LIFE Revives, Reviving freshwater pearl mussel populations and their habitats
LIFE20 NAT/FI/000611 (LIFE Revives)
Päärahoittaja
Rahoittajan antama koodi/diaarinumero: LIFE20 NAT/FI/000611
Päärahoittajan myöntämä tuki (€)
- 1 714 682,00
Rahoitusohjelma
Hankkeen aikataulu
Hankkeen aloituspäivämäärä: 01.09.2021
Hankkeen päättymispäivämäärä: 31.08.2027
Tiivistelmä
This is a 14 million euros project with 11 partners from three countries (FIN, SWE, EST), duration 6 years 1.9.2021-31.8.2027. Aim of the project is to improve conservation status of salmonid fishes and freshwater pearl mussel (FPM) with practical conservation measures and research.
Aim of the project:
To improve ecological conditions in all prioritized target rivers (representing 10 % of FPM populations in Finland, Sweden and Estonia), thus, achieving favourable conservation status and adequate recruitment (=prevent extinction of population in the foreseeable future) after project for at least 20 % of FPM populations in the project countries. Aim is to ensure ecological connectivity, which requires inclusion of some rivers outside N2000 network. Aim is doubling the number of FPM populations with favourable conservation status in project countries 10 years after the project by:
Restoring FPM habitats and its host fish. The goal is to decrease the fine sediment and nutrient transfer from catchments to the rivers and increase the ecological habitat quality, biodiversity and connectivity of the FPM rivers. Especially we aim to improve the habitats of the juvenile FPM and strengthen the FPM host fish stocks. Removal of migration obstacles will instantly multiply the available breeding areas for salmonid fish and help FPM populations.
Captive breeding of FPM. We aim to reintroduce over 500 000 reared juvenile mussels into their home rivers. Rearing of mussels will be carried out for nine most threatened FPM populations in the area (Finland and Estonia). This will reinforce the target populations and will prevent them becoming extinct in the near future, giving time to restore the nine rivers back to their natural states.
Improving FPM conservation expertise and public awareness. Our goal is to transfer and share practical FPM and salmonid fish conservation expertise and good practice for replication purposes in various ongoing and future stream water conservation and restoration projects. Informing and educating forestry planners, landowners and other stakeholders around FPM rivers is needed to ensure sustainability of the project results and increase overall impact. General media work aims to increased stakeholder support and engagement in FPM conservation (eg. water area managers, recreational fishers and local communities and other stakeholders).
Developing innovative in-stream restoration techniques. Our methods will clean FPM habitats by transport the existing fine sediments to the river banks during spring floods. We will also pilot “kindergartens”, artificially maintained small-scale habitats suitable for juvenile FPM. We aim to demonstrate that our techniques apply to other FPM streams in Europe and watercourses suffering from input of fine sediments.
Aim of the project:
To improve ecological conditions in all prioritized target rivers (representing 10 % of FPM populations in Finland, Sweden and Estonia), thus, achieving favourable conservation status and adequate recruitment (=prevent extinction of population in the foreseeable future) after project for at least 20 % of FPM populations in the project countries. Aim is to ensure ecological connectivity, which requires inclusion of some rivers outside N2000 network. Aim is doubling the number of FPM populations with favourable conservation status in project countries 10 years after the project by:
Restoring FPM habitats and its host fish. The goal is to decrease the fine sediment and nutrient transfer from catchments to the rivers and increase the ecological habitat quality, biodiversity and connectivity of the FPM rivers. Especially we aim to improve the habitats of the juvenile FPM and strengthen the FPM host fish stocks. Removal of migration obstacles will instantly multiply the available breeding areas for salmonid fish and help FPM populations.
Captive breeding of FPM. We aim to reintroduce over 500 000 reared juvenile mussels into their home rivers. Rearing of mussels will be carried out for nine most threatened FPM populations in the area (Finland and Estonia). This will reinforce the target populations and will prevent them becoming extinct in the near future, giving time to restore the nine rivers back to their natural states.
Improving FPM conservation expertise and public awareness. Our goal is to transfer and share practical FPM and salmonid fish conservation expertise and good practice for replication purposes in various ongoing and future stream water conservation and restoration projects. Informing and educating forestry planners, landowners and other stakeholders around FPM rivers is needed to ensure sustainability of the project results and increase overall impact. General media work aims to increased stakeholder support and engagement in FPM conservation (eg. water area managers, recreational fishers and local communities and other stakeholders).
Developing innovative in-stream restoration techniques. Our methods will clean FPM habitats by transport the existing fine sediments to the river banks during spring floods. We will also pilot “kindergartens”, artificially maintained small-scale habitats suitable for juvenile FPM. We aim to demonstrate that our techniques apply to other FPM streams in Europe and watercourses suffering from input of fine sediments.
