Life Marsh Meadows

We need wetlands more than we think

News

23/10/2025

Restoration of Floodplain Grasslands in SITA NATURE PARK

Nature Reserve “Sita and Pededze Floodplain” At the place where the Sita River flows into the Pededze, lies the 870-hectare nature reserve “Sitas and Pededzes paliene” (Sita and Pededze Floodplain). It was established to preserve […]

14/10/2025

Restoration of Floodplain Grasslands at Friedrich Haase’s Land

You are located on the land of SIA “Friedrich Haase”, which is situated within the “Lubāns wetland complex” nature reserve. The farm is restoring floodplain grassland habitats to allow the return of grassland plants, pollinators, […]

14/10/2025

Restoration of Floodplain Grasslands in Grīvu Island

You are in the territory of the farm SIA “Tīravoti”, located on Grīvu Island within the nature reserve “Lubāns wetland complex” The farm is restoring floodplain meadow habitats to allow the return of meadow plants, […]

About wetlands

A wetland is an area that is excessively wet or covered with a shallow layer of water. Wetlands include floodplain meadows, fens, raised bogs, coastal grasslands, naturally flooded forests and other habitats where land and water meet, including artificial wetlands.

Wetland ecosystem services

Wetland management

Nature in the wetlands

About the project

Project objective

Main objective of the project is to restore two large wetland complexes and the ecosystem functions in three Natura 2000 territories in Latvia and Lithuania.

Specific objectives

To restore hydrological regime (790 ha: 160 ha in LV and 630 ha in LT) that would lead to favourable conditions for conservation and management of habitats and species of EU importance;
To restore habitats of EU importance on 1080 ha (580 ha of 6450 restored in LV to favourable conservation status and 500 ha of habitats created in LT (7140, 7160, 7230, 6270));
To remove the risk of repeated overgrowing by introducing a long-term grazing management system on all restored areas (1324 ha);
To restore large-scale nature areas on 1460 ha that host breeding, staging and feeding habitats for wide range of wetland species, for example: Gallinago media (to reach 38-55), Porzana porzana (to reach 10-18), Cyanecula svecica (to reach 5-10), Bombina bombina (to reach 400-500) and Triturus cristatus (to reach 50-100), see details in Form B2a;
To demonstrate the value of fully functional natural ecosystems to the improved economic revenues in farming (ecosystem services) on three different Natura 2000 sites;
To pilot and gain knowledge on the effects of different grazing regimes on the target species and habitats, and share this knowledge on Boreal and EU level;
To promote extensive grazing as an effective and self-sustaining conservation model in the Natura 2000 areas;
To develop project areas as nature tourism destination areas, and to promote a multi-functional use of the Natura 2000 areas; and
To raise awareness on Natura 2000 in the regions and its value in contributing to the regional development of less developed areas.

Project sites

Floodplain of Sita and Pededze

Lubāns wetland complex

Baltoji Voke wetland complex

Project partners

Latvian Fund for Nature (LV)

Baltic Environment Forum (LT)

Friedrich Haase, LTD "FRIEDRICH HAASE"

Jurijs Prokofjevs, LTD "Sita Nature park"

Ivars Silkāns, LTD "Tīravoti"

Mareks Pušpurs, LTD "M.M.P Vest"

Valdas Balčiūnas, "Pievu Pauksciai"

Activities

A Preparatory actions and plans

A.1. Preparing for restoration: Management and restoration plan development

To guide the restoration of the hydrological regime in Lithuania’s Baltoji Voke wetlands and Latvia’s Grīvu sala, plans outlining technical characteristics and management strategies are being developed.

Baltoji Voke’s Natura 2000 site will receive an updated management plan which identifies stakeholder roles and necessary habitat management measures. To specify the technical details of hydrological restoration, a project containing site assessments and infrastructure plans (such as sluice design and drainage channel maintenance) will be conducted.

A restoration plan and technical design is being created for Grīvu sala, consisting of measurements, drawings and permitting procedures relevant to hydrological restoration.

These plans form the foundation of successful habitat restoration and species conservation.

A.2. Communication Plan and Replication Strategy development

Our Replication Strategy details how to carry over restoration methods and share project knowledge with other restoration efforts, sectors and countries. Assessments will be conducted to identify landowner needs, opportunities and barriers to replicating information and management methods.

Our Communication Plan is a resource which clearly states project goals and our visions for project knowledge dissemination and marketing, organized on a timeline. This strategy is complete and may be viewed here.

C Species and habitat conservation efforts

C.1. Hydrological restoration in Baltoji Voke (LT) and Grīvu sala (LV)

We are restoring the hydrological regime and water level dynamics of two territories, totaling 790 ha, so that environmental conditions may better support target species and habitats, allowing them to maintain a favourable conservation status long-term.

Hydrological regimes will be restored to natural or semi-natural conditions based on recommendations from a Site Management Plan and Technical Project (Baltoji Voke) or a Technical Design (Grīvu sala). Methods of restoration will be site-specific and diverse – these may include drainage channel maintenance, sluice construction, beaver dam management, building passes across channels, removal of drainage systems and reconstruction of culverts.

C.2. Habitat restoration in Baltoji Voke (LT) and Grīvu sala (LV)

885 ha of degraded habitat in Baltoji voke (LT) and Grivu sala (LV) wetlands will be restored using best-practice methods. Primary restoration will consist of the removal of overgrown vegetation, over-expansive reeds and excess biomass, as well as certain species-specific conservation measures such as creating artificial ponds for amphibians. These efforts are set to restore 500 ha of habitats of EU importance.

