Policy-ready Evidence and Tools for Europe's Wetland Restoration
Join our Special Session at the SERE Confrence on Tuesday 25 August 2026
For over five years, WET HORIZONS brought together people from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from wetland and peatland experts to biomodellers and policy analysts, all with the shared goal of restoring Europe’s wetlands.
Using the collected data, WET HORIZONS created tools and guidelines that fast-track large scale restoration of Europe‘s wetlands. The data collection also included a citizen science component.
At SERE 2026, WET HORIZONS will present its key findings, demonstrating how the project’s results support climate-smart, cost-effective, and policy-relevant decision-making at regional, national, and EU levels.
The tools, findings and outputs listed below will be presented and are freely accessible. They are aimed primarily at researchers, policymakers and restoration practitioners.
Emission Factors for Restored Peatlands
New, detailed emission factors (EFs) that improve IPCC Tier approaches by capturing complex carbon fluxes at site and national scales, supporting more accurate GHG mitigation accounting.
Presented by Aram Kalhori, Senior Research Scientist at GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam.
ServiPeat
An online tool assessing peatland ecosystem services, multifunctionality, and potential trade-offs to guide rewetting and restoration strategies.
Presented by Mateusz Grygoruk, Director of Centre for Climate Research at Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW.
Socio-economic context and cost-effectiveness
Assessment of how socio-economic context shapes peatland rewetting.
Two complementary methods: forward-looking scenarios from the global land-use model MAgPIE and bottom-up marginal abatement cost curves from regional case studies.
Presented by Daniel Urban, Research Associate at Scotland’s Rural College Klaus Glenk, Professor at Scotland’s Rural College
“Serious Play” in Peatland and Wetland Decisions
An open-access multi-criteria decision tool integrating spatial data, indicators, and future projection model outputs, enabling users to interactively explore the potential benefits and trade-offs of different management possibilities on greenhouse gas mitigation potential and biodiversity, given economic considerations and climatic projections
Presented by Alessandro Gimona, Senior Landscape Scientist at The James Hutton Institute
Policy and Governance
Synthesis of project insights with implications for the Nature Restoration Law, climate commitments, and land-use planning. The presentation of a White Paper on rewetting policy recommendations, that is going to be written jointly by all four sister projects (ALFAweltands, REWET and RESTORE4Cs), is planned for this presentation as well.
Presented by Rosie Everett, Research Associate, Scotland’s Rural College
The session is open to all SERE 2026 participants. It represents the culmination of five years of collaborative research and offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with the science, tools, and policy insights that will shape Europe’s wetland restoration agenda.