This technical handbook provides practical advice on the protection, management, restoration and creation of ponds and pondscapes to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. It was created by the EU Horizon 2020 funded project PONDERFUL, which ran from December 2020 to 2024.

These four policy briefing notes, created by the EU Horizon 2020 funded PONDERFUL project, which ran from December 2020 to 2024, summarise some of the project’s key findings about ponds and pondscapes for policy makers. They summarise information included in the PONDERFUL policy guidance document (‘Using ponds and pondscapes as nature-based solutions: Guidance for policy makers on the use of ponds and pondscapes as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation’). The topics are: 1. Freshwater biodiversity. 2. Using ponds and pondscapes as nature-based solutions. 3. Role of ponds in climate change mitigation and adaptation. 4. New business opportunities.

To understand how EU-level policies and local/national policies in the DEMO-sites (can) support or hinder the implementation of multi-functional pond and pondscape NBS, we conducted our analysis in two steps. Specifically, we first assessed the EU and subsequently the DEMO site policy context (local/national). The DEMO-sites are located in the following countries: Spain (2 DEMO-sites), Belgium, UK (2 DEMOsites), Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Turkey and Uruguay. Our analysis shows that both EU and local/national policies contain barriers and enabling factors, which amount to opportunities and limitations for implementing ponds and pondscapes as NBS. For the EU analysis we first show cross-cutting findings. Thereafter, we present findings by NBS benefits intended by the policies. These findings apply, to some degree, to all types of land use and NBS types. Subsequently, we show findings specific to pond and pondscape NBS located in coastal, urban, and rural areas. Lastly, we capture findings for the different types of NBS (creation, restoration, and management of ponds and pondscapes). Tables 4, 5, and 6 summarise the findings. For the local/national level analysis we present the findings according to the main categories of barriers and enabling factors that guide the analysis.

This guide, created by the EU Horizon 2020 funded PONDERFUL project, which ran from December 2020 to 2024, provides policy makers with the tools to design effective plans for ponds and pondscapes. The document should be read in conjunction with the PONDERFUL 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’).

The integrated Pan-European pond database has been compiled from multiple published and unpublished datasets that have been collected by several research teams over the period of the last 25 years. The database includes information on zooplankton community composition (Cladocera, Copepoda, Rotifera, Ostracoda and Anostraca), and local environmental pond conditions (number of variables > 60) from a total of 1346 ponds located in 10 European countries. Additional information, including data on surrounding land use, is available for the majority of ponds, but assessments are less standardized across datasets. A subset of ponds (n=365) has data from repeated sampling events (within and/or across years).

In the framework of the project PONDERFUL, a synthetic “leaflet” has been developed for each of the pondscapes making part of DEMO-sites implemented across Europe, Turkey and Uruguay. The main objective of the leaflets is to present a selection of science-based success stories in the implementation of pondscapes as Nature-based Solutions (NbS) for addressing societal challenges (such as climate change and biodiversity loss), and to promote the transferability of these practices elsewhere. The success stories are evidenced in this leaflet by the measurement of indicators of the Nature Contribution to People, and by a cost-benefit analysis. The leaflets were written and designed to interest and inspire professionals in land use planning and management of natural areas, people active in NGOs, and also for a wider and more varied public. The information provided in the leaflet is intentionally simplified to avoid excessive jargon and scientific complexity and to remain accessible and understandable to a broad audience. This appendix explains the vocabulary and gives some guidance on the different headings.

The database contains results from questionnaires related to Ponderful collected from the stakeholders.

The environmental issue of concern in the LAGOONS project is the anthropogenic deterioration and climate change impacts (especially the effects of extreme weather event) on surface water and lagoons ecosystems. One of the Case Studies of this project is the lagoon Ria de Aveiro. The main objective of the LAGOONS project is to contribute to a science-based seamless strategy – in an integrated and coordinated fashion – of the management of lagoons seen under the land-sea and science-policy-stakeholder interface; i.e., the project seeks to underpin the integration of the EU Water Framework Directive, Habitat Directive, the EU’s ICZM Recommendation, and the EU Marine Strategy Directive.

We depend on healthy and resilient ecosystems to continue to deliver services, such as food, water, clean air and stable climate, which are essential for our well-being. This report provides an overview about the current condition of ecosystems in Europe and the human pressures they are exposed to. A ecosystem map for Europe reveals that many ecosystems are highly concentrated in a small number of countries, which could increase their vulnerability to environmental change, and a substantial proportion of the most vulnerable ecosystems are not protected within Natura 2000 sites, Marine Protected Areas or equivalent zones.

Harnessing advances in ‘Big Data’ biodiversity informatics and e-research infrastructure to enable a deeper understanding of biodiversity evolution and dynamics in a rapidly changing world.

The dataset combines the Corine based MAES ecosystem classes with the non-spatial EUNIS habitat classification for a better biological characterization of ecosystems across Europe. As such it represents probabilities of EUNIS habitat presence for each MAES ecosystem type.

Guiding reference: addressing the diversity of real-world management situations that exist across the broad spectrum of coupled human-natural systems. Introducing ARIES.

The EFI+ database was constructed within the EU-project "Improvement and Spatial extension of the European Fish Index (EFI+)". It has been designed to gain new knowledge and to further develop and improve new biological assessment methods to meet the needs of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The database covers 15 European countries and contains 14 221 sites. More information on this dataset can be found in the Freshwater Metadatabase - BF15 (www.freshwatermetadata.eu/metadb/bf_mdb_view.php?entryID=BF15).

The dataset was collacted as part of the National Pond Monitoring Network project which aims to bring together pond data to a single source and promote standardised pond surveys to support the new UK HAP for ponds. All surveys use the standard pond definition: 'a body of standing water between 1 m2 and 2 ha in area which usually holds water for at least four months of the year' (Pond Conservation Group 1993). A variety of taxon groups are included, though most records are of wetland plants and invertebrates. More information on this dataset can be found in the Freshwater Metadatabase - BF_GBIF_16 (http://www.freshwatermetadata.eu/metadb/bf_mdb_view.php?entryID=BF_GBIF_16).

database contains chemical, biological data (plants, zooplankton, invertebrates, fishes) and surface sediment fossil data (diatoms, chironomids, zooplankton) for 39 shallow lakes (29 Norfolk, UK and 10 in Denmark) More information on this dataset can be found in the Freshwater Metadatabase - BF53 (http://www.freshwatermetadata.eu/metadb/bf_mdb_view.php?entryID=BF53).

The work contains an overview on the results of the national wetland inventory project carried out in Romania in 1997 – 2000 period. Using a standard file for wetland characterization there were gathered recent and historical data on the ecological, legal, administrative etc. status of several dozens of sites. The available information was analyzed in order to select those wetlands from Romania that are eligible for inclusion into the "List of Wetlands of International Importance". Based on the results of the analyses there have been selected 30 wetlands of prior conservative interest, out of which12 could fulfill the criteria for Wetlands of International Importance.

Picture of Hagilar river – section nearby Denistepe Hill (Tulcea county, Romania).

Database consists of phytoplankton monitoring data from Poland. More information on this dataset can be found in the Freshwater Metadatabase - BF_W_48-L-C (http://www.freshwatermetadata.eu/metadb/bf_mdb_view.php?entryID=BF_W_48-L-C).

Guiding reference: giving criteria to define spatial scales and some guidance on aggregating and integrating information (components, indicators) to assess the environmental status of marine ecosystems .

Guiding reference: community metrics in limed lakes to assess the efficiency of restoration and management outcomes contributing to resilience in ecosystems.