Challenges and Solutions for Sustainable Biodiversity and the Conservation of Aquatic and Water-Dependent Habitats

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, numerous reports have shown that humanity is failing to address two major global crises: climate change and biodiversity loss (IPBES, 2019; WWF, 2020; IPCC, 2021). Alarmingly, it is estimated that only 3% of the Earth's surface remains ecologically intact—a clear sign that scientific evidence is urgently needed to inform policies to restore and protect ecosystems. The Freshwater Living Planet Index (1970-2018) (WWF 2023) shows a significant decline in aquatic biodiversity values by as much as 83%.

This Special Issue aims to showcase research and activities addressing these global challenges. The increasing human population, deforestation, and man-made climate change are likely to exacerbate the negative trends in freshwater ecosystems and species endangerment. Consequently, the biodiversity of freshwater communities continues to dwindle at an alarming rate. However, this particular topic lacks sufficient attention from conservation ecologists and policymakers, resulting in a dearth of data and comprehensive reviews on freshwater biodiversity, specifically. Despite the widespread awareness of risks to freshwater biodiversity, organized action to reverse this decline has been lacking. Actions must take the form of nature-based solutions, which refer to efforts to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified aquatic and water-dependent habitats to effectively and adaptively cope with societal challenges such as climate change, while also benefiting human well-being and biodiversity.

Ecosystems are under stress (such as increasing agricultural intensification, the growing overuse of water resources, and climate change), and these stresses may eventually exceed the planetary limits of sustainable natural resource use. We want to avoid changes to natural and semi-natural aquatic and water-dependent habitats, which are often profound and irreversible when their ability to adapt to stress is exhausted, such as the transformation of ecosystems and changes in species assemblages and ecosystem functioning at local, regional, and even global scales. The effects of these changes are highly uncertain, with potentially significant negative impacts on human health, safety, and well-being.

The ability of ecosystems to adapt to these changes is limited. Finding and assessing the attributes of ecosystem adaptive capacity can help in effective environmental management. The ecosystem assessments that drive international research priorities depend on a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem dynamics during change. Environmental sustainability requires research that integrates human–wildlife interactions with sustainable practices to maintain resilient social, cultural, and economic systems.

Prof. Dr. Mirosław Grzybowski
Prof. Dr. Katja Neves
Dr. Magdalena Bowszys
Guest Editors

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• sustainability
• loss of biodiversity
• climate change
• threats and pressures
• aquatic habitats