Advancing freshwater restoration

My Focus and Approach

Lessons Learnt - Some recommendations for others?

1. 1. What’s most important:
      

      To have support from different levels: environmental NGOs, fishing associations, student groups, environmental agencies, activists, locals, scientists.

   2. Do this, not that:
      

      Do not use a top-down approach, try to employ all mentioned levels to create a synchronized movement. 

   3. Always start by:
      

      Just speaking to people and finding common ground, everyone loves nature but in a very different way. By finding common ground you create connections and will allow you to be heard better. 

   4. 5 simple steps to:
      
      1. Keeping your mind open, participating in debates, going through cases in other countries helps to find solutions to most problems. 
         
         
   5. The biggest barrier and what I am trying to do about it:
      A fraction of politicians that oppose dam removal is becoming smaller, this was done by everyone acting their part for many years. For me it was easier to overcome it and stand up to the opposition because of the previous work that has been done by many interested parties for over 10 years.

My Journey

• My Journey:

  After finishing Masters degree in Swedish Agricultural University, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, I worked as a field biologist in Västerbotten County with freshwater systems. And even though my main focus in the University was forest ecology, I found myself fascinated by the freshwater. Later I came back to my country Lithuania and was looking for a topic that would interest me. A series of events led me to the Ministry of Environment that struggled to get dam removal implemented. 

• My Education:
  
  • Bachelor in Zoology in University of Aberdeen
  • Masters of Management of wildlife populations and fish in Swedish Agricultural University.
• The Big Change:

  Key national policy changes regarding dam removal, most noteworthy a change in Water act that states that obsolete dams have to be removed.

• Favourite part of the work I do:

  Seeing the shift in politics and society on dam removal topic in the last 4 years.