NBRACER in action : Restoring Natural Watercourses in France’s Marais poitevin for Climate Resilience
In the heart of France’s Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, the landscape tells a story of transformation and renewal. Agricultural fields, ancient wetlands and rechannelled rivers meet the realities of rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns and increasing water stress. As droughts deepen and floods become more frequent across the wolrd, the need for Nature-Based adaptation grows urgent.
That’s where the NBRACER initiative steps in. In the historic and ecologically critical wetland of the Marais Poitevin, which was once a landscape of canals, ditches and marshes was restored to natural watercourses to bring back resilience by our partners. The case of the channelised Vendié streram serves as a model for how remeandering and restoring near-natural hydrology can help communities, farms and ecosystems adapt to climate change.
By undoing decades of straightening and channeling, we’re enabling rivers to reclaim their meanders, slow water flows, boost groundwater infiltration and reconnect wetlands to their natural rhythms. These processes support water retention in dry spells, buffer against flooding in heavy rains and enhance biodiversity, making agricultural lands more resilient and productive.
What makes this initiative stand out is its emphasis on collaboration. Local farmers, landowners, research institutes, municipalities and more, join forces to monitor the hydrology, deploy remote‐sensing tools, engage citizens and design solutions tuned to local landscapes.
For NBRACER, the Marais poitevin demonstration site is not just a one-off project. It is part of a broader drive to replicate and scale Nature-based Solutions across Europe, a drive you will keep seeing in years to come, adrive that is turning restored rivers and wetlands into living infrastructure for climate adaptation.
Click the link here or download the full article (PDF) to explore the methodology, outcomes and lessons learned, and discover how these interventions can be adapted in your region.
