There is growing interest in the critical role of small waterbodies, especially ponds, in the protection of landscape and catchment scale freshwater biodiversity, and the delivery of water-related ecosystem services.
We are very pleased, therefore, to invite you to the launch of the new EU funded ‘PONDERFUL’ project which is the largest European research project so far tackling the conservation and ecology of ponds, and their role in climate change mitigation.

The link to the project invitation is here https://ponderful.eu/ponderful-project-online-launch-event/ with a sign in via Eventbrite. The meeting is free.
The launch meeting is just over a couple of hours and we hope you will find it interesting and useful.

It will provide a rapid and informative overview of the current state of play on ponds internationally – both from a biodiversity and climate/nature-based solutions perspectives. Presentations from three of Europe’s leading freshwater ecologists will introduce current knowledge and take a forward look at the issues around small waters, especially from a practitioner perspective. We are also linking up with the Ramsar Secretariat to provide a wider international view of the critical significance of small wetlands and waterbodies.

We are also very pleased to welcome as a Special Guest Speaker Professor Lenore Fahrig from Carleton University in Canada, who will be concluding the meeting’s presentations. If you are not already aware of Professor Fahrig’s work, she has played a major role in understanding the importance of small habitats globally, both terrestrial and aquatic, with major implications for the way we ‘do’ nature conservation and water management.
In the course of PONDERFUL, we hope that ponds will start emerging from a century of being overlooked by freshwater science and policy as we increase knowledge and awareness of these small abundant habitats. We expect the project to cast new light on the surprisingly large practical role ponds will have in mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts. The project has a strong practical aim and will be relevant to all catchment managers dealing as it does with a truly critical and still widely overlooked and undervalued part of the water environment. The project will interact strongly with policy makers and practitioners to maximise the biodiversity and ecosystem services gains from making and managing ponds.
We do hope you’ll be able to join us in furthering the current transformation in freshwater science and practice that is being driven by a shared appreciation of the PONDERFUL nature of small waters!
With very best wishes
Jeremy Biggs (Freshwater Habitats Trust, UK)
Sandra Brucet (University of Vic, Spain)

FOR THE PONDERFUL STEERING COMMITTEE