Natural lakes are essential for ecological, cultural and economic reasons. They provide drinking water, support rich biodiversity, and offer countless opportunities for leisure. Yet, these ecosystems are facing numerous pressures from pollution, climate change, invasive species, and wrong land use. EUROLakes aims to reverse this trend, by restoring and protecting Europe’s lakes. And for achieving those goals, the keyword is: collaboration. Since September 2024, EUROLakes has worked closely with other projects and partners, building synergies and networking to speed up lake restoration across Europe.
Effective lake restoration requires shared knowledge, coordinated action and collaboration across sectors and regions. With this in mind, EUROLakes is working closely with similar initiatives, exchanging experiences and tools and combining communication efforts to reach broad audiences. This first year of collaboration has been successful and promising for the continuity of the project.
Expanding EUROLakes’ family
A key part of this effort involves collaborating with three “sister projects”: FutureLakes, ProCleanLakes, and FERRO. Together, we align our work where possible, holding regular coordination meetings, sharing lessons and supporting each other’s outreach activities. One of the most visible outcomes of this collaboration is the joint webinar series created to encourage knowledge exchange and spark conversations among experts and stakeholders.
The first webinar, hosted by FutureLakes, explored innovation in lake restoration and highlighted how technological advances and new approaches can support practical action on the ground. The second webinar, organised by ProCleanLakes and taking place on 18 November, will focus on entrepreneurial interest in lake protection and restoration. EUROLakes will host the fourth webinar in spring 2026, with more details to be announced closer to the date.
Joining bigger initiatives
EUROLakes is also part of the Mission Ocean and Waters initiative, a major European effort aiming at restoring and protecting seas, rivers and lakes by 2030. The Mission calls for improving water quality, supporting biodiversity and developing sustainable economic activities connected to aquatic ecosystems. As part of this, the Mission’s charter invites organisations and regions to commit to concrete actions that advance these shared goals, and EUROLakes has proudly endorsed the charter. This commitment once again shows the project’s belief that the widest possible cooperation is essential to securing meaningful and lasting impact.
Meeting wider environmental networks
While collaboration with sister projects is central, EUROLakes is also engaging with wider networks such as Living Lakes network, a global community dedicated to the protection and restoration of lakes and wetlands, and IDEATON project creating a Digital Twin Ocean (DTO) of inland waters, linking rivers, lakes and wetlands with the ocean. These links allow EUROLakes to share knowledge beyond Europe and draw inspiration from diverse restoration efforts elsewhere.
This work is still evolving, but the only path forward is with a collective effort. By building strong relationships, sharing insights and learning together, EUROLakes and its partners are helping Europe’s lakes to remain healthy.