Despite their critical importance for biodiversity and potential as nature-based solutions for climate change adaptation and mitigation, ponds and pondscapes are not well represented in policy. Most freshwater legislation is biased towards rivers, with ponds largely being ignored.
The Horizon 2020 PONDERFUL project has revealed more about the importance of ponds for wildlife and people and, to make this accessible to policy makers, the partnership produced a policy guidance document: sing ponds and pondscapes as nature-based solutions: Guidance for policy makers on the use of ponds and pondscapes as nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The policy guidance document sets out the latest evidence on ponds as nature-based solutions and suggests how policy could better protect these habitats. It includes guidance on 'creating a national plan for ponds', which could be adopted by any country to harness the potential of ponds for wildlife and people.
To achieve international reach, the document has been translated into 12 languages.
- Developing climate change adaptation; improving risk management and resilience
- Flood peak reduction
- Increase infiltration / Water storage
- Reduce drought risk
- Reduce flood risk
- Reduce risk of damages from drought
- Reduce run-off
- Developing climate change mitigation
- Carbon sequestration and storage
- Restoring ecosystems and their functions
- Greater ecological connectivity across urban regenerated sites
- Improve connectivity and functionality of green and blue infrastructures
- Increase achievements of biodiversity targets
- Increase Biodiversity
- Increase quality and quantity of green and blue infrastructures
- Increased cultural richness and biodiversity
- Enhancing sustainable urbanisation
- Changing image of the urban environment
- Creation of green jobs relating to construction & maintenance of NBS
- Improve water quality
- Increase awareness of NBS solution & their effectiveness and co benefits
- Increase communities’ sense of ownership
- Increase stakeholder awareness & knowledge about NBS
- Increase well-being
- Provision of health benefits