Executive summary – CS02, Deba Case Study

MERLIN Case Study 2 ultimately focused on the Deba River. Before the project began, the MERLIN coordinators contacted Arturo Elosegi (UPV/EHU) to identify the types of restoration actions being implemented in Basque rivers and the actors involved. Their interest was not centred on a single restoration project, such as removing one barrier or reconfiguring one meander, but on identifying restoration typologies that could be replicated at multiple locations so that patterns and regularities in ecosystem responses could be assessed. After evaluating different possibilities, collaboration was agreed between UPV/EHU, as the research partner, and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa (DFG), as the implementation partner, focusing on the removal of obsolete barriers (weirs) in the Deba River. The budget was EUR 250,000 for UPV/EHU and EUR 800,000 for the DFG. It should be stressed that, unlike programmes such as LIFE or INTERREG, MERLIN funded restoration works at 100%, including indirect costs. MERLIN also required a particularly strong component of social participation and the assessment of restoration effects using SDG indicators.

Arturo Elosegi & Miriam Colls