Tag: nature-based solutions

New Special Issue in Nature Conservation offers an interdisciplinary resource for wetland ecosystem restoration

New Special Issue in Nature Conservation offers an interdisciplinary resource from over 100 European experts for the better restoration of wetlands, coasts and floodplains

Wetlands are key environmental sentinels. These systems offer a plethora of ecosystem services, acting as biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks while providing natural buffers against the impacts of climate change.

They also benefit our society by ensuring food security, providing clean water, and protecting coastal communities. In fact, they support more than one billion livelihoods worldwide, as well as 40% of all known plant and animal species.

However, in our rapidly changing world, we face a series of complex, overlapping challenges. To address the ongoing loss of wetlands, new, interdisciplinary solutions are needed that match the scale of the problem.

A Special interdisciplinary resource

In response to these challenges, a new special issue in Nature Conservation titled ‘Wetlands in a Changing Climate: Restoring Coasts and Floodplains,’ aims to bridge critical knowledge gaps, highlight the vital importance of wetland ecosystems, and identify ways to upscale restoration action under the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.

Wetlands in a Changing Climate: Restoring Coasts and Floodplains special issue in the open-access journal Nature Conservation published by pensoft

Edited by Ute Susanne Kaden, Sophia Schmid, Simone Wulf, Katrina Marsden, Carla Klusmann, Aletta Bonn, Klement Tockner and Mathias Scholz, the Special Issue includes 15 peer-reviewed articles with contributions from over 100 European experts across 18 countries. You can read the full editorial here.

Adopting a ‘source-to-sea’ approach, the collection bridges the gap between riverine and coastal research to foster integrated responses to environmental pressures. Its findings are organized into four key thematic sections:

  • Section I: Wetland biodiversity in a changing climate: Understanding their vulnerability
  • Section II: Wetland ecosystem services and nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Section III: Wetland restoration in practice: Opportunities, overcoming barriers and scaling up implementation
  • Section IV: Wetland policy: Enabling a transition towards a resilient future

By synthesizing perspectives from science, policy, and practice across Europe, this collection serves as a transdisciplinary “guide for anyone seeking an integrated understanding of the unique role of European riverine and coastal wetlands in the context of climate change and biodiversity,”. 

While the primary scope is from Europe, these findings offer vital insights applicable to restoration efforts worldwide.

For me, riverine and coastal wetlands are vivid examples of how biodiversity, climate, and human well-being depend on one another, yet they often remain out of the spotlight – making their protection and restoration all the more important. This Special Issue brings together accessible science, practical experience, and policy perspectives, and we hope it will help spark real – and urgently needed – progress in restoring Europe’s coasts and floodplains.

comments Dr. Ute Kaden, one of the lead authors of this Special Issue.

This Special Issue builds on the 5th European Conference on Biodiversity and Climate Change (Bonn, 2023), a collaborative effort organized by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA), the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), and adel-phi.

Connecting the research and people

Beyond the Special Issue itself, the lead editors organised a free online launch event to present the valuable collection of research publications. On Thursday, 26 February, over 300 participants gained insights into the vulnerability and resilience of riverine and coastal wetlands.

The discussion centered on evaluating the multifunctional benefits of nature-based solutions, sharing restoration lessons from across Europe, and identifying key opportunities аnd challenges in scaling up wetland restoration actions.

Addressing biodiversity climate nexus is important – biodiversity loss and climate change are interconnected and we must strengthen their relationship to develop effective responses to both challenges.

Dr. Kim Grutzmacher, Head of Division International Nature Conservation, BfN

During the launch event, Dr. Flore Lafaye de Micheaux, European Senior Advisor at the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, reflected on how the importance of wetlands extends beyond their ecosystem value.

Wetlands have been part of human existence since the dawn of time, not only because they have provided for our basic needs, but also because they are places of meaning, culture and spirituality. Our message is that it’s time to invest in wetlands as this means investing in future.

Dr. Flore Lafaye de Micheaux, Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

Research from four major projects, BioAgora, Respin, SpongeBoost, and Rest-Coast, was showcased during the launch event. As an active consortium member in these projects, Pensoft contributes essential expertise in science communication, dissemination, stakeholder engagement, and technological development.

Notably, the lead authors Dr. Kaden (UFZ) and Dr. Scholz (who also serves as the coordinator of SpongeBoost) presented insights from Sections I and II of the new Special Issue. Comprising eight papers from the SpongeBoost consortium, the research tackles pressing ecological challenges, ranging from nutrient retention and floodplain services to the socio-economic valuation of nature-based solutions and the intricacies of EU policy.

