Policy Coherence for Lake Restoration: Insights from Finland and Greece
Effective lake restoration depends not only on science and innovation, but also on the alignment of policies across sectors and governance levels.
A new FutureLakes deliverable provides valuable insights into how well current policy frameworks support restoration efforts — and where gaps remain.
Assessing Policy Coherence in Practice
This study analysed the contribution of national, European, and international policy instruments to lake restoration, building on earlier mapping work (D3.1).
Two case studies were selected:
- Lake Vesijärvi (Finland)
- Lake Karla (Greece)
Using a participatory approach, stakeholders and national experts evaluated policy interactions through:
- A policy coherence matrix method
- Likert-scale scoring
- Structured interviews and desk-based analysis
In total, 62 policy instruments were assessed, including EU directives, international agreements, and national regulations linked to water management, agriculture, biodiversity, and climate policy.
Key Restoration Priorities
The analysis focused on several core Assessment Areas, reflecting the main challenges of lake restoration:
- Water quality and pollution control
- Uptake of nature-based solutions (NbS) and circular blue-economy solutions<u5:p></u5:p>
- Integrated and participatory basin management
- Economic circularity and green financing
- Climate adaptation and resilience
- Biodiversity protection and restoration
Horizontal Coherence: Synergies and Conflicts
The results reveal important differences between Finland and Greece:
Finland (Lake Vesijärvi)
- Policies strongly support water quality and pollution control
- Moderate positive effects on climate adaptation and integrated basin management<u5:p></u5:p>
- Emerging but limited support for NbS and circular economy approaches
- Clear policy conflicts in the agricultural sector, indicating misalignment with broader restoration goals
Greece (Lake Karla)
- Strong alignment in biodiversity protection, integrated management, and innovation uptake
- More neutral impact on water quality, climate adaptation, and circular financing
- Greater overall consistency across policy areas
- Agricultural policies show stronger coherence, contrasting with the Finnish case
Across both countries, biodiversity-related policies demonstrate consistently positive synergies with other regulatory frameworks.
Vertical Coherence: Alignment Across Governance Levels
The study also examined how national policies align with EU and international frameworks:
- In Finland, agricultural policies show high uncertainty in alignment, suggesting gaps in awareness or implementation clarity
- Water-related policies are seen as more clearly aligned with EU objectives
- In Greece, policies are generally perceived as well aligned with EU directives, with stronger certainty and fewer knowledge gaps
These findings highlight that coherence is not just about policy design, but also about how policies are understood and implemented in practice.
Key Takeaways
The deliverable highlights several important conclusions:
- Policy coherence is highly context-dependent and varies between regions and sectors
- Achieving effective lake restoration requires better alignment across agriculture, water, climate, and biodiversity policies
- Knowledge gaps and uncertainties can affect how policies are applied on the ground
A Practical Tool for Policymakers and Practitioners
One of the key contributions of this work is the development of a replicable and scientifically robust assessment tool.
This approach can support:
- Local practitioners designing lake restoration programmes
- Policymakers preparing National Restoration Plans (NRPs) under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation
- Better evaluation of policy synergies and conflicts before implementation
Supporting Better Policy for Better Lakes
The findings demonstrate that stronger policy coherence is essential to unlock effective, scalable lake restoration.
By aligning policies across sectors and governance levels, decision-makers can better support:
- Nature-based and circular solutions
- Climate resilience
- Biodiversity recovery
FutureLakes will continue to build on this work, helping bridge the gap between policy frameworks and practical restoration outcomes.
You can find all our deliverables here: https://futurelakes.eu/knowledge-hub/deliverables