Mainstreaming Ecological Restoration of freshwater-related ecosystems in a Landscape context: INnovation, upscaling and transformation (MERLIN) is an EU research project, coordinated by the University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany), which will seek innovative solutions based on nature to restore the functions of freshwater ecosystems and mitigate climate change. The project, which starts officially today and will last until 2025, has been granted with 21 million funding from the Horizon programme.

"In front of the magnitude and speed of climate change that we experienced this summer, water operators must probably change their strategy and even their mission: traditionally, water operators have been essentially engineering companies dealing with pipes and treatment plants. This is no longer enough: water operators must become eco-systemic enterprises: we need to go back to nature to deal with the consequences of what we made to nature and the MERLIN project will help public operators across Europe to find new and effective ways to take this new route", Bernard Van Nuffel, Aqua Publica's President, has declared.

Aqua Publica Europea joins 43 other partners from across Europe, including universities, research institutes, nature conservation organisations, and stakeholders from business, government, and municipalities. Aqua Publica Europea will work on translating and disseminating MERLIN’s findings among European public water operators.

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