Across the Mediterranean basin, more than half of its wetlands have already disappeared, and the region is now facing one of the most severe droughts in recorded history. In this context, Catalonia finds itself at a critical crossroads. The Ebro Delta, one of Europe’s most valuable ecosystems, is also a mirror of the fragility of our water systems. The retreat of the delta, driven by the lack of sediments, saline intrusion, and agricultural pressure, turns every hectare lost into a reminder of the urgency to act. Yet right here lies a strategic opportunity: to transform the territory into a living infrastructure that recovers water, biodiversity, and resilience. This project proposes restoring degraded wetlands, reconnecting hydrological dynamics, and returning to the ecosystem its role as a natural barrier against climate change and scarcity.
The market context is alarming: Spain is one of the European countries with the highest water stress, and Catalonia could face supply restrictions and increasing salinization of aquifers. According to the National Hydrological Plan, more than 70% of groundwater bodies along the Mediterranean coast are at risk of marine intrusion. In this framework, wetlands are not passive reserves but strategic infrastructures capable of infiltrating water, naturally purifying it, buffering floods, and sustaining the agricultural and tourism productivity of the entire region. The project’s strategic objective is to rebalance water management in the Ebro Delta by restoring degraded surfaces and generating verifiable volumetric benefits that allow companies to credibly offset their water footprint, aligned with ESG criteria and the Water Positive roadmap.
The rationale of the initiative lies in its capacity to solve a structural problem: the accelerated loss of wetland surface and the degradation of essential ecosystem services. The project responds with actions of active restoration, circular water use, and shared governance. Among the actors involved are the Generalitat of Catalonia, local communities, irrigation operators, environmental organizations, and companies with sustainability commitments, under a collaborative governance model with digital traceability. By complying with the principles of additionality, intentionality, and traceability of the VWBA 2.0 framework, this proposal becomes a tangible example of how nature-based solutions can turn into strategic assets for Europe’s water future.
The Ebro Delta has lost active wetland surface due to salinity advance, reduced flows, habitat fragmentation, and intensive agricultural pressure. This degradation affects not only biodiversity, including migratory birds of international relevance and endemic aquatic species, but also the livelihoods of rural communities, tourism attractiveness, and the water security of northeastern Spain. Alterations in the flow regime and the drop in the water table have diminished the hydrological functionality of marshes and coastal lagoons, while progressive urbanization hampers ecological connectivity.
In response to this scenario, the project proposes a multifunctional intervention that combines:
The opportunity lies in transforming this fragile landscape into a platform for climate and water replenishment solutions, where each hectare recovered contributes to increasing net freshwater availability, reducing salinity, and improving community adaptation. The intervention is designed to generate measurable, traceable, and verifiable benefits while strengthening local sense of ownership and forging alliances between the public sector, private sector, and civil society.
The project proposes a set of integrated technical solutions, based on nature and green infrastructure, that simultaneously address water quantity, quality, and resilience. The first line of action is the active restoration of degraded wetlands through controlled re-excavation, reconnection of secondary channels, and topographic redesign to recover natural flooding dynamics. This action improves surface water retention, reduces runoff velocity, and enables the recovery of temporary lacustrine habitats that favor aquatic biodiversity.
In parallel, a strategy of controlled infiltration is implemented through vegetated zones with native halophilic species such as tamarix, salicornia, and reeds, which stabilize wet soils and increase percolation capacity into coastal aquifers, currently threatened by marine intrusion. Perimeter green infrastructure is also planned, such as vegetative filters and retention lagoons, which act as buffers to capture nutrients, reduce diffuse pollutant loads, and mitigate flooding.
The third key solution is the hydrological modernization of the adjacent agricultural landscape. The use of pressurized irrigation systems, soil moisture sensors, and reclaimed water for non-food crops will be promoted, reducing direct freshwater extraction and minimizing losses through percolation and runoff. All interventions will be monitored with sensors for groundwater levels, physicochemical water quality, and ecological parameters (such as vegetation cover, presence of indicator species, and functional diversity).
From a strategic perspective, the approach generates certifiable volumetric benefits and environmental, social, and climate co-benefits. Water recovery is estimated at up to 1.5 million m³/year, accompanied by improvements in water quality, increased functional biodiversity, and stabilization of coastal aquatic systems. These benefits enable companies to offset impacts through traceable VWBA mechanisms and to position themselves as leaders in water restoration in high-stress areas. Operational risks such as hydraulic imbalance, invasive species proliferation, or eutrophication are mitigated through adaptive controls, real-time digital monitoring, and active participation of local communities in ecological surveillance and preventive maintenance.
Project implementation is structured into three well-defined phases that guarantee a robust, scalable, and monitorable technical intervention. First, a diagnostic and modeling stage, with an estimated duration of six months, will establish the physical, ecological, and hydrological baseline of the territory. This phase includes the use of geospatial technologies to map critical areas, hydrological modeling to understand hydroperiod and runoff behavior, and measurements of water quality, biodiversity, and existing flows. Simultaneously, participatory consultation and design processes will be developed with local communities, institutional actors, and technical experts, ensuring territorial relevance and operational viability.
Next, the execution phase, lasting eighteen months, will involve direct intervention on the landscape. Key actions include the construction of artificial wetlands and restoration of degraded marshes, reopening of natural channels and functional reconnection with seasonal flood zones, as well as planting of native species adapted to local hydrological regimes and removal of invasive vegetation. This phase also includes the installation of sensors for real-time measurement of key variables such as groundwater level, inflow/outflow, and water quality at different strategic points, establishing the basis for continuous monitoring of hydrological and ecological performance.
Finally, during a third phase of monitoring, adjustment, and technical closure, planned for twenty-four months, the water benefits generated by the project (VWB) will be validated through field measurements, automated sensors, and external verification by independent third parties under VWBA 2.0 standards. This stage will also incorporate adaptive maintenance mechanisms, managed by local teams trained during the process, and periodic reports feeding digital traceability platforms. The entire system will be audited under Water Positive guidelines, ensuring replicability and scalability of the model in other Mediterranean basins.
This project represents a strategy of ecological restoration, water replenishment, and territorial transformation in one of the most threatened and strategic wetlands in Europe: the Ebro Delta. From a nature-based logic, and with support from technological solutions and collaborative governance, the goal is to recover the hydrological functionality of wetland ecosystems, increase freshwater availability, reduce pressure on aquifers, and promote a more resilient productive model in the face of climate change.
The intervention combines physical, ecological, and social actions that enable the capture, infiltration, and retention of water in marshes, restored channels, and controlled flood zones. The estimated net water replenishment exceeds 1.5 million m³ annually, with tangible benefits in recharging coastal aquifers, maintaining ecological flows, and restoring critical habitats for biodiversity. This volume is not only calculated with technical precision but is validated through field measurement instruments and digital platforms with full traceability, ensuring alignment with the principles of the VWBA 2.0 framework.
But the project’s value goes beyond the recovered volumes: it also lies in its ability to replicate in other Mediterranean wetlands, to articulate institutional and private actors under a common climate agenda, and to generate social co-benefits such as green employment, environmental education, and community strengthening. The model is applicable to corporate water offset initiatives, water neutrality strategies, or ecological restoration programs financed by international climate funds.
From a future vision, this project is more than a technical intervention: it is a new contract between economy, territory, and water. A proposal that invites companies to assume a restorative leadership role, transforming water liabilities into ecological assets, and returning to the natural system what has been withdrawn for decades. Restoring a wetland in the Ebro Delta is today a regenerative, verifiable, and urgent act that redefines the relationship between business and the biosphere.
