News

Conserving and restoring surface waters and their floodplains takes time and resources. But how can we assess whether a measure is worthwhile? Researchers at IGB recommend that ecosystem services should also be included when evaluating the success of measures in and along water bodies.

The German Water Science Alliance appreciates the draft National Water Strategy of the Federal Ministry for the Environment. Today it has published a position paper addressing the challenges in research and implementation.

Rita Adrian has been working as a climate impact expert at IGB for 28 years. Now she is going into retirement – well, almost. In an interview, she explains how she became a limnologist, and why she believes it is right to have a quota for women in science.

In Germany, the protection of fish is supported by general pro-ecological values and norms. In France, Sweden and Norway, on the other hand, native fish species have great influence on individual conservation-oriented behaviour.

The award has been conferred on us by the European Commission once again in recognition of our HR development strategy. The institute is assessed according to the EU’s HRS4R standard every three years: Have we made progress in improving the working and research environment for our staff as planned?

Global warming is increasing the surface temperatures of lakes worldwide – are species finding the temperatures they need to survive? Researchers led by IGB have quantified the long-term temperature changes in 139 lakes worldwide. 

Oxygen levels in freshwater lakes are declining rapidly – faster than in the oceans. Over the past forty years, for example, oxygen levels in the deep waters of temperate lakes have dropped by nearly 19 percent. 

Around half of the hydropower plants in Romania are located in nature conservation areas. These are mostly small plants that contribute only 3 percent of Romania's electricity generation, but threaten biodiversity.