Significant EU funding to ACWA LIFE project to improve status of waters in Finland

Joint press release: Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for South Ostrobothnia

“It is great that we managed to tap into EU funding to improve the status of our waters. Planning and actions on the catchment scale and extensive cooperation offer a solid basis for curbing eutrophication, as the status of water bodies reflects the status of the whole catchment,” Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala says.

The ACWA LIFE (Actions for Waters from Source to Sea LIFE) project brings together owners of land and water areas, NGOs, foundations, research institutes and authorities from different parts of Finland. The total budget of the ACWA LIFE is just under EUR 28 million, of which the LIFE Programme of the European Union contributes EUR 16.6 million. Starting on 1 January 2026, the project will be coordinated by the Economic Development Centre for South Ostrobothnia.

Emissions reduced in catchments surrounding water bodies

Climate change increases precipitation in the autumn and winter and the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. This means that floods and droughts and emissions causing eutrophication will grow stronger and become increasingly common. One way to adapt to climate change is through comprehensive water resources management, that is, by considering ways to reduce emissions to water bodies from the surrounding catchment areas.

The ACWA LIFE project will develop and consolidate river basin management planning and carry out measures in the catchment areas to improve the status of waters. In line with the ‘from source to sea’ approach, it will take into account all actions that impact on the status of waters in the catchment area, including agriculture and forestry, stormwaters and land use in urban areas, industry, wastewater and water construction across administrative borders.

The project will implement concrete measures to improve the status of waters in five demo areas: the catchment areas of the River Porvoonjoki, Mynälahti bay, River Laihianjoki and River Temmesjoki and the Virtasalmi-Joroinen fisheries region. The areas differ from each other with respect to the environmental conditions and impacts on waters caused by human activities. The measures to be taken are voluntary for landowners and based on their needs. The areas will serve as models through which the catchment-based water resources management and implementation of the measures can be upscaled to other regions in Finland.

The project will improve the tools used in planning, produce new information on organic loading and disseminate the best and most cost-effective practices to improve the status of waters. Various stakeholders will be consulted to produce information and materials for decision-making, and the aim is also to support the education of future experts for the agriculture and forestry sectors by producing education materials and giving lectures.

Under the lead of the Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the project will pilot impact-based financing for water resources management, develop the participation of businesses in water resources and marine area management, and create better understanding of the impacts of the water resources and marine area management plans on the national economy.

Public financing does not cover all actions needed to improve the status of waters. The ACWA LIFE project will promote actions to mobilise financing from different sources, including the private ones.

Parties implementing the project

The project will be implemented by the Centres for Economic Development (of South Ostrobothnia, Uusimaa, Eastern Finland, Southwest Finland and Northern Finland) and the Finnish Supervisory Agency that will all start operating on 1 January 2026, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Finnish Environment Institute, Natural Resources Institute Finland, Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, Finnish Forest Centre, Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners MTK, John Nurminen Foundation, Keep the Archipelago Tidy Association, Finnish Association for Nature Conservation, WWF Finland, Water and Air Protection Association of Itä-Uusimaa and the River Porvoonjoki, and Finnish Museum of Natural History.