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River restoration measures aiming to give more room to rivers are also important for floodplain restoration as well as for the prevention of flood disasters. A targeted ‘Room for the River’ Programme was established in the Netherlands, consisting of over 30 projects that were completed at the end of 2018. The key of the Room for the River approach is to restore the river’s natural floodplain in places where it is least harmful to protect those areas that need to be defended from floods.[4]

It is difficult to predict how exactly pressures on European floodplains and lateral connectivity of rivers may develop in the future. Climate change though, in particular in northern Europe, is bound to lead to increased precipitation and flood events. In its turn, this may require further mitigation measures linked to flood defences as well as increased drainage leading to increased pressures on floodplains and lateral connectivity (EEA, forthcoming).[5] At the same time, European targets of the new Biodiversity Strategy need to be met, whereby the restoration of floodplains and wetlands is mentioned as a means for restoring at least 25 000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030 (EC, 2020).

Despite the obvious importance of floodplain restoration, it has not been systematically included in river basin or flood risk management plans yet. For developing more strategic approaches to floodplain restoration in the future, it will be important to develop a more coherent knowledge base on floodplains and a more targeted approach towards financing this type of restoration (EEA, 2019).

[4] https://www.dutchwatersector.com/news/room-for-the-river-programme

[5] EEA, forthcoming, Water and Agriculture report.