This report examines policy instruments for rewetting and their impacts on wetland restoration across five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The study synthesises the country-specific objectives that drive rewetting measures as well as their supporting economic instruments, policy evaluations and monitoring approaches, providing a cross-country comparison.
While the Nordic countries share the overarching goals for rewetting initiatives such as climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and water management, national circumstances lead to differing specific priorities and implementation. Denmark prioritises emissions reduction and nutrient pollution control to improve water quality. Iceland adopts a carbon-centric rewetting strategy to meet CO₂e targets, with increased biodiversity as a co-benefit. Finland takes a more holistic approach, targeting biodiversity, water quality, and carbon emissions. Norway emphasises ecosystem restoration, while Sweden mainly focuses on climate mitigation effect, reflecting diverse approaches to sustainable wetland management across the region.
The study investigates economic instruments for rewetting efforts in each country, revealing significant variations in funding sources, allocation sizes, and target groups. Differences in policy priorities, land ownership, and political frameworks influence these mechanisms. Financing approaches for increased rewetting range from annual budgets to project-based compensations or reliance on EU funding.
The report highlights key challenges in transitioning rewetting measures from state-owned to private land, including underdeveloped compensation schemes for private landowners and limited understanding of the effectiveness of said funding schemes. In Denmark, policies focus on privately owned farmland, while in Finland, where there is extensive experience and well-structured rewetting programmes, state-owned drained forestry peatlands have mainly been prioritised so far. Icelandic policies emphasise agricultural land, primarily involving private farmers. In Norway, initial rewetting efforts focused on protected areas and focus has recently started to cover private lands as well. In Sweden, efforts are focused on privately owned forest land and municipal land, excluding agricultural areas from government priorities.
Evaluation and monitoring of rewetting policies and programmes across the five Nordic countries remain limited, with significant differences in approaches and reporting. In Finland, focus lies on monitoring water quality, hydrological effects, biodiversity and fish stocks. However, national statistics on total rewetted areas are missing. In Iceland, annual follow up reports on rewetting are published. In Iceland, the agencies are also exploring outsourcing monitoring to landowners, while the Swedish EPA has tasked a university with following up on the rewetting initiative since 2021. In Sweden, sub-evaluations of legal and economic barriers for rewetting have also been carried out which can offer insights for other countries. In Norway, the EPA aims to develop methods for calculating emission reductions and has conducted a socio-economic analysis of its wetland restoration plan. Across all countries, uncertainties in emission calculations, inconsistent methodologies, and limited funding for monitoring hinder comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of rewetting policies.