About the project

Improve Aquatic LIFE - Europe's largest water restoration project

Between 2024 and 2031, one of Europe’s most ambitious nature conservation projects, Improve Aquatic LIFE, will implement over 500 concrete actions to restore aquatic environments from the smallest headwaters to the open sea. The focus is on restoring habitats in rivers, lakes, wetlands and coastal waters in southern Sweden.

The project aims to improve biodiversity, strengthen populations of threatened species such as Freshwater pearl mussel, Thick shelled river mussel, salmon and sea lamprey, and increase the resilience of Rivers to climate change. At the same time, new opportunities for ecosystem services such as recreation, nature tourism and a healthier landscape are created.

The measures include:

  • Removing migration barriers such as old dams and faulty road culverts
  • Restore diverse habitats in rivers and coastal zones.
  • Construction of artificial reefs and restoration of eelgrass beds in coastal environments
  • Restoring natural flows by re-creating and restoring wetlands, marshes, swamps and lakes.

Project participants and funders

Participants in Improve Aquatic LIFE: The nine County Administrative Boards in the Skagerrak and Kattegat and Southern Baltic Sea Water Districts (Värmland, Västra Götaland, Halland, Skåne, Blekinge, Kronoberg, Jönköping, Kalmar, Östergötland together with the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Karlstad University, University of Gothenburg, Lund University, Helsingborg Municipality, Tingsryd Municipality and Swedish Anglers Association.,
In addition to funding from the EU (60%), the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (22.5%) and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (5%) will co-finance theproject , as well as other partners (a total of 12.5%).