image: The European Wetlands Map
Credit: ALFAwetlands, WET HORIZONS, EU, Greifswald Moor Centrum
2nd February 2025 Greifswald/Aarhus/Helsinki - On time for World Wetlands Day, the European Wetland Map (‘EWM’) significantly enhances knowledge of wetlands across Europe by locating, assessing and merging the latest geospatial data. It combines various geographic information system (GIS) data on wetland types and their distribution on mineral soil in coastal environments, floodplains, and a large variety of peatlands in one most comprehensive, easily accessible resource.
"Over a period of two years, we collected, checked and merged more than 200 geodata on wetlands and especially peatlands from various sources. Now we are happy about this standardised dataset that makes widespread European wetlands visible and enhances their analysis, understanding and management," says Cosima Tegetmeyer of Greifswald Mire Centre, one of the map’s developers.
Users can freely download the European Wetland Map for their own analyses. Politicians can find out where current land use and infrastructure might be at increasing risk by flooding in times of climate change and adjust decisions accordingly. Land users and landowners can recognize where their land overlaps with peatlands and wetlands – even if wetland features are no longer visible due to drainage, as in many of Europe’s former extensive floodplains and peatlands.
“The released European Wetland Map represents a significant step forward, for example in assessing climate mitigation and biodiversity policies for the European Commission. It allows more effective modelling of scenarios related to climate mitigation and nature restoration policies, thus aiding policymakers in coming to more informed, science-based decisions,” says Juraj Balkovic, research scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).
A vector dataset on the geographical distribution of the wetlands considered is available on a country basis in an ArcGIS geodatabase and a country-specific high resolution Geo-TIFF collection (grid size: 1 arcsecond, i.e. 1/60 of one degree).
Background: The World Wetlands Day (WWD) (Link: www.worldwetlandsday.org)
This day has been drawing attention to the importance of wetlands, including peatlands, on February 2nd every year since 1997. The Ramsar Convention, the international agreement for the protection of wetlands, was adopted on February 2nd in 1971. Since 2021 the WWD has been recognised as an international day by the United Nations.
Their restoration and protection is important. Wetlands (including peatlands) are under threat worldwide or have already been destroyed due to pollution, drainage and agriculture, fires and overfishing. Yet they are guarantors of biodiversity and climate protection. Among other things, wetlands offer people protection from drought and flooding, purify water and regulate the microclimate. In Germany, 95 % of former wetlands have been drained and are no longer recognisable as such today.
ALFAwetlands and WET HORIZONS:
The European Wetland Map work is part of the research and innovation projects “ALFAwetlands- Wetland restoration for the future” (Grant Agreement No. 101056844) and “WET HORIZONS” (Grant Agreement No. 101056848), funded by the Horizon Europe Framework Program of the European Union.
Links:
World Wetland Day: www.worldwetlandsday.org
European Wetland Map: Tegetmeyer, C., & Kaiser, M., Barthelmes, A. (2024). The European Wetland Map ('EWM') [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14717561
Links of issuing organisations:
ALFAwetlands - wetlands restoration for the future project
WET HORIZONS project
www.greifswaldmoor.de
Pictures and material:
You might use the attached picture of the EWM free of charge in context of reporting on the subject at World Wetlands Day 2025.
“Enhancing wetland mapping was one of the key goalsa key goal of our project, and I am proud to see this achievement realized while also showcasing the successful collaboration between two EU-funded projects,” says Dr. Liisa Ukonmaanaho, senior researcher, ALFAwetlands project coordinator of ALFAwetlands, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
The work is further part of "Building the European Peatland Initiative: a strong alliance for peatland climate protection in Europe" (Grant Agreement No. 81290291). This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).