More than a project report, the RESTORE Layman’s Report is an agenda setting document highlighting the achievements of RESTORE, while also looking beyond RESTORE and stressing the key policy and technical challenges that still need to be overcome to take river restoration forward. The report will provide a direction for future activities in the hope that these will be taken up by policy makers and river basin managers.

Download report: RESTORE Layman’s Report

From Britain to the Czech Republic, European nations have been restoring rivers to their natural state — taking down dams, removing levees, and reviving floodplains. For a continent that long viewed rivers as little more than shipping canals and sewers, it is a striking change.

by fred pearce

Following our Final conference Fred Pearce a key note speak has published his thoughts: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/a_successful_push_to_restore_europes_long-abused_rivers/2718/

Would you like your views to be part of the RESTORE findings? please spend 5 minutes giving us some feedback: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DG7NVQM

Deliverables from the REFORM project: http://bit.ly/1eLW4Jm  including

• Measuring success of river restoration actions using end-points and benchmarking
• Hydromoprhology of European Rivers
• Impacts of hydromorphological degradation and disturbed sediment dynamics on ecological status
• Synthesis of interim results for practical application to support the compilation of the 2nd RBMPs
• Valuing the ecosystem services provided by European river corridors – an analytical framework
• Review on ecological response to hydromorphological degradation and restoration
• Review on pressure effects on hydromorphological variables and ecologically relevant processes
• Discussion Paper for Stakeholder Workshop on River Restoration to Support Effective Catchment Management
• Summary report REFORM stakeholder workshop
• Review on eco-hydromorphological methods

One in seven UK rivers currently have unsustainable amounts of water abstracted from them and  are now facing a 50% increase in abstraction if the Water Bill 2013-14 is passed.The bill is having its second reading in parliament today and modifications to abstraction licenses, main river maps and flood insurance for householders will be debated.