A collaborative research agenda for restoring free-flowing rivers
Rivers are increasingly fragmented and degraded, yet the European Union Nature Restoration Regulation calls for restoring at least 25,000 kilometres of free-flowing rivers by 2030. Translating this ambition into effective implementation remains challenging because restoration priorities differ across ecological, social, economic, and governance contexts. Here, we synthesize expert knowledge from 45 countries through a structured, multi-step prioritization process to identify research priorities for restoring free-flowing rivers in Europe. We identified 27 priorities and analysed how expert background and spatial context influenced their ranking. Restoration priorities differed systematically depending on whether experts emphasized ecological integrity, community engagement, economic considerations, or governance capacity, revealing clear patterns in how disciplinary and professional perspectives shape implementation pathways. This demonstrates that restoration strategies cannot be universal but must be adapted to local and regional political, institutional, and ecological conditions. Building on these findings, we propose a structured prioritisation framework that links barrier removal, connectivity restoration, governance mechanisms, and policy instruments to context-specific needs. Together, our results provide an empirically grounded and implementation-oriented roadmap to support European Union Member States in delivering ambitious river restoration targets in a context-sensitive and socially robust manner.
Details
| Volume | 7 |
|---|---|
| Tijdschrift nummer | 1 |
| Type | A1: Web of Science-artikel |
| Categorie | Onderzoek |
| Tijdschrift | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Issns | 2662-4435 |
| Taal | Engels |
Bibtex
@article{58e75547-619c-4776-9e96-9149c11d9439,
title = "A collaborative research agenda for restoring free-flowing rivers",
abstract = "Rivers are increasingly fragmented and degraded, yet the European Union Nature Restoration Regulation calls for restoring at least 25,000 kilometres of free-flowing rivers by 2030. Translating this ambition into effective implementation remains challenging because restoration priorities differ across ecological, social, economic, and governance contexts. Here, we synthesize expert knowledge from 45 countries through a structured, multi-step prioritization process to identify research priorities for restoring free-flowing rivers in Europe. We identified 27 priorities and analysed how expert background and spatial context influenced their ranking. Restoration priorities differed systematically depending on whether experts emphasized ecological integrity, community engagement, economic considerations, or governance capacity, revealing clear patterns in how disciplinary and professional perspectives shape implementation pathways. This demonstrates that restoration strategies cannot be universal but must be adapted to local and regional political, institutional, and ecological conditions. Building on these findings, we propose a structured prioritisation framework that links barrier removal, connectivity restoration, governance mechanisms, and policy instruments to context-specific needs. Together, our results provide an empirically grounded and implementation-oriented roadmap to support European Union Member States in delivering ambitious river restoration targets in a context-sensitive and socially robust manner.",
author = "Twan Stoffers and Katariina E. M. Vuorinen and Sibylle Schroer and Phoebe C. Griffith and Miriam Colls and Tibor Erős and Juergen Geist and Mathias Kuemmerlen and Socrates Schouten and Ruben van Treeck and Maria Alp and Damiano Baldan and Sebastian Birk and Olena Bilous and Florian Borgwardt and Mario Brauns and Anthonie D. Buijse and Viola Clausnitzer and Mayra E. Darre and Jelger Elings and Patrick Fink and Teresa Ferreira and Katarzyna Glinska-Lewczuk and Johannes Graupner and Daria Gundermann and Fengzhi He and Thomas Hein and Zeb S. Hogan and Lionel L’Hoste and Paul Meulenbroek and Imanol Miqueleiz and Sathaporn Monprapussorn and Camille L. Musseau and Leopold A. J. Nagelkerke and Joacim Näslund and Paula dos Reis Oliveira and Joachim Pander and Polona Pengal and Marie Pfeiffer and Sebastian L. Rock and Joshua L. Royte and Timo D. Rittweg and Anna Scaini and Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber and Stefan Schmutz and Mathias Scholz and Gabriel A. Singer and Adam Tarkowski and Kimmo T. Tolonen and Jonah Tosney and Martin Tschikof and Jimmy van Rijn and Pieterjan Verhelst and Franziska Walther and Bernhard Wegscheider and Christian Wolter and Chen Xiao and Thomas A. Worthington and Stamatis Zogaris and Sonja C. Jähnig",
year = "2026",
month = mar,
day = "25",
doi = "10.1038/s43247-026-03428-9",
language = "Nederlands",
publisher = "Instituut voor Natuur- en Bosonderzoek",
address = "België",
}
Auteurs
Twan StoffersKatariina E. M. Vuorinen
Sibylle Schroer
Phoebe C. Griffith
Miriam Colls
Tibor Erős
Juergen Geist
Mathias Kuemmerlen
Socrates Schouten
Ruben van Treeck
Maria Alp
Damiano Baldan
Sebastian Birk
Olena Bilous
Florian Borgwardt
Mario Brauns
Anthonie D. Buijse
Viola Clausnitzer
Mayra E. Darre
Jelger Elings
Patrick Fink
Teresa Ferreira
Katarzyna Glinska-Lewczuk
Johannes Graupner
Daria Gundermann
Fengzhi He
Thomas Hein
Zeb S. Hogan
Lionel L’Hoste
Paul Meulenbroek
Imanol Miqueleiz
Sathaporn Monprapussorn
Camille L. Musseau
Leopold A. J. Nagelkerke
Joacim Näslund
Paula dos Reis Oliveira
Joachim Pander
Polona Pengal
Marie Pfeiffer
Sebastian L. Rock
Joshua L. Royte
Timo D. Rittweg
Anna Scaini
Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber
Stefan Schmutz
Mathias Scholz
Gabriel A. Singer
Adam Tarkowski
Kimmo T. Tolonen
Jonah Tosney
Martin Tschikof
Jimmy van Rijn
Pieterjan Verhelst
Franziska Walther
Bernhard Wegscheider
Christian Wolter
Chen Xiao
Thomas A. Worthington
Stamatis Zogaris
Sonja C. Jähnig