Blue Rivers Flag
The Blue Rivers Flag – a pan-European certificate for community/societal/citizens’ actions supporting protection and recovery of Europe’s streams and rivers
The need for BLUE RIVERS
Only 39% of Europe’s rivers are in good or very good ecological conditions, and freshwater biodiversity has suffered from the steepest decline. River health is affected by embankments, impoundments, water abstraction, and pollution by wastewater and fertilizers. However, in times of climate change, it is a pressing challenge to make Europe water-smart and water-resilient. Experiences show that the involvement of stakeholders and co-creation of citizens represent key success factors of the realization of river restoration projects.
The Blue Rivers Flag, developed by the BLUE RIVERS Foundation, offers an attractive and target-oriented framework to mobilize and coordinate citizens’ initiatives supporting streams and rivers. The Blue Rivers Flag award represents a voluntary environmental certification scheme to incentivise river restoration for the benefits of nature and people.
Examples of actions and NbS that can be used for river restoration as part of the Blue Flag for Rivers certification.
Not all rivers can be pristine, but most rivers can get better, including even urban river reaches.
How does the Blue Rivers Flag award work?
The emphasis of the scheme is on rewarding documented efforts for the protection or restoration of river health– not all rivers can be pristine, but most rivers can get better, including even urban river reaches. Citizens’ efforts should relate to securing natural river flow, good water quality, a near-natural river course, and typical fauna and flora.
The Blue Rivers Flag award bolsters citizens’ efforts on those key features that will restore not only river health, but also boost a wide array of ecosystem services for the local community. Restored stream reaches often form a basis for community action and empowerment, local identity, pride, and fisheries, and are visited by local pupils and students for exploring nature. More resilient river reaches awarded with the Blue Rivers Flag will contribute to better flood protection for communities, and to better water availability during drought times.