Protecting and restoring raw water sources through actions at the landscape scale

The overall objective is to build resilience against droughts (and extreme precipitation events) through Ecosystem based Adaptation measures. Therefore it is our key objective to develop and implement a PES-model (Payment for Ecosystem Services) that facilitates the actual implementation of Ecosystem Based Adaptation measures. Independent organisations that work on landscape rehabilitation can thus play a role as "ethical brokers" in providing services (by selecting/funding/implementing measures) to society. By identifying, quantifying and demonstrating the additional benefits (ecosystem services) of the ecosystem-based adaptation measures, it becomes possible to recognize the full spectrum of the benefits (Ecosystem Services) that are associated with Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) measures and provide additional leverage for implementation.Prowater investments result in 12 demonstration sites for EbA measures. They will be used to test the methods and will inspire thousands of visitors.
The investments will improve infiltration and retention with a volume of 300,000 m³ clean water - eq. to the annual water supply of 7500 people or the monthly baseflow of a headwater stream (0.1 m³/s).
The charters will engage 4 times 50 stakeholder groups (buyers-sellers, brokers) and will pave the road to further implementation of EbA-PES.WP1: POLICY ANALYSIS will deliver an output that provides guidance on how to develop a rewarding scheme for EbA measures that promote infiltration and restoration. How to identify buyers, brokers and sellers and set up partnerships, including recommendations on ethical, political, juridical and organisational challenges.
WP2: TOOLBOX development will deliver 1) a tool for spatial prioritization and evaluation of EbA measures and 2) a tool to quantify the co-benefits of EbA measures.
WP3: VISION BUILDING will develop a long-term assessment and vision on water demand and supply challenges in the 2 Seas Region (WP3), making use of participatory approaches (workshops & meetings with buyers and brokers).
WP4 IMPLEMENTATION will showcase the effective implementation (investments) of EbA measures in the field (good practices). For each site, we will quantify the impacts and produce information panes for visitors to the sites.