WaterLANDS has just published a policy brief calling on the EU and Member States to ensure that National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs) align with National Restoration Plans (NRPs) to deliver water, climate, and environmental priorities.

Further to this, these plans need to be backed with a dedicated biodiversity spending target and transparent tracking to ensure that the financing needs, implementation, and outcomes of National Restoration Plans can be clearly identified, assessed, and monitored.

This policy brief was presented today by WaterLANDS partner, Jan Peters from the Michael Succow Foundation, at Power to the Peatlands 2026, taking place in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

The deadline for EU Member States to submit their draft Nature Restoration Plans to the European Commission just past this week, but many plans are still to be submitted. Through tested approaches in financing, governance, landscape planning, and co-creation, WaterLANDS provides practical solutions that can help governments, public authorities, communities, and landowners deliver the EU Nature Restoration Regulation at scale.

The project demonstrates that wetland restoration is not only an environmental intervention but a strategic investment in Europe's water security, climate resilience, rural livelihoods, biodiversity, and regional competitiveness amongst others.

The brief was developed by partners from Plan Bleu and Michael Succow Stiftung.