More about Grip on Life’s work
With the Swedish Forest Agency as project owner, public authorities, forest owner associations and interest organisations have worked together towards the shared goal of improving conditions for plants and animals living in valuable streams and wetlands in Sweden’s forest landscape — while ensuring that the country’s natural resources can continue to be used sustainably.
Grip on Life has been carried out as a capacity-building project. In summary, the work has focused on developing new and improved methods and approaches, strengthening collaboration between different stakeholders, and gathering and sharing knowledge.
Key target groups have included private forest owners, forestry professionals and government officials working with forest and water-related issues. Children and young people have also been an important audience.
All knowledge and materials produced within the project are freely available and can be used and further developed in other environments and areas that are also in need of improvement.
Grip on Life IP ran from 2018 to 2025. The project focused on selected watercourses and their catchment areas, many of which are located in or adjacent to Natura 2000 sites. The long-term goal was to improve the environment in all types of Natura 2000 habitats.
Partners
Swedish Forest Agency, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management, the County Administrative Boards of Västerbotten, Jämtland, Västmanland, Jönköping, Kalmar, Blekinge, and Halland, Våtmarksfonden, Ume/Vindelälven Fisheries Council, Bottenhavets Water District / County Administrative Board of Västernorrland, and the forest owner associations Norra Skog, Mellanskog, and Södra.
Geographical scope
The counties of Västerbotten, Jämtland, Västmanland, Jönköping, Kalmar, Blekinge, and Halland.
Catchment areas
Umeälven, Öreälven, Lögdeälven, Indalsälven, Ljungan, Norrström, Motala Ström, Emån, Virån, Alsterån, Mörrumsån, Bräkneån, Lyckebyån, Nätrabyån, Mieån, Sillestorpsån, Viskan, Ätran, Nissan, Lagan, Suseån, Fylleån, Genevadsån, and Stensån.
Budget
Approximately €16.6 million, with 60% financed by the EU LIFE programme. Other major funders included the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, and the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management,.
The name Grip on Life IP
Grip stands for "Using functional water and wetland ecosystems and their services as a model for improving green infrastructure and implementing PAF in Sweden".
PAF, the Prioritized Action Framework for Natura 2000, was the project’s guiding document. It defines priority measures for achieving a favourable conservation status in Natura 2000 sites.
Natura 2000 is a network of protected areas across the EU, selected for their habitats or species of particular European conservation importance. Sweden has around 4,000 Natura 2000 sites.
Sweden's Prioritized Action Framework for Natura 2000 (naturvardsverket.se)
The EU LIFE programme funds projects that work to conserve and improve nature, the environment, and climate. IP stands for Integrated Project, which means working to implement environmental and climate plans on a larger scale, for example regionally or nationally.
More about the EU LIFE programme (europa.eu)
Other projects working toward the same goal
Even though Grip on Life was a large project, it could not achieve all the goals in the Prioritized Action Framework for Natura 2000 on its own. Therefore, a register was created of other projects also working to improve the environment in different types of Natura 2000 habitats. These are called complementary projects. By the time Grip on Life concluded, there were more than 730 projects listed, with a total budget of over €300 million.
In Grip on Life, we worked to conserve sensitive and valuable nature in and around Natura 2000 sites, focusing on streams and wetlands in forest landscapes. The goal was to improve the environment and living conditions for the species that inhabit these areas.
The project was guided by Sweden’s Prioritized Action Framework for Natura 2000 (PAF), which identifies priority measures to help Natura 2000 sites achieve a favourable conservation status.
Sweden's Prioritized Action Framework for Natura 2000 (naturvardsverket.se)
A key part of the work was collaboration with stakeholders in forestry, nature conservation, and water management. Together, we shared knowledge and experience and carried out joint efforts to manage and develop the sites. We also developed recommendations for landowners and other actors on how to manage and improve Natura 2000 sites, as well as a model for regularly updating conservation plans. The aim was to provide an accurate picture of each area and suggest appropriate management actions — ultimately creating more habitats with favourable conservation status.
Grip on Life was only the beginning of implementing the Prioritized Action Framework for Natura 2000. Complementary projects — which also work to implement PAF in other regions or for different habitat types — continue the work. In this way, we have created "ripples on the water" for long-term sustainable conservation.
