Are we ready to implement the river connectivity targets under the new EU Nature Restoration Law?

As a critical element of the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the new Nature Restoration Law calls for recovering at least 25,000 km of “free-flowing rivers” among other restoration goals. The new legislation emphasizes that protection alone would not be sufficient to stop multiple environmental impacts such as biodiversity loss and water quality. To restore the natural longitudinal and lateral connectivity of rivers and floodplains by 2030, Member States must develop a prioritized list of obsolete barriers and other pressures that need to be removed. The question is: do we have the data, methods, and tools ready to implement the river connectivity targets the new Nature Restoration Law asked for? Based on a structured literature review, we identified issues at the pan-European and regional levels that need to be addressed before river connectivity targets can be implemented. We found a lack of information on the spatial distribution of small and medium barriers, as well as on barrier occurrence in small streams, knowledge gaps related to opportunity cost, and limited information on different species and the inclusion of future climate change scenarios. Together, these gaps constrain our capacity to achieve the goals presented in the EU strategy. The quality of the data available, especially regarding the number and characteristics of obstacles, is crucial for predicting and optimizing the benefits and costs of barrier removal. Addressing these gaps and discrepancies in technology and knowledge between member states will be critical to implement this new legislation in a way that leads to satisfactory outcomes.