BIOFRESH

"Biodiversity of Freshwater Ecosystems: Status, Trends, Pressures, and Conservation Priorities"

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Scientists and water managers have collected a vast amount of data on freshwater organisms, and yet it is rarely possible to describe the geographic range of an organism. Why is this? It is because the data are dispersed in many locally-managed databases, many of which are not publically available. The bits of the puzzle are scattered, and it is difficult even to find them. What story might they tell if they were combined and easily accessible to scientists, policy makers and planners? Such an integrated and accessible dataset could be used not only to help to protect and take better advantage of the services provided by aquatic ecosystems, but also to make it possible to establish effective regional plans for conservation. BioFresh, a major new FP7 project, will design and provide a single point of access to the extensive information on freshwater organisms that is currently stored in the databases. The BioFresh information portal for freshwater biodiversity will allow scientists and planners to complement, integrate, and analyse quantitative data to discover, evaluate and examine patterns that will shed new light on how freshwater biodiversity responds to global, European, and local environmental pressures. The spatially-explicit data will help to reveal the status and trends of freshwater biodiversity, and the services that it provides. Scientists in the BioFresh consortium will take advantage of the information in the databases that the project links, by using the data to examine how various stressors interact to impact freshwater biodiversity. This work will help to shed light on how future climate and socioeconomic pressures will give rise to global, continental and local responses in freshwater biodiversity. Until now, it has not always been easy to incorporate understanding of freshwater biodiversity explicitly into environmental agreements (EU WFD, for example) or in related policy instruments (for example the Habitats Directive). BioFresh aims to change that, by providing both the access to valuable data and an appropriate and coherent scientific foundation. The products and findings of the project will be used on the one hand to make people more aware of the importance and beauty of freshwater biodiversity, and on the other to help policy makers take decisions based on the best available evidence.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Freshwaters are among the world's most diverse ecosystems, but their species richness is being lost even faster than in seas or on land. Addressing this threat, an EU-funded project developed a knowledge platform that will help set priorities for current and future conservation planning.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The 'Biodiversity of freshwater ecosystems: Status, trends, pressures, and conservation priorities' (http://www.freshwaterbiodiversity.eu (BIOFRESH)) initiative was the first major international project that focused explicitly on freshwater biodiversity. A key product of the project was the Freshwater Biodiversity Data Portal, which is the primary source of open access biodiversity data, computer models and analytical tools. By extracting data from the portal, scientists and planners can study how the freshwater fauna and flora will respond to global, European and local environmental pressures.

A second major project outcome was the online Global Freshwater Biodiversity Atlas, which includes over 100 thematic maps, mainly at the global scale. The Atlas provides policymakers, water managers and scientists with an online, open access and interactive gateway to key geographical information and spatial data on freshwater biodiversity across different scales. The Atlas is a resource for better, evidence-based decision making in the area of water policy, science and management.

BIOFRESH members also identified the freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), designed as an optimal network to address gaps in site protection and conservation. In addition, the team developed an Information Area with a vast collection of resources to support research policy and education and to inform the public.

The BIOFRESH information platform is an important and dynamic resource for those interested in freshwater biodiversity. The work will contribute to our understanding of how future climate and socioeconomic pressures will influence global, European and local responses in the freshwater environment.

Products and findings from the project will be used to make people more aware of the importance and beauty of the life forms inhabiting our rivers, ponds and lakes. Furthermore, they provide a valuable resource for policymakers, helping them to take decisions based on the best available evidence.

Work conducted by the BIOFRESH project will also support the incorporation of freshwater biodiversity into environmental agreements and policy instruments. These include the EU's Habitats Directive, the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and the Water Framework Directive (WFD).