Within Grip on Life, we gathered knowledge and built capacity to strengthen work on measures in forest streams and wetlands. The project also contributed to a more sustainable use of natural resources in Natura 2000 areas.
Across the country, there was already extensive experience and well-established methods for planning, restoration, and monitoring. We built on this knowledge, documented practical approaches, and shared them more widely — while also developing new methods and creating demonstration areas to show how measures can be implemented in practice. This included following up on measures from previous LIFE projects, producing manuals and films on stream restoration, developing monitoring methods using drone photography and image analysis, and disseminating decision-support tools for prioritising measures in watercourses.
We also worked to strengthen local engagement around particularly valuable watercourses, for example by giving landowners the opportunity to identify natural values themselves and propose appropriate measures. In addition, we developed voluntary agreements with larger forest owners to increase environmental consideration and carry out targeted actions to improve the status of aquatic environments.
Within the project, we mapped ecosystem services in the Emån catchment area, focusing on the importance of wetlands for water balance, water purification, and as spawning habitats for fish. We also evaluated restored wetlands by examining how emissions and uptake of carbon dioxide and methane in peatlands are affected by the measures implemented.
Through demonstration areas, we showed how forestry can be conducted with minimal impact on water environments. We carried out training courses and stream walks for students, teachers, and professionals to strengthen knowledge about ecological values and good environmental consideration near water. As part of this work, an information centre on the freshwater pearl mussel was also established to support the education of future forestry contractors and increase knowledge about the species and its habitats.
Just as water moves through the landscape, we created connections between actors working in and around biologically valuable aquatic environments — from individual contractors and private landowners to interest groups, organisations, and public authorities — in order to strengthen collaboration.
The goal was to ensure that restoration work and environmental consideration in watercourses within the Natura 2000 network would run smoothly from idea to financing, implementation, and follow-up. We updated the existing restoration handbook for streams and wetlands, previously available only in print, and transformed it into a digital reference guide to facilitate the planning and implementation of nature conservation and habitat restoration measures.
We also improved cooperation between authorities responsible for processing permit applications within Natura 2000 areas, with the aim of making case handling more consistent and efficient.
Measures in biologically sensitive areas often require tailored solutions, such as manual work to protect soil and water. Efforts like restoring stream channels, creating spawning habitats for fish, or removing migration barriers frequently depend on such adaptations. To facilitate access to financial support, we created two databases: a funding database compiling available grants and funding sources, and a project database enabling small projects to collaborate, benefit from one another, and grow into larger initiatives. In this way, similar projects can build on each other’s experiences, create added value through cooperation, and avoid duplicating work in different locations.
Carrying out the right measure in the right place was essential for creating more effective environmental work. We needed to develop methods that provide long-term, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions — well anchored among those who live and work in the landscape. Achieving this required increased knowledge, better information sharing, stronger collaboration, and more efficient ways of working. Putting new knowledge into practice was therefore one of the four themes of Grip on Life.
For streams and wetlands, several different plans often exist for the same area, focusing on conservation and management. To enable a more coordinated approach, we initiated efforts to integrate these plans into joint, comprehensive solutions. The aim was to simplify conservation work and strengthen cooperation between public authorities. The work resulted in models and practical approaches for coordinating plans for streams and wetlands, as well as decision-support tools to help prioritise which measures should be implemented and where.
We also tested different methods for wetland restoration and monitored the effects of implemented measures. By evaluating which methods worked best and how follow-up should be designed, we gained valuable knowledge for future efforts. This also provided a stronger basis for describing how restoration measures affect the ecosystem services delivered by restored wetlands.
To achieve long-term and sustainable solutions, we explored different forms of collaboration — both with relevant stakeholders and between authorities. This led to joint action plans clarifying how, when, and where measures should be implemented, as well as methods to facilitate continued cooperation.
We also informed landowners about alternative forestry methods and about available funding sources for nature conservation measures. Through dialogue and guidance, we aimed to make it easier to find the right funding for the right action — thereby helping to ensure that available resources are used in ways that generate the greatest possible benefit for biodiversity.