Western Europe

On RiversNetwork.org, wetlands are shown as vital for river health—supporting biodiversity, regulating water flow, filtering pollutants, storing carbon, and protecting against floods—while also providing cultural and economic benefits within their watershed context.

Beaver engineering plays a central role in how rivers and  wetlands are depicted: beavers are presented as nature’s built-in landscape architects, whose dams create and expand wetland systems. Through their dam-building and tree-coppicing behaviors, they slow water flows, elevate groundwater, trap sediment, and foster habitat diversity—all of which enhance water quality, support a wide array of flora and fauna, and stabilize riverine landscapes over time.