CLEARANCE

The project stems from several different but synergistic concepts, developed in relation to river and wetland ecosystems:

1. Restoration of wetland buffer zones (WBZ) as a remedy to nutrient pollution by agriculture has been developing rapidly in several countries over the last decades. The theory behind CLEARANCE is largely based upon experiences in Denmark, where for more than two decades, restoration of WBZs has been accepted as an effective policy mechanism to counter diffuse nutrient pollution.
2. Restoration of rivers and riverine landscapes for flood protection and mitigation of droughts’ effects. Re-meandering, floodplain re-connection to the channel and re-establishment of back-swamp habitats are elements of river restoration programmes that target the reduction of flood and drought risk.
3. Wet agriculture, i.e. productive use of wetlands. Harvesting vegetation allows for additional removal of nutrients, while at the same time maintaining the agricultural function of riparian areas. This concept includes “paludiculture”, i.e. biomass production and utilisation in wet and rewetted peatlands. Paludiculture has been developed primarily as a mean to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from drained peatlands, which contribute approximately 5% to the global anthropogenic GHG emissions (Joosten at all, 2012). Importantly, we highlight the substantial synergies that exist between the functions of nutrient capture and plant biomass utilisation.
4. Conservation and restoration of riparian biodiversity. This is primarily enhanced by improving the naturalness of the river and its proximity. Riparian habitats are the most species-rich environments, largely due to interactions between aquatic and terrestrial environment and presence of dynamic hydromorphic processes. They are also migration corridors for wildlife (Roe and Gorges, 2007).

All above functions of riparian areas are analysed using the ecosystem services approach, which allows quantification and comparison of different systems including use and non-use values. Additionally, the circular economy context provides bases for evaluating benefits of the synergistic functions of wetland buffer zones in terms of economic gains and reduction of pollutants. Finally, environmental ethics, social network analysis and policy reviews are also used to complement the studies from the societal perspective.

CLEARANCE consortium seeks to implement wetland solutions that address growing societal demands for clean water provision and the necessity to preserve and restore vanishing riverine nature – as a sustainable alternative to technical ways of managing and transforming rivers by hard-infrastructure projects at the costs of their biodiversity and ecosystem services.

We would like to thank the EU and the Innovation Fund Denmark (Denmark), the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Germany) , the National Centre for Research and Development (Poland) for funding, in the frame of the collaborative international consortium CLEARANCE financed under the ERA-NET Cofund WaterWorks2015 Call. This ERA-NET is an integral part of the 2016 Joint Activities developed by the Water Challenges for a Changing World Joint Programme Initiative (Water JPI).