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Find the right tools for freshwater restoration and protection
A curated and expert-screened set of 44 tools, frameworks and guidance for designing, implementing and monitoring plans for rivers, lakes, wetlands and their basins — built especially for decision makers and teams delivering on ambitious goals for inland waters conservation and restoration.
Last updated October 10, 2026
Developed in support of the Freshwater Challenge
—a global initiative to restore 350 million hectares of wetlands and 300,000 km of rivers by 2030.
Plan
Identify locations for restoration and protection, assess current status, prioritise.
Protect
Design protected-area networks and conservation programmes.
Restore
Methods, guidelines and data for restoring rivers, wetlands and peatlands.
Track & report
Indicators, monitoring systems and national reporting (SDG, GBF, Freshwater Challenge).
AQUAMAPS
AQUASTAT's online geospatial database on water and agriculture.
Organisation:
Supports:
Query, explore and download spatial information in commonly used GIS formats.
aquamaps
AQUAMAPS
AQUASTAT's online geospatial database on water and agriculture.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
WaPOR
FAO portal to monitor water productivity through open access to remotely sensed data.
Organisation:
Supports:
A near-real-time satellite database for monitoring agricultural water productivity.
wapor
WaPOR
FAO portal to monitor water productivity through open access to remotely sensed data.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
AQUASTAT
FAO's global information system on water resources and agricultural water management.
Organisation:
Supports:
Country statistics behind SDG 6.4 indicators on water stress and water-use efficiency.
aquastat
AQUASTAT
FAO's global information system on water resources and agricultural water management.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
FERM — Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring
Provides transparent monitoring of restoration progress.
Organisation:
Supports:
Access to geospatial information on ecosystem restoration and to monitoring tools; the reporting platform of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
ferm
FERM — Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring
Provides transparent monitoring of restoration progress.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Community Organizing Toolkit on Ecosystem Restoration
Equips change-makers with the tools, knowledge and resources needed to organise communities around ecosystem restoration.
Organisation:
Supports:
Broad exercises to define a restoration goal, examples of community-organised restoration, and a list of further online and financial resources.
Open the tool ↗community-organizing-toolkit
Community Organizing Toolkit on Ecosystem Restoration
Equips change-makers with the tools, knowledge and resources needed to organise communities around ecosystem restoration.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
TESSA — Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-Based Assessment
Practical guidance on identifying which ecosystem services may be significant at a site, what data are needed to measure them, and how to communicate the results.
Organisation:
Supports:
TESSA — Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-Based Assessment
Practical guidance on identifying which ecosystem services may be significant at a site, what data are needed to measure them, and how to communicate the results.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Global Dam Watch
Open global database of dams and reservoirs, harmonised from multiple sources.
Organisation:
Supports:
Locate barriers on river networks when assessing connectivity, dam removal or re-operation options.
Open the tool ↗global-dam-watch
Global Dam Watch
Open global database of dams and reservoirs, harmonised from multiple sources.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Global Guidelines for Peatland Rewetting and Restoration
Comprehensive technical guidance and background information on peatland rewetting and restoration for regional planners, site managers and policy makers.
Organisation:
Supports:
The technical basis for planning and running peatland rewetting projects.
Open the tool ↗peatland-guidelines
Global Guidelines for Peatland Rewetting and Restoration
Comprehensive technical guidance and background information on peatland rewetting and restoration for regional planners, site managers and policy makers.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Free-Flowing Rivers Toolbox (Connectivity Status Index)
Measures river connectivity and indicates where restoration may be needed.
Organisation:
Supports:
Identify restoration priorities based on the extent of lost river connectivity (Grill et al. 2019, Nature).
free-flowing-rivers
Free-Flowing Rivers Toolbox (Connectivity Status Index)
Measures river connectivity and indicates where restoration may be needed.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
River Restoration: A Strategic Approach to Planning and Management
Strategic guidelines on planning, funding and monitoring river restoration for environmental and socio-economic benefits.
Organisation:
Supports:
A framework for authorities at transboundary, national and basin scales to design restoration plans according to their context and needs. Developed with China's water ministry after a global review of practice.
river-restoration-strategic
River Restoration: A Strategic Approach to Planning and Management
Strategic guidelines on planning, funding and monitoring river restoration for environmental and socio-economic benefits.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
CARE Principles for Freshwater Conservation Planning
Systematic conservation planning approaches for freshwater ecosystems.
Organisation:
Supports:
Comprehensive, Adequate, Representative and Efficient (CARE) principles for designing freshwater protected-area networks. A 15-year-old journal article, still a key reference.
Open the tool ↗care-principles
CARE Principles for Freshwater Conservation Planning
Systematic conservation planning approaches for freshwater ecosystems.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Conservation Standards (Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation)
A framework to plan, implement and monitor conservation projects.
Organisation:
Supports:
Sequential steps from context analysis and prioritising targets by threat to evidence-based planning, monitoring and review, supported by tools such as Miradi software and a network of coaches.
conservation-standards
Conservation Standards (Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation)
A framework to plan, implement and monitor conservation projects.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
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