C.3. Restorative grazing in all project territories

All 5 project territories, totaling 1324 ha, will be maintained with restorative grazing followed by long-term management. This is the final phase of restoration for 580 ha of habitat 6450 in Latvia and 744 ha of land in Lithuania, of which 500 ha are habitats 7140, 7160, 7230 and 6270. Grazing systems, either seasonal or all-season, and their respective infrastructure will be installed. Various breeds of beef cows, horses or deer will be used for grazing. As detailed in the project’s After-LIFE plan, landowners will continue grazing even after the project’s conclusion.

D. Monitoring project impacts

D.1. Monitoring the impact of restoration on target species and habitats

To understand the overall impact and efficacy of restoration efforts, 5 categories will be individually assessed: 1. Impacts of hydrological restoration, 2. Impacts of habitat restoration, 3. Impacts of species-specific conservation measures, 4. Impacts of restorative grazing, and 5. Overall impact on ecosystem conditions. This final monitoring category includes baseline and final assessments which reflect collected data from monitoring, completed by experts with assistance from international student interns.

D.2. Socio-economic impact assessment

The project’s socio-economic impact, as well as impact on ecosystem services, will be assessed on a local and regional scale, weighing both indirect and direct influences. To quantify projects’ socio-economic impacts, we plan to conduct five (5) impact assessments; one for each project territory – 4 in Latvia and 1 in Lithuania. Each impact assessment will evaluate the following aspects:

Streams of income that have developed for farms as a result of the project (such as the opportunity to receive RDP payments for grassland restoration, income from cattle farming, tourism or other associated businesses)
Project-generated streams of income created on a regional scale (such as support for local tourism, local farm product sales and development, etc.)
Multiplier effects of new streams of income which develop from reinvesting in further farm development and improvement.
Impact on local economy and society, taking into account impacts on unemployment, farm operations, land use, participation in agroecology efforts and other aspects.

Ecosystem service assessments will measure regulating, provisioning, supporting and cultural ecosystem services, pre- and post-project. Data from these assessments will support other monitoring efforts (see D.1.) as well as other internal impact assessments.

D.3. Key performance indicator (KPI) data collection

As per LIFE project guidelines, the project’s impact will be monitored and assessed (see D.1. and D.2.). These ecological and socio-economic impacts will be framed within the LIFE KPIs used to assess broader project impact.

E. Public awareness and dissemination of results

E.1. Communication and visability

Strategic communication is key to project success. Our Communication Plan guides our work and connection with primary and secondary audiences, namely farmers, policymakers and the wider public. This encompasses communication on websites, social media, project notice boards, visual information packages, souvenir packages, photo banks, time-lapse videos, Layman’s reports, and other formats.

E.2. Educating the public about ecosystem services provided by Natura 2000 habitats

Complementing activity E.1., public communication, we will increase public awareness of Natura 2000 territories, their significance, and of the people who care for them. Our Communication Plan will guide all marketing and public involvement efforts, such as events held on Natura 2000 territories, social media campaigns, farmer exchange events, festivals, events for local community and more.

E.3. Networking and replication

The action will stimulate knowledge transfer and replicability of best-practice approaches implemented by the project, as well as gathering the latest experiences from other related projects to ensure the application of best practice. The actions will be guided by a Replication plan developed in action A.2, targeted at conservationists, Natura 2000 managers, experts and policy actors.

LIFE MarshMeadows will use best-practice methods and share insight gained about restoration technology, the influence of grazing on target species, specifically wading birds, nature-based solutions and more.

Baltic Environmental Forum (BEF) Lithuania will compile the best practices and insight from this project’s restoration activities (C.3.). A project facilitating grazing in meadows significant to wading birds will be piloted in Lithuania. The impacts of this project will be systematically assessed with various grazing regimes and types of grazing animals. Findings will be shared in conference, learning tours and Eurosite webinars.

Two national seminars for project participants and organizers will be held, as well as two Latvian/Lithuanian/Boreal region-level seminars specifically for those with expertise in wetland management and grazing. Additionally, wetland management machinery will be demonstrated in Latvia for farmers and project participants.

Three Eurosite webinars will be organized to reach out to nature conservation practitioners in the EU, and we will participate in 30 different international events to expand and share project knowledge. Project participants will have the opportunity to attend 2 tours to other restoration sites in the EU.

Our collaboration with policy makers will extend beyond this project. First, we aim to positively influence support for the environmental sector, presenting at least 3 clear recommendations for appropriate policy documents. Secondly, we will encourage cooperation between Baltic States on new agri-environmental measures. Direct engagement with policy makers will be achieved by regional agri-environmental policy meetings and cross-sectoral discussion platforms.

F. Project management

F.1. Project management, quality control, audit, and KPI indicators

The Latvian Fund for Nature (Latvijas Dabas Fonds) is responsible for the project’s overall management, communication, monitoring and accounting. The Latvian Fund for Nature also takes responsibility for the project activities’ national implementation and the coordination of partners for farmers.

The Baltic Environmental Forum (Lithuania) is responsible for project management and activity implementation in Lithuania.

The project has involved five partner farms – four in Latvia and one in Lithuania. Each partner farm is responsible for technical implementation of activities, as well as participation in networking and demonstration activities.

Contacts

Project “LIFE MarshMeadows: Piloting integrated wetland restoration approaches in Latvia and Lithuania”

Project manager: Laura Zvingule, Latvian Fund for Nature
E-mail: laura.zvingule@ldf.lv
Adress: Blaumaņa iela 32-8, Rīga LV 1007

Project is financed by