Join us for the launch of the PONDERFUL project: Pond ecosystems for resilient future landscapes in a changing climate. With the support of the Ramsar Secretariat. Special Guest Speaker: Lenore Fahrig, Carleton University
PONDERFUL will be of interest to everyone involved in water management and aquatic conservation in urban and rural landscapes, bringing new understanding of the practical role of a critical freshwater habitat: ponds.
There is a revolution occurring in the understanding of freshwater as the critical role of small waterbodies, such as ponds, is increasingly recognised. Ponds are one of the least understood, but most biodiverse, abundant and natural parts of the water environment. They occur on all continents, and from mountain tops to the seashore and it is increasingly clear that they are critical for protecting freshwater biodiversity. Yet, freshwater science has had a century long bias against work on these small waters.
PONDERFUL is an EU Horizon 2020 project, which will bring new information on the role of small waters for freshwater conservation and management, climate regulation, the delivery of ecosystem services and nature contribution to people.
About the event
The event will be opened by Dr. Tobias Salathé a Senior Advisor for Europe at the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance.
Leading international landscape ecologist and conservation scientist Prof. Lenore Fahrig will explain why small waters matter, and how they have been overlooked in international environmental policy up until now. Her inspirational work is relevant to all organisations involved in aquatic biodiversity conservation, urban planning and land management, but is especially important for those involved in water and wetland management.
World leading specialists in the ecology of ponds from the PONDERFUL project, including Prof. Sandra Brucet, Prof. Luc De Meester and Prof. Beat Oertli will introduce the work of this Horizon 2020 project which is providing critical information on these overlooked but ubiquitous freshwater habitats. The meeting will be chaired by Dr Jeremy Biggs who was the first president of the European Pond Conservation Network and is CEO of the Freshwater Habitats Trust in the UK.
The PONDERFUL launch will be a virtual event held as a Zoom webinar on 10th June 2021.
Who should attend?
If you are interested in cutting edge freshwater science, of high practical and policy relevance – join us to learn how small waters can help us protect freshwater biodiversity and manage water-based ecosystem services. Land managers in parks, reserves and forest, and those involve in mitigating climate impacts, and everyone concerned with protecting freshwater biodiversity, will all gain important insights from the presentations, and from the outputs of this project.
Programme
The event will be chaired by Dr. Jeremy Biggs, Freshwater Habitats Trust.
15:00 – 15:10 (CEST): Dr. Tobias Salathe, Ramsar – Welcome.
15:10 – 15:40 (CEST): Prof. Sandra Brucet, ICREA & University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) – Introducing the PONDERFUL project.
15:40 – 16:10 (CEST): Prof. Luc De Meester, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) – Effect of climate change on biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services and their interactions in ponds.
16:10 – 16:40 (CEST): Prof. Beat Oertli, The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland (HES-SO) – Nature-based solutions and management to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
16:40 – 17:25 (CEST). Prof. Lenore Fahrig, Carlton University – Why are small waterbodies important? Theory, practice, and the conservation of ponds.
17:30 (CEST). Finish.