EUROLakes is a Mission Ocean project which main goal is to propose an innovative, holistic and science-based approach to safeguarding and restoring European natural lakes and their ecosystems.
Through establishing local communities of practice, EUROLakes will apply the principles of co-creation and inclusivity to develop and showcase novel, integrated protection and restoration solutions, focusing particularly on nature-based solutions (NBS).
Start – 01 September 2024
End – 31 August 2028
13 partners, 7 European countries
€ 3 819 768.75
48 Months
Horizon Europe (HORIZON-MISS-2023-OCEAN-01-04)
€ 3 911 193.75
Innovation Action (IA)
This project builds upon the 4 Returns Framework for Landscape Restoration – a practical methodology designed to seek sustainable, long-term solutions at the landscape level, with the aim of achieving four types of returns: inspiration, social benefits, natural restoration, and financial gains.
This holistic approach is implemented through five key elements: establishing a landscape partnership, fostering shared understanding, collaboratively envisioning the landscape, taking coordinated action, and continuously monitoring and learning.
These approaches will be complemented by modeling activities and the dissemination of knowledge regarding nature finance, contributing to a comprehensive adaptive management strategy aimed at restoring the ecological and chemical health of natural lakes to a “good” status.
Showcase the efficiency and effectiveness of management strategies and Nature Based Solutions in restoring water quality.
Demonstrate the replicability effectiveness of lake restoration as a nature-based solution, enhancing species conservation and water quality.
Strategic implementation of formally scattered actions to effective lake protection and restoration through a nature-based approach.
Showcase the efficiency and effectiveness of management strategies and Nature Based Solutions in restoring water quality.
Demonstrate the replicability effectiveness of lake restoration as a nature-based solution, enhancing species conservation and water quality.
Strategic implementation of formally scattered actions to effective lake protection and restoration through a nature-based approach.
Watch the official informational video of EUROLakes project. Learn the project’s objectives and the pathway to the innovative natural lakes’ protection and restoration measures we will apply.
Subscribe to EUROLakes YouTube channel to grow the community!
Watch Video
Learn the latest updates from EUROLakes’ partners work to promote the project and disseminate the results.
Restoring a lake rarely begins with technology.It begins with people. Across Lake Vico, Lake Dümmer and Lake Bistreț, one thing has emerged clearly throughout the EUROLakes #DemoLakes campaign: meaningful and
From 2 to 6 March 2026, the European Ocean Days were hosted in Brussels, bringing together policymakers, researchers and financial institutions to discuss the future of Europe’s oceans and waters.
The delicate balance that binds water to land and communities to the landscapes they inhabit, took center stage last month in Naples. On February 26–27, 2026, members of the EUROLakes
Photographer: Kees van der Aart Lake Bistreț is a large, shallow floodplain lake a few kilometres north of the Danube, near the villages of Bistreț and Cârna. It anchors the Bistreț–Cârna–Nasta wetland system and is the
