The water system map for Europe

Many landscapes in Western Europe have been altered for agricultural intensification and urban development. These changes have decreased the resilience of hydrological systems. Climate change is increasing the frequency and extremity of weather events, resulting in droughts and floods that have an unacceptable impact on society. The challenge for land use planning is to restore sufficient natural diversity of ecosystems and create (semi-)natural opportunities for ecosystem service development that can compensate for climate change and anthropogenic impact. This is known as Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) and is considered an important approach to increase resilience against flooding and droughts. However, random implementation of EbA measures in the limited available space of our landscapes is not effective.

A spatial prioritisation tool for climate change adaptation measures

To provide guidance to the implementation of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) measures, we produced a ’water system map‘ for the 2 Seas region, including catchments in the Netherlands, England, Flanders and France. This  spatial prioritisation tool displays how the landscape functions from a hydro-geomorphic point of view. It identifies hotspots of hydrological functioning that are conditional to sustain system functioning (e.g. key recharge zones, landscape depressions, seepage areas, moorlands, frequently inundated areas). Restoring functional ecosystems in these hotspots within the landscape would provide an increased resilience to system disturbances.

“The Water System Maps on this website have been produced by Dr. Jan Staes at Universiteit Antwerpen (University of Antwerp) under the Interreg 2 Seas project PROWATER. Maps can be consulted by the public and local public services. The maps cannot be used for any other purpose. Any adaptations or use for commercial purposes requires the prior written agreement of Universiteit Antwerpen. Anybody wanting to obtain the Water System Maps data for their own use should contact Jan Staes directly ( jan.staes@uantwerpen.be) .”