News

Ensuring clean water supply for all people and conserving life below water are among the global SDGs. However, almost all of the Earth's waters are impacted, if not clearly altered, by human use. That is why many initiatives are currently being taken to restore peatlands, flowing waters and their floodplains, lakes and other stagnant waters. Researchers at IGB are exploring how best to go about this.

Imagine being able to access a virtual platform that not only provides access to data from a wide range of aquatic disciplines but also enables smooth processing and analysis of the data. This vision could soon become a reality through the EU project AquaINFRA, where IGB is an important contributor.

Routine fishing on 29 November this year was the first large inventory conducted in the middle of the Oder since the man-made environmental disaster that occurred in summer. The result: much fewer fish were caught in total, and species such as the blue bream and the asp, which are important to this ecosystem, were lacking completely. Moreover, water analysis conducted by the researchers shows that the salt concentration is still far too high. There could be a repeat of the disaster when temperatures increase, endangering remaining stocks.

IGB has provided feedback on the government draft of the National Water Strategy, emphasising, among other things, the relevance of aquatic biodiversity and the large practical implementation deficit in water management.

Today, the second part of the UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15) starts in Montreal. In previous negotiations, inland waters have not been given sufficient consideration – even though they harbour a particularly high biodiversity and provide vital ecosystem services for humans. IGB scientists researching freshwater biodiversity provide an overview of this often overlooked topic.

Studies of the Anthropocene continue to uncover the complex and dynamic interrelations between the societal world and the Earth system. At an international conference, researchers from the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities have joined forces to address the question of how these increasing mutual impacts can be better understood and further developed towards global sustainability.

Wywołana przez człowieka katastrofa ekologiczna, skutkująca masową śmiercią ryb, małży i ślimaków, spowodowała poważne szkody w ekosystemie Odry. Co można teraz zrobić, aby pomóc rzece - i jak można zmniejszyć ryzyko tak poważnych szkód ekologicznych i gospodarczych w przyszłości? 

The man-made environmental disaster, resulting in masses of dead fish, mussels and snails, has caused severe damage to the Oder ecosystem. What can now be done to help the river – and how can the risk of such major ecological and economic damage be reduced in the future? IGB has published its recommendations in an IGB Policy Brief.