Rewilding the Mediterranean: Life Primed’s Mission to Restore River Habitats
Based in Italy and Greece, a new group is rising up to restore our waterways, and rescue our habitats.
The Mediterranean Basin, a biodiversity hotspot, is home to some of our most unique and fragile ecosystems. After centuries of being used by us, for agriculture, urbanisation, and water management, rivers and wetlands throughout the region no longer teem with life. We have left our mark, and it's fast eroding this vital landscape. Enter Life Primed , a rewilding group dedicated to restoring these vital habitats and rewilding the Mediterranean landscape.
Life Primed (Preventing and Restoring the Impacts of MEDiterranean Hydromorphological Degradation) is a collaborative project funded by the European Union’s LIFE Programme. They are working to halt the degradation of river ecosystems in the Mediterranean, focusing on rebuilding the natural flow of water through numerous wild habitats. By restoring these ecosystems, they aim to enhance biodiversity, improve water quality, and build resilience against climate change.
Mediterranean rivers face unique challenges. Shifting water flows through the year and intensive water extraction for agriculture and urban use have left many rivers drained and degraded. Droughts caused by climate change and exacerbated by man-made dams, weirs, and canals disrupt natural flows. New invasive species further threaten the natural biodiversity.
These changes have cascading effects on native aquatic species, many of which are found nowhere else on earth.
Life Primed focuses on restoring the natural ecosystem of rivers critical for the survival of species like the Mediterranean barbel, the European eel, and the endangered freshwater pearl mussel. Their approach is two-pronged. Initially using human intervention by taking advantage of drainage trenches, underground tanks and gravity-powered water distribution networks they reconnect river channels, remove barriers, and restore natural flow dynamics. After that, with river life flowing again, what was once a dying ecosystem can now sustain itself.
Life Primed’s approach is innovative and practical, combining on-the-ground restoration with cutting-edge monitoring and community engagement. The project actively removes or modifies dams and weirs - major obstacles to fish migration and sediment transport. Rivers can then flow freely, reconnecting fragmented habitats and improving the underwater soil essential for healthy riverbeds and floodplains.
In collaboration with governments, Life Primed promotes rebuilding our environmentally conscious water flows - ensuring that rivers retain enough water to support ecosystems, even during dry periods. This is particularly important in the Mediterranean, where water scarcity is a growing concern. The initiative is also restoring vegetation, wetlands, and other critical habitats that have been lost or degraded, while tackling invasive species through targeted removal programs involving both humans and herbivores.
Rewilding isn’t just about restoring nature; it’s also about reconnecting people with their environment. Life Primed engages local communities, farmers, and policymakers in their work, trying to restore our sense of stewardship and promote sustainable water habitats and usages.
Endangered Water Voles Reintroduced at LettsSafari Parks
The reintroduction of water voles in Britain has become a critical part of the country's rewilding efforts, aiming to restore ecosystems that have been significantly damaged over time. Water voles, often referred to as "Ratty" from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, were once widespread across Britain.
While Life Primed focuses on the Mediterranean, similar rewilding efforts are taking place elsewhere, such as the Project to Reintroduce Beavers in the River Otter, led by the Devon Wildlife Trust. Here, the project reintroduced beavers to the River Otter after a 400-year absence, aiming to restore natural processes and improve the health of the river's ecosystem.
Initially a controversial release scheme by certain wildlife activists, the unofficial release worked and the research that ensued, supported by Devon Wildlife Trust, has created a national, regulated beaver release programme and led to the Lower Otter Restoration project, just completed, which has created 6 km of creeks and a managed embankment breach to allow the river to naturally flood and drain, with 55 hectares of inter-tidal habitats. This is a vital flagship project for a region that has experienced considerable rising sea levels. And a nod to unconventional approaches to getting things 'nature' done!
Both initiatives share a common goal: to restore river ecosystems by addressing human-induced decline. However, their methods differ. Life Primed primarily focuses on removing physical barriers and restoring natural flow regimes, while the River Otter Beaver Trial leverages the natural engineering abilities of beavers to create wetlands, slow water flow, and enhance biodiversity. Beavers, as ecosystem engineers, naturally reshape their environment by building dams and creating ponds, which benefit a wide range of species and improve water quality.
Despite these differences, the two projects highlight the importance of nature-based solutions in rewilding. Life Primed’s technical interventions and the River Otter Beaver Trial’s reliance on a single essential species both demonstrate how restoring natural processes can lead to healthier, more resilient ecosystems.
At LettsSafari, we’ve seen first hand the transformative power of rewilding waterways. Our projects, like those at Exeter's Capability Brown gardens, focused on creating biodiverse habitats by allowing nature to take the lead. By restoring ponds and streams, which then led to the creation of new bog and wetland habitats, we’ve witnessed how even smaller-scale interventions can have a profound impact on local wildlife.
The Importance of Water
Large scale rewilders have for the last 30 years highlighted the importance of three major habitats for the creation of an effective biodiverse wilderness - including forest, wild grassland and open scrub. At LettsSafari, having focused on smaller-scale rewilding, we have long argued the importance of a fourth - ‘waterways’.
Waterways have become thriving ecosystems, supporting everything from amphibians and insects to birds and mammals - providing stunning living streams, ponds, bog gardens, and open wetlands that flow with wild water plants and a growing variety of aquatic and other wildlife through the year.
LettsSafari's parks and gardens have become a haven for biodiversity, with restored water features attracting species previously long gone from Devon. It’s a reminder that rewilding doesn’t always require grand gestures - sometimes, it’s about giving nature the space and tools it needs to heal itself.
Life Primed’s work is also yielding positive results. In several pilot sites across the Mediterranean, the removal of barriers has led to the return of migratory fish species, while restored wetlands are once again teeming with life. These successes demonstrate the potential for smaller-scale rewilding in the region and provide a blueprint for future restoration projects.
As the Mediterranean faces increasing pressures from climate change and human activity, their work serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of rewilding. Through collaboration, innovation, and a deep respect for nature, we can restore our river habitats and ensure that they continue to support life for generations to come.
Life Primed is more than just a restoration project; it’s a vision for a rewilded Mediterranean, where rivers flow freely, biodiversity thrives, and communities live with wild, natural spaces. By addressing the root causes of our declining water ecosystems, we can lay the groundwork for a more sustainable and resilient future where human, animal and water species live harmoniously. After all, where there's a will, there's a way.
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