Background The wider Segura River Basin, which is managed by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Segura, covers a surface area of approximately 18 870 km2. It is located in the south east of Spain and is defined as the area comprising all the rivers entering the Mediterranean between the mouths of the Gola del Segura and River Almanzora. Its territory is mostly part of the autonomous community of Murcia, but it also stretches into Andalucia - the provinces of Jaén, Granada and Almería; Castilla la Mancha – the province of Albacete; and Valencia – the province of Alicante. The area around the Segura River Basin has historically experienced significant climatic extremes and water imbalances, going from extended periods of drought, through torrential rains and frequent flooding. This spatial and seasonal variability has, for centuries, led to efforts to control the river in order to make use of it for human activity. For this reason, the Segura River Basin is one of the most regulated in Europe with numerous fluvial obstacles - mostly dams and weirs. This human intervention - and in particular the construction of reservoirs at its headwaters - has significantly altered the water flow regimes throughout the basin, creating severe problems of connectivity. It has also affected the natural cycles of floods and droughts, which characterise the hydrological regime of the Spanish southeast regions. This has led to severe and diverse environmental problems in the river and its surroundings. Objectives The LIFE SEGURA RIVERLINK project aims to promote and support the environmental recovery of the Segura River Basin. Specifically, it plans to demonstrate and validate three management measures for developing a green infrastructure approach to river basin management. The project will remove one weir, construct fish passages across eight others, and implement supporting fluvial restoration practices. These three river basin management measures will be implemented on selected sites over a 54km distance - including both protected and non-protected areas. The area covered will include rivers in urban areas, as a means of facilitating stakeholder engagement. The project hopes to demonstrate that the implementation of this green infrastructure approach – still uncommon in Mediterranean areas - will increase river permeability and longitudinal continuity, help the recovery of the natural ecosystem, restore biodiversity resilience and increase the mobility of species along the river. It also hopes to reverse landscape fragmentation by reviving the green corridor role of the river and the connectivity between protected areas. Monitoring activities will assess the performance of these measures with the hope of validating the green infrastructure approach to river basin management and its possible extension to the official River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) of the Segura River. The project will also develop a Land Custody Network to integrate private owners in the river management and in agreeing good practices, increasing the links between the river and neighbouring lands. The project hopes to pave the way for restoration of the longitudinal permeability along the whole river length – 325 km – over a 15 year period. As well as promoting the recovery of the ecological functions of the wider Segura River Basin, the project also hopes to make a broader contribution by demonstrating the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Expected results: Removal of a weir and adaptation of eight others to provide fish passages; Improvement of the longitudinal river permeability along 54 km; Increased migration of fish - and other aquatic life – along the river; Increased cooperation amongst relevant public and private stakeholders through a Land Custody Network; Improved conservation of riparian habitats, restored ecosystems and increased biodiversity in the river basin; Validation of the green infrastructure approach for inclusion in the Segura River Basin Management Plan; Progress towards achieving good ecological status for the river.