PROWATER
Protecting and restoring raw water sources through actions at the landscape scale
Priority Axis
Adaptation to Climate ChangeSpecific objective
Adaptation to Climate Change
Lead partner
Vlaamse Overheid, Departement OmgevingContact
Begindatum
01/09/2018Einddatum
28/02/2023Project budget
5 526 620 €ERDF amount
3 315 972 €ERDF rate
60%Over
Common challenge
Build resilience against droughts (and water scarcity) by enhancing infiltration and water retention capacity of landscapes in regions of strategic importance for drinking water production. Climate projections for the 2 seas area, point towards dryer and warmer summers with more extreme and concentrated precipitation events (summer storms). This could result in a higher demand for water production (on hot, dry days, water consumption can triple). Increased water abstractions volumes during summer will have high impacts at an already critical moment for water dependent ecosystems. This will aggravate the conflict between water provisioning and biodiversity conservation. Restoring and developing blue-green structures in landscapes improves the hydrological resilience to droughts and floods, provides substantial climate mitigation benefits and benefits biodiversity.
Overall objective
Main outputs
Cross border approach
Main Achievements
Water in our landscapes is valuable, let’s not waste it. The recurring dry spells and heat waves remind us of the challenges we face to safeguard and restore raw water resources in often degraded landscapes. This is crucially important in our journey towards climate adaptation, as extreme rainfall as well as drought events become more and more common. The PROWATER partnership contributed to these challenges, and help find space for water in our landscapes. Through Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA), a Nature-based approach to climate adaptation, the partnership delivers ecosystem services including the retention and infiltration of rainwater in our landscapes. Examples of such measures include the restoration of temporal wetlands, permanent wetlands, infiltration zones and river valleys. These measures can be integrated into our natural and agricultural landscapes. In time of flood risk, they help lower the high water peaks in brooks and rivers by storing water in the landscape. In time of drought and increased water demand, the water stored in the landscape can be released back to the environment. As a first step, it is crucially important to determine in what location these different types of Ecosystem-based Adaptation measures should be implemented, to reach the desired impact on water infiltration and retention. PROWATER facilitated this (spatial) vision building exercise for Ecosystem-based Adaptation. The partnership developed a participatory approach to spatial vision building for Ecosystem-based Adaptation at the catchment-level. This approach relies on the following steps: 1) Understanding the catchment 2) Identifying water resource risks & challenges 3) Identifying & engaging stakeholders 4) Ecosystem-based Adaptation targeting 5) Ecosystem Service quantification 6) Monitoring & adjustment where needed To support this process, project partner University of Antwerp developed a toolbox, including a spatial prioritisation tool (water system map) and an impact assessment tool. Overall, PROWATER strengthened the business case for EbA and watershed Ecosystem Services (including infiltration and retention of rainwater) through demonstration sites for EbA, instruments for spatial prioritization and impact assessment, and practice and policy recommendations on Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) development. This is an important step towards the operationalisation of PES schemes for EbA measures targeted at watershed Ecosystem Services.