General National Id Lithuania 01 Site name Ž’uvintas and Amalvas mires Summary The WETLIFE project aimed at reversal of negative changes in Amalva and Žuvintas mires. Restoration of hydrological conditions necessary for regeneration of mire habitats was the main key to reaching the aim. Additionally, the project had a goal to facilitate a shift in agricultural practices on peatlands in order to improve conditions for biodiversity and reduce rate of peat mineralization with all related environmental consequences. Finally, the project expected to raise awareness about wetlands and to serve as an example of successful wetland restoration and more sustainable use that could be replicated in other parts of the country. Light or indepth? In-depth The in-depth description of the case study cs-lt-01-final_version.pdf NUTS Code Lietuva RBD code LT1100 Transboundary 0 Data provider JustÄ— BuzelytÄ—, BEF Source(s) WETLIFE project's final report and deliverables NWRM(s) implemented in the case study Basins and ponds Lake restoration Longitude 23.58 Latitude 54.466 Site information Climate zone cool temperate moist Type Case Study Info Monitoring maintenance Monitoring impacts effects 1 Monitoring location Unknown Administrative annual costs 3298272 Administrative annual cost information sum of: website, film, project seminars, farmers' info campaign, guidelines on farming, project promotion material, construstion of view platform, monitoring, devided by 3 (project durability) Monitoring parameters Biodiversity monitoring, Ž’uvintas and Amalvas lakes' hydrological monitoring Performance Performance impact estimation method Edge of Field/Plot Design & implementations Application scale Field Scale Installation date 2012-04 Age 2 Performance timescale 1 - 4 years Area (ha) 1100 Management change from From arable land Management change to to swamp Design contractual arrangement Arrangement type Responsibility Role Comments Name Contractual agreement Amalvas polder reconstruction and Amalvas wetland view platform construction E.NaceviÄius' company "Edmeta" Contractual agreement Amalvas wetland drainage blocking project, Amalvas wetland water level re-naturalization activity Hydrologist-engineer Contractual agreement Purchase of 25 ha land JSC "Agrogeodezija" Contractual agreement Restoration of the drained southern part of the Amalvas wetland JSC "Alytaus melioracija" Contractual agreement Reconstruction of Amalvas polder JSC "Sumeda", etc. Design consultation activity Activity stage Key issues Name Comments Implementation phase For project partners General project seminars Design phase A number of purchase negotiation meeting s with farmers, guideliness for sustainable peat grassland maangement presented to local farmers. Information campaign on farming practices Name of policy/strategy 3 Name of policy/strategy 4 Name of policy/strategy 5 Name of policy/strategy 6 Design land use change Land use change type Design authority Authority type Role Responsibility Name Comments NGO Implementation Nature Heritage Fund Lead party Other Implementation MarijampolÄ— municipality administration Other Implementation MarijampolÄ— state forest enterprise Other Implementation Ž’uvintas Biosphere reserve directorate Lessons, risks, implications... Key lessons Mire†™s dryness decreased, ground water level stabilized. Amalvas sustainable polder water pumping mode installed to ensure migratory birds population increase. Restore the natural water level fluctuations in Lake Ž’uvintas should lead to water vegetation recovery, some fish and amphibian species spawning areas expand, and stop the spread reeds and thickets. Restoring of natural water level fluctuations in Ž’uvintas and Amalvas has enabled these lakes to more easily purify its waters. Reconstruction and Ž’uvintas Amalvas locks-regulator installation passes, allowing fish to migrate. Policy implications: The project made an important push in promoting agi-environmental measures in the area. There is a common understanding achieved among decision makers regarding further land use on drained peatlands. However despite of significantly increased local awareness of environmental hazards related to unsustainable management of organic peat soils, there is a great need for national and European policies regarding this issue. Abandonment of subsidies for damaging farming on organic soils would prove to be extremely beneficial for biodiversity conservation and minimizing other negative environmental consequences. Financing difficulties 1 Financing difficulties information Some project actions were carried out with a substantial delay (1,5 year). That was firstly due to economic crisis that led to reduction of the staff and working hours (due to budget restrictions staff has to take unpaid days-off), therefore personnel responsible for implementation of the projects became overloaded with work. Success factor(s) Success factor type Success factor role Comments Successful coordination between authorities main factor Existing institutional framework main factor Financing Financing type Comments EU-funds: LIFE+ Total budget used: 1240401,26 EU Barrier Barrier type Barrier role Comments The project served as a good basis for establishing cooperation among protected area administration, municipality, environmental non-governmental organisation and local residents. Driver Driver type Driver role Comments Legal obligations main driver To ensure conservation status of the Organisation committed to it main driver Nature Heritage Fund is a leading organisation in country to protect and maintain species of the comunity's interest (SCI) Availability of subsidies secondary driver LIFE Nature programme is supporting the biodiversity restoration projects Financing share Financing share type Share Comments European funds 36 View National funds 64 View Policy, general governance and design targets Policy description During second half of the 20th century Lithuania lost more than two-thirds of former mire area which covered 10% of the country. This had the effect of causing changes in the local and regional hydrological pattern, significant loss of wildlife and peat degradation, which in turn resulted in various secondary negative effects: CO2 emissions (approximately 25% of currently reported anthropogenic CO2 emissions, which does not take into account emissions from peatlands), water pollution due to peat mineralization products and peat subsidence. The regulation of lakes, along with increased loads of nutrients caused a rapid deterioration of water quality, siltation, and overgrowth of the lakes or even the collapse of submerged vegetation. This further led to decreased water purification capacities, as well as secondary pollution from sediments negatively affecting water bodies down the stream and, finally, the Baltic Sea †“ arguably the most polluted sea in the world. Policy target Target purpose Improved Biodiversity Runoff control Pollutants Removal Policy pressure Pressure directive Relevant pressure Policy area Policy area type Policy area focus Name Comments Policy impact Impact directive Relevant impact Policy wider plan Wider plan type Wider plan focus Name Comments Regional Water Regional Environment & Biodiversity Regional Climate adaptation Local Agriculture Policy requirement directive Requirement directive Specification Socio-economic Costs investment 40863324 Costs investment information Infrastructure, equipment and purchase of land (finale report data, page 31) Costs land acquisition 30945,5390625 Costs land acquisition unit € (total value) Costs land acquisition information (finale report data, page 31) Costs operation maintenance 110419016 Costs operation maintenance (finale report data, page 31), total amount minus investment costs devided by 3 (3 years project) Costs total 1240401,25 Costs total information (finale report data, page 31) Full Context Pathway(aka Context) Default view Area(aka Level or Site) ALL