WETwin - Enhancing the role of wetlands in integrated water resources management for twinned river basins in EU, Africa and South-America in support of EU Water Initiatives

The overall objective of the WETwin project was to enhance the role of wetlands in basin-scale integrated water resources management (IWRM) with the aim of improving the community service functions while conserving good ecological status. Strategies were identified for • utilizing the drinking water supply and sanitation potentials of wetlands for the benefit of people living in the basin, while maintaining (and improving as much as possible) the ecosystem functions • adapting wetland management to changing environmental conditions • integrating wetlands into river basin management • improving stakeholder participation and capacity building with the aim of supporting sustainable wetland management. The project worked on 'twinned' case study wetlands from Europe, Africa and South America. Management solutions were worked out for these wetlands with the aim of supporting the achievement of the above objectives. Knowledge and experiences gained from these case studies were summarized in general guidelines aiming to support achieving project objectives on global scale. The project also aimed at supporting the global exchange of expertise on wetland management: stakeholder participation, capacity building and expertise exchange were supported by a series of stakeholder and 'twinning' workshops.