Enhanced wetland monitoring, assessment and indicators to support European and global environmental policy

Abstract

Between 2015 and 2018, the Horizon 2020 SWOS project has supported policies by developing and applying science-based methods that aim at standardising wetland definition, identification, delimitation, and delineation. The primary outputs of the project are satellite-based monitoring tools (SWOS toolbox1, GEO-Wetlands Community Portal2) to enable improved wetland assessment and monitoring capabilities, as well as their application in management and reporting at different scales, and by different users. In addition, the SWOS project includes a capacity-building component to facilitate the uptake of the tools by users. This report presents the project’s technical results (Chapter 3), as well as applied examples of the improved capabilities for wetland conservation and restoration needs (Chapter 4). These two chapters are preceded by an introduction (Chapter 1) and a review of the global and EU policies related to wetlands, including a perspective on the post-2020 agenda (Chapter 2).