Launch of the most comprehensive, and up to date European Wetland Map

A new European Wetland Map shows Europe's peatlands, floodplains and coastal wetlands more comprehensively than ever before in one map. Compiled from about 200 data sources, this map informs policy makers, land users and anyone interested in wetlands

2025-02-02

(Press-News.org) 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).

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Launch of the most comprehensive, and up to date European Wetland Map 2

Launch of the most comprehensive, and up to date European Wetland Map 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Lurie Children’s campaign urges parents to follow up right away if newborn screening results are abnormal

2025-02-01

Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago launched a newborn screening awareness campaign, with signage on public transit and billboards across Chicago urging parents to contact their child’s pediatrician immediately if results are out of normal range. For some conditions, such as cystic fibrosis, that are included in newborn screening, timely diagnosis and early treatment are key to optimal health, while delays can lead to more severe disease. All U.S. states screen for at least 33 metabolic and ...

Does drinking alcohol really take away the blues? It's not what you think

2025-02-01

A new study from the University of Chicago Medicine reveals that people with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and depression experience high levels of stimulation and pleasure when intoxicated, similar to drinkers who do not have depression. The findings counter the long-held belief that the pleasure people experience when drinking alcohol decreases with addiction and that drinking to intoxication is mainly to reduce negative feelings as a form of self-medication. "We have this folklore that people drink excessively when they're feeling depressed ...

Speed of risk perception is connected to how information is arranged

2025-02-01

Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have studied how nurses perceive words showing high and low risk ailments. They looked for directional bias, e.g. whether words denoting lower (higher) risk led to a quicker response when placed on the left (right) side or vice versa. They found faster response for significantly higher or lower risk, but different people had different directional biases. Their findings might inform better ways to present clinical information. With every incoming medical emergency, nurses are required ...

High-risk pregnancy specialists analyze AI system to detect heart defects on fetal ultrasound exams

2025-02-01

High-risk pregnancy specialists from the Raquel and Jaime Gilinski Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are presenting research at the Annual Pregnancy Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) in Denver from January 27- February 1. The Mount Sinai doctors are available for interview about their research findings, and can also provide commentary on other women’s health topics, breaking news, and studies. PRESENTATIONS and POSTER SESSIONS *All abstracts are under embargo until the below listed times* Thursday, ...

‘Altar tent’ discovery puts Islamic art at the heart of medieval Christianity

2025-02-01

University of Cambridge media release ‘Altar tent’ discovery puts Islamic art at the heart of medieval Christianity UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 00:01AM (UK TIME) ON SATURDAY 1ST FEBRUARY 2025 A 13th-century fresco rediscovered in Ferrara, Italy, provides unique evidence of medieval churches using Islamic tents to conceal their high altars. The 700-year-old fresco is thought to be the only surviving image of its kind, offering precious evidence of a little-known Christian practice. The partially-visible fresco, identified by Cambridge University historian Dr Federica Gigante, almost certainly depicts a real tent, ...

Policy briefs present approach for understanding prison violence

2025-01-31

Prison violence remains a significant yet underreported issue in the U.S. criminal justice system, leading to unsafe conditions for both incarcerated persons and staff. To address this pressing problem, a team of researchers has conducted a study aimed at understanding prison violence to develop strategies for reducing and preventing it in correctional facilities nationwide. The researchers present their work in two recently released policy briefs — “The Dark Figure of Prison Violence: A Multi-Strategy Approach to Uncovering the Prevalence of Prison Violence” and “Sources and Consequences ...

Early adult mortality is higher than expected in US post-COVID

2025-01-31

New research from the University of Minnesota and Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) shows that death rates for early adults, or adults aged 25-44, rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and remain higher than expected post-pandemic. Heightened death rates during the COVID-19 pandemic intensified an already negative trend for early adults, which began around 2010. As a result, early adult death rates in 2023 were about 70 percent higher than they might have been if death rates had not begun to rise about a decade before the pandemic. The researchers analyzed death rates between 1999-2023. Published in JAMA ...

Recycling lithium-ion batteries cuts emissions and strengthens supply chain

2025-01-31

Recycling lithium-ion batteries to recover their critical metals has significantly lower environmental impacts than mining virgin metals, according to a new Stanford University lifecycle analysis published in Nature Communications. On a large scale, recycling could also help relieve the long-term supply insecurity – physically and geopolitically – of critical battery minerals. Lithium-ion battery recyclers source materials from two main streams: defective scrap material from battery manufacturers, and so-called “dead” batteries, mostly ...

Study offers new hope for relieving chronic pain in dialysis patients

2025-01-31

People undergoing hemodialysis treatment for kidney failure often experience chronic pain related to their condition, but it can be difficult to manage with opioid medication and other conventional treatments. A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds that offering these patients pain coping skills training (PCST) significantly reduced their suffering and improved their quality of life. “This is particularly important for these patients, since the therapeutic choices for pain management are limited and the use of opioids has been shown ...

How does the atmosphere affect ocean weather?

2025-01-31

Much like the windy weather patterns that affect the Earth’s surface, our planet’s oceans experience their own distinct weather patterns. These weather patterns, known as eddies, are circular currents of water that are typically about 100 kilometers wide. A new study of satellite imagery and high-resolution climate model data by scientists at the University of Rochester upends previous assumptions and provides insight about how those surface and ocean weather patterns interact. Scientists formerly believed atmospheric wind had a damping effect, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: