POND Ecosystems for Resilient FUture Landscapes in a changing climate

Funding programme: 
H2020
Project ID: 
PR-H2020-59
Acronym: 
PONDERFUL
Description: 

Ponds and “pondscapes” (networks of ponds) are crucial for biodiversity conservation and their multiple societally beneficial ecosystem services (ES) provide the means to play a crucial role in mitigating and adapting to climate change. However, ponds are largely neglected in water- and nature-related policies and there is insufficient knowledge on how to manage and restore ponds to maximize their role as nature-based solutions (NbS) to increase resilience of ecosystems and society to climate change (CC). The overarching aim of PONDERFUL is to facilitate improved implementation of ponds NbS for CC mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity conservation and delivery of ES through generating and integrating biodiversity, ecosystems, social, economic and policy knowledge and providing evidence-based guidance and tools for pond NbS implementation. To achieve this, PONDERFUL will: 1) evaluate the interactions and feedbacks between biodiversity, ES and climate in pondscapes at multiple spatial scales; 2) together with stakeholders, develop future scenarios for pondscapes in EU and CELAC in the context of CC, land use change, and changed policies; 3) develop and test the implementation of effective multifunctional NbS in close collaboration with the stakeholders using DEMOnstration sites in EU and CELAC countries; 4) develop a sustainable finance and investment guide for NbS, in collaboration with local stakeholders; 5) assess the potential for large-scale implementation of the proposed NbS in relation to existing barriers, enabling factors, financing and as economic viability, as well as social perceptions of benefits from pond NbS. Ultimately, the stakeholder-oriented approach adopted by PONDERFUL will ensure that the scientific knowledge produced on the benefits of using pondscapes as ecosystems delivering multiple ES is explicitly considered in decision making from local management to EU policies.

Lead entity: 
FUNDACIO UNIVERSITARIA BALMES
Lead Country: 
Spain
Partners: 
FRESHWATER HABITATS TRUST;AARHUS UNIVERSITET;AMPHI INTERNATIONAL APS;UNIVERSITAT DE GIRONA;FORSCHUNGSVERBUND BERLIN EV;RANDBEE CONSULTANTS SL;TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN;UPPSALA UNIVERSITET;UNIVERSIDAD DE LA REPUBLICA;CENTRO INTERDISCIPLINAR DE INVESTIGACAO MARINHA E AMBIENTAL;HAUTE ECOLE SPECIALISEE DE SUISSE OCCIDENTALE;UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON;KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN;BANGOR UNIVERSITY;ECOLOGIC INSTITUT gemeinnützige GmbH;INSTITUT SUPERIEUR D'AGRICULTURE RHONE ALPES I.S.A.R.A;MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Partners countries: 
United Kingdom, Denmark, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Uruguay, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Turkey
Start/end date: 
Tuesday, 1 December 2020 to Saturday, 30 November 2024
Time frame: 
2020 - 2024
NBS type: 
Type 3
Societal challenges: 
Water management
Approach: 
Ecosystem-based mitigation
Environment: 
Cropland
Grassland