Deliver initial visible onsite restoration and evidence that requirements for upscaling have been met

D6.4 will deliver on-the-ground restoration at Action Sites that can be scaled up over larger landscape areas. The task will reference the physical restoration plans from WP6.21 and garner the support of the taskforce established in WP6.2, converting these outputs into the delivery of science-based and community co-designed restoration with a view to delivering first visible results by at least end-2024 (M24) as exemplars that demonstrate how landscape-scale restoration can be achieved. The collection of baseline data that is not already available will commence in the Action Site using local resources available to the Action Site partners.Physical works will be undertaken at each site that could involve site protection works, drain blocking, restoration of water flows or hydrology, reinstatement of wetland plant communities, new habitat creation or activities to facilitate the return of former species. These actions will be based on the plans prepared in WT6.21 and informed by the community engagement and needs of local stakeholders as identified and agreed in WT6.12. This will result in the restoration of areas of wetland and the rehabilitation of former ecosystem services. Appropriate performance indicators as described by WP1 (1.1), and identified locally in Task 6.21, will be monitored. This monitoring will also provide information on how physical conditions and biodiversity respond to the upscaling. For example, as the area undergoing restoration expands, we would expect new local micro-habitats to appear or for the wetland to reach thresholds capable of supporting species such as raptors needing large territories. It is envisaged that the project will demonstrate successful and sustainable restoration within targeted areas of the wetlands. These can be areas which can either yield effective results in the short term, or which can be used to demonstrate how challenges which are more pervasive to the entire site can be overcome. Hence, these areas will achieve visible restoration in their own right, but also reveal how upscaling can be achieved at EU level too. The restoration will be supported by on-going public engagement, detailed reporting and evidence of beneficial outputs, that can underpin the case for maintaining funding to sustain the process. WaterLANDS will keep abreast of the nature restoration targets that emerge from the recent consultation on the EU Biodiversity Strategy to ensure that these are encompassed in the indicators applied locally where appropriate to the Action Sites. Strong interaction with WP1 is expected, in developing ecological metrics, in addition to implementing the adaptive management plan of WP2