Background Most European floodplains are crossed by a dense network of channels, created to protect areas from flooding and to enable the land to be used, typically for agriculture. Managed by land reclamation authorities, the channels facilitate the drainage of rainwater off the floodplain. They can also be used to store water during the summer months for irrigation purposes. However, it is increasingly understood that these artificial works are one of the main causes of flood-related problems, including incidents of catastrophic damage. By altering a natural hydrographical network, such a system of artificial channels can impair the ability of a floodplain to cope with high water levels and periods of heavy rainfall. Application of two important European directives – the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) and Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) – needs to take into account these artificial networks of channels. Specific restoration methodologies and approaches are needed. Objectives The LIFE RINASCE project aims to reduce the risk of flooding and achieve good ecological status of the waters in the Po floodplain through ecological restoration of the channel network and vegetation management. It hopes to demonstrate the feasibility and environmental and socio-economic benefits of such measures on a large floodplain area. The project plans to develop an integrated restoration programme for floodplain channels using river restoration methods and protocols for sustainable management of aquatic and riparian vegetation. Planned interventions will aim to restore hydraulic functions of the floodplain, reduce the risk of flooding and improve the ecology. The project will implement ecological restoration interventions on four different channels in the River Po floodplain. Interventions will include: The natural enlargement of a section of channel through excavation of a bank between two channels which run side-by-side – to improve drainage; Enlargement of the natural channel for plumbing and water treatment plants – to improve drainage; Lowering the floodplain and creating an arboreal strip of plants and shrubs – to improve the ecological value in compatibility with hydraulic functions; and Creating a wetland – to mitigate flood risks through water retention and to purify the water retained. The project team will conduct physico-chemical, ecological, geo-morphological and hydraulic monitoring of the channel-restoration and vegetation-management interventions to demonstrate their effectiveness. It will also map the wider drainage area managed by the land reclamation authority to prepare future extension of the project’s channel restorations and create operational guidelines for funding programmes. Expected results: Restoration of a seven kilometre stretch of canals through the creation and/or the lowering of three hectares of floodplain areas and vegetation; Creation of a two hectare wetland; Sustainable management of vegetation along one kilometre of channels; Integrated ecological, hydraulic and economic evaluations of the interventions; Improved ecological status of the channels and reduced flood events; Demonstration of the potential feasibility and benefits of the ecological restoration measures on a larger scale; Mapping of the wider drainage channel network; and Operational guidelines for specific funding programmes.