natural Sciences, Nature, Science Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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How do you mainstream freshwater restoration across an entire continent?
Episode 15
Tuesday, 7 April, 2026
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 stubbornly difficult to achieve, and what would it actually take to make it happen everywhere, not just in flagship protected areas?That question sat at the heart of a panel discussion held in Brussels in March 2026, at a joint event bringing together the EU Horizon projects MERLIN, WaterLANDS, SpongeScapes and SpongeWorks. Moderated by Ellis Penning of SpongeScapes, the panel brought together Anders Iversen and Willem Jan Goossen from the European Commission, Craig Bullock of WaterLANDS, and Sebastian Birk, coordinator of MERLIN, fresh from four years overseeing freshwater restoration work across 18 sites in very different corners of Europe.In this episode we tune into that conversation, ranging across governance, finance, agricultural and environmental policy, and the challenge of building the kind of shared ecological literacy that makes transformative change possible. It is a candid, reflective and ultimately hopeful discussion, held at a moment when the tools and evidence for restoration have never been better, and the pressure to act has never been greater.
