Project: Narratives on Restored Water

Acronym	NARROW (Reference Number: BiodivRestore-893)
Duration	01/03/2022 - 31/03/2025
Project Topic	In this transdisciplinary and trans-sectorial project, we examine effective biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation led by Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) through protected areas (PAs) and “Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs). OECMs now form part of the EU 2030 biodiversity Strategy and the post-2020 CBD biodiversity targets. In the EU, IPLCs and OECMs may be important in the integration of ecological infrastructure into planning instruments and the extension of PAs. Using a typology of sites in Finland and Sweden (e.g. inland waters, wetlands and adjacent meadows) in different phases of restoration and representing different governance systems, we seek to understand how these areas, through the active local commitments to restoration and governance vitality, qualify as OECMs. We bring together a partnership of Finnish, Swedish and Swiss research institutions with an international scientific policy organisation, enabling us to bring local to international perspectives together. Working with different sectors of society (local communities including the Sámi, academics, administrative actors, etc.) we bring together social and ecological methods to examine the success of locally-led restoration projects. Ultimately, we ask a critical and profound question: what are the ecological, cultural, social and spiritual values that inspire local communities to restore and protect these areas? Why are they important and how are such values determined and reflected in national and international policy contexts? NARROW employs 6 work packages (Local Governance; Biodiversity & Climate; Narratives; Joint Analysis; Policy Dissemination; Project Management). Our methods include analysis of restoration governance through interviews and dialogues; biodiversity and climate change metrics (e.g. greenhouse gas [GHG] fluxes and biodiversity surveys); collection and analysis of restoration narratives; application and critique of the current OECM guidelines. We will bring the results together to understand the different perspectives on restoration, beyond a single viewpoint that emerges from disciplinary approaches, while also bridging methods that represent local concerns at the national, regional and international levels. We apply a multi-level communication and dissemination plan that engages site-level and policy partners. We will disseminate findings through local media; web platforms; virtual and in-person meetings; national, regional and international policy meetings; and scientific and policy papers. We will collaborate with related networks such as the OECM specialist group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature; national level restoration and GHG project networks. We anticipate that NARROW will help develop new narratives to understanding human relationships to nature from the local to the international while also contributing to EU biodiversity targets.
Website	visit project website
Network	BiodivRestore
Call	BiodivRestore Transnational Cofund Call 2020-2021

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
1	Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences	Coordinator	Sweden
2	Snowchange Cooperative	Partner	Finland
3	University of Lausanne	Partner	Switzerland
4	International Union for Conservation of Nature	Partner	Switzerland