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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).
Freshwater Ecosystems Explorer
Free platform showing changes in the extent and quality of freshwater ecosystems, built to support SDG indicator 6.6.1.
Organisation:
Supports:
Country-level statistics on surface water, reservoirs, wetlands and mangroves, ready for national reporting.
Open the tool ↗freshwater-ecosystems-explorer
Freshwater Ecosystems Explorer
Free platform showing changes in the extent and quality of freshwater ecosystems, built to support SDG indicator 6.6.1.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Handbook for Prioritizing Wetland and Stream Restoration and Protection
Handbook drawn from 30 wetland and stream programmes and 115 prioritisation tools, analysing the four categories of tools used to prioritise restoration and protection sites.
Organisation:
Supports:
Handbook for Prioritizing Wetland and Stream Restoration and Protection
Handbook drawn from 30 wetland and stream programmes and 115 prioritisation tools, analysing the four categories of tools used to prioritise restoration and protection sites.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (GLWD v2)
A comprehensive, seamless global map of inland surface waters distinguished into 33 waterbody and wetland types.
Organisation:
Supports:
Global Lakes and Wetlands Database (GLWD v2)
A comprehensive, seamless global map of inland surface waters distinguished into 33 waterbody and wetland types.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
HydroSHEDS
A suite of global digital data layers in support of hydro-ecological research and applications worldwide.
Organisation:
Supports:
Base hydrography (rivers, basins, flow direction) for countries that lack national data.
Open the tool ↗hydrosheds
HydroSHEDS
A suite of global digital data layers in support of hydro-ecological research and applications worldwide.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Global Surface Water Explorer
A virtual time machine mapping the location and temporal distribution of surface water at global scale over the past 3.8 decades, with statistics on extent and change.
Organisation:
Supports:
Baseline and change statistics for lakes, rivers and reservoirs to support water-management decisions. Data cover up to 2021.
Open the tool ↗global-surface-water
Global Surface Water Explorer
A virtual time machine mapping the location and temporal distribution of surface water at global scale over the past 3.8 decades, with statistics on extent and change.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Aqueduct
Aqueduct's tools use open-source, peer-reviewed data to map water risks such as floods, droughts and water stress.
Organisation:
Supports:
Basin-level water risk screening. Best for corporate portfolios; less useful for country-specific and sub-national assessments.
Open the tool ↗aqueduct
Aqueduct
Aqueduct's tools use open-source, peer-reviewed data to map water risks such as floods, droughts and water stress.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Global Mangrove Watch
Interactive platform mapping mangrove extent, change and restoration potential from satellite data.
Organisation:
Supports:
National mangrove baselines, loss and gain trends, and restoration opportunity maps.
Open the tool ↗global-mangrove-watch
Global Mangrove Watch
Interactive platform mapping mangrove extent, change and restoration potential from satellite data.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Overview: Restoring and Protecting Wetlands
Short, accessible overview report on restoring and protecting wetlands.
Organisation:
Supports:
A lay-audience introduction, probably aimed at donors rather than implementers.
Open the tool ↗giving-green-wetlands
Overview: Restoring and Protecting Wetlands
Short, accessible overview report on restoring and protecting wetlands.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Pathway for Inland Waters in the 30x30 Target
Discussion document describing area-based inland water approaches that can contribute to 30x30 and how they can be measured over time.
Organisation:
Supports:
Practical advice for managers of protected areas and OECMs; contains many case studies.
Open the tool ↗pathway-inland-waters
Pathway for Inland Waters in the 30x30 Target
Discussion document describing area-based inland water approaches that can contribute to 30x30 and how they can be measured over time.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
30x30 Solutions Toolkit — Inland Waters
Online toolbox and curated resource hub to design, implement and report on 30x30 strategies and action plans.
Organisation:
Supports:
30x30 Solutions Toolkit — Inland Waters
Online toolbox and curated resource hub to design, implement and report on 30x30 strategies and action plans.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Best Practice in Delivering the 30x30 Target
Identifies the most effective options for achieving 30% of land, inland water and ocean in protected areas and OECMs by 2030.
Organisation:
Supports:
Covers situation analysis, a participatory process, and the legislative, financial, monitoring and reporting needs of a 30x30 process. Not freshwater-specific.
Open the tool ↗best-practice-30x30
Best Practice in Delivering the 30x30 Target
Identifies the most effective options for achieving 30% of land, inland water and ocean in protected areas and OECMs by 2030.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
Marxan Planning Platform (MaPP)
World-leading conservation planning tool: a web-based Marxan platform that makes systematic spatial planning accessible to non-experts.
Organisation:
Supports:
Build actionable spatial plans for biodiversity, climate adaptation and 30x30 targets, collaboratively and free of charge.
marxan-mapp
Marxan Planning Platform (MaPP)
World-leading conservation planning tool: a web-based Marxan platform that makes systematic spatial planning accessible to non-experts.
Before you open it
How to use this resource
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