Despite their critical importance for biodiversity and significant potential as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation, ponds and pondscapes have traditionally been undervalued and overlooked.
The Horizon2020 PONDERFUL project brought together an international consortium to investigate the potential of these small habitats as nature-based solutions. This new knowledge, along with existing expertise from the PONDERFUL partners, has been brought together into a new technical handbook.
Ponds and Pondscapes: A technical guide to the use of ponds and pondscapes as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation was designed to give land owners, land managers, and anyone involved with ponds and pondscapes the tools to restore, manage and create these habitats to achieve maximum benefits for biodiversity and people.
Because it is translated into 12 languages and includes case studies from across Europe and South America, the technical handbook can be used by an international audience.
It has the potential to increase the number of high quality ponds and pondscapes across the world, which could significantly increase freshwater biodiversity. It could also help us harness the potential of these habitats as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation, contributing towards the quality of life at an international scale and for many generations.
- Developing climate change adaptation; improving risk management and resilience
- Flood peak reduction
- Increase infiltration / Water storage
- Reduce drought risk
- Reduce flood risk
- Reduce risk of damages from drought
- Reduce run-off
- Developing climate change mitigation
- Carbon sequestration and storage
- Restoring ecosystems and their functions
- Improve connectivity and functionality of green and blue infrastructures
- Increase achievements of biodiversity targets
- Increase Biodiversity
- Increase quality and quantity of green and blue infrastructures
- Increased cultural richness and biodiversity
- Enhancing sustainable urbanisation
- Improve water quality
- Increase awareness of NBS solution & their effectiveness and co benefits
- Increase communities’ sense of ownership
- Increase stakeholder awareness & knowledge about NBS
- Increase well-being
- Increase willingness to invest in NBS