News

The Red List of freshwater fish and lampreys in Germany has been updated for the first time since 2009. It shows a clear negative trend over the last 14 years: 21 species have been classified threatened. This means that more than half of the native species are now considered threatened or already extinct. With 10 per cent of fish species extinct, Germany is well above the European average of 2.5 per cent.

How can the declining pike stocks in the Bodden be supported? IGB researchers have formulated clear recommendations for politics, authorities and the user groups.

This summer, the water shortage in Europe continues to preoccupy politicians and the public. Small standing water bodies such as natural or artificial ponds, kettle holes or park waters are particularly suffering from the lack of water. In order to raise awareness of this problem and to point out options for action for policymakers, authorities and the civil society, IGB has today published a new IGB Dossier on this important type of water body.

An international research team has analysed the state and development of biodiversity in European rivers. As the extensive study shows, development has stagnated after initial improvement; many river systems have not been able to regenerate completely.

Microplastics are found in lakes and reservoirs around the world. Pollution reaches even the most secluded places where human influence is minimal. Moreover, concentrations of microplastics in freshwaters are sometimes higher than in subtropical gyres, the marine areas where large amounts of waste accumulate. These are the findings of an international study of 38 lakes and reservoirs led by the University of Milan-Bicocca in Italy, with the participation of IGB, and published in the journal Nature.

The IGB has commented on the draft National Biodiversity Strategy 2030 from a research perspective and is also making the analysis public here.

Today, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke visited the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin to learn about the first interim results of the special investigation programme on the environmental disaster in the Oder River (“ODER~SO”), which has been funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) since February 2023. Fish stocks in the Oder River have declined by 53 to 67 per cent as a result of last summer’s environmental disaster, especially midstream.

On 2 March 2023, an international team of researchers raised concerns about the impact of Russia's war of aggression on Ukraine's freshwater resources, water infrastructure and environment. Now, with the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam on 6 June 2023, the worst feared scenario has become a reality. In a joint statement, Dr Oleksandra Shumilova of IGB and Professor Klement Tockner, Director of the Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (SGN), stress the serious consequences of this ecological disaster.