Wetland restoration involves human-nature relationships, and wetlands should be treated treated as a social ecological system.

Dr. Mathias Scholz, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research

In this Special Issue, you will find in-depth analyses such as the work of Ibáñez et al., 2026, which asks ‘To what extent is coastal wetland biodiversity endangered by climate change? How can we boost the resilience of coastal ecosystems?’ Their research highlights the dual threat of “coastal squeeze” and climate change on Mediterranean wetlands. 

Shifting the focus to inland waters, the issue also features ‘Building blocks for upscaling freshwater ecosystem restoration: Place-based strategies for a transdisciplinary challenge’ by Birk et al. (2026). Drawing on 18 European case studies from the MERLIN project, this research identifies five essential ‘building blocks’ necessary to successfully upscale freshwater restoration efforts.”

Full list of the articles in the Special Issue:

To follow the latest publications, news and highlights from Nature Conservation, we invite you to subscribe for the journal’s newsletter by using the Email alert field on this website’s homepage, and follow the journal on Bluesky and Facebook.

The development of the issue was supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety(BMUKN) (Project No. 3521830200).

New Horizon Europe project supports land-coast-sea systems under climate change

“COAST-SCAPES is a collective effort to rethink how we coexist with coastal systems”, explains project coordinator Prof. Manel Grifoll.

COAST-SCAPES: a newly launched project, funded by the European Commission, is to propose a reconsideration of the current coastal ecosystem to enhance resilience and biodiversity protection through nature-based solutions.

Leading maritime engineering specialists, marine ecologists, and biodiversity experts, gathered in Barcelona (Spain) between 7 and 9 October to officially kick start the project’s vision on climate-resilient coastal landscapes. Hosted by the Maritime Engineering Laboratory from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the meeting focused on setting the strategic direction of the project, aligning the scientific, technical and communication objectives and establishing synergies between project partners across Europe and beyond. 

In the span of two days, consortium partners were given the opportunity to present their missions with the COAST-SCAPES project, showcasing how each partner institution will contribute to building science-based and community-driven resilience pathways. 

The project coordinator, Prof. Manel Grifoll, navigated the discussions, which centered around key deliverables and milestones, future challenges and plans on work-related activities, highlighting the crucial role of the project’s Core and Replicating Pilots for scalable resilience plans for replication and export. 

A group photo of the COAST-SCAPES consortium at the project’s kick-off (Barcelona, October 2025).

Officially started on 1 September 2025, the COAST-SCAPES project has major ambitions to co-design systemic resilience solutions for coastal landscapes by developing integrated indicators, proactive climate warning systems, as well as knowledge-based strategies for business and maintenance in order to reduce the risks of climate change and improve land-sea interactions. To achieve this, COAST-SCAPES will promote the utilisation of nature-based solutions (NbS), seeking biodiversity gains and reduction of the environmental footprint under scarce natural resources. 

The project brings together a diverse group of partners, including research institutions, universities and technological organisations from Europe, Africa and Latin America. Their shared goal is to restore vulnerable coastal areas and apply resilience through adaptation. Due to human intervention, which drastically altered the evolution of coastal ecosystems, the ecological role of such areas is becoming crucial. By harnessing their low-carbon adaptation potential, coastal ecosystems can mitigate climate-related risks and boost biodiversity.

COAST-SCAPES is a collective effort to rethink how we coexist with coastal systems. By integrating natural processes, technology, and community knowledge, we aim to create adaptive landscapes that safeguard biodiversity and support sustainable livelihoods. Our ambition is to build resilient coasts that can thrive, not just survive, under climate change.

says Prof. Manel Grifoll, project coordinator.

The selected project’s Core Pilots, among which the Mar Menor lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula, will serve as a starting point for leading experts to carry out large-scale resilience plans, while protecting coastal biodiversity and addressing existing infrastructure challenges. 

Supported by social and technical innovation, as well as a governance shift, these plans will connect scientists, citizens, policy-makers, environmental activists, and the industry with administrations responsible for local implementations for an increased cross-sectoral engagement. Contributing to a balanced land-to-sea ecosystem and a sustainable biodiversity protection, COAST-SCAPES reminds us that coastal restoration is vital for our adaptation to climate change.

Pensoft’s contribution to COAST-SCAPES:

Pensoft will lead two tasks within the COAST-SCAPES’ Work Package dedicated to dissemination and communication for practical exploitation. The objectives of these tasks are focused on the identification of key exploitable results of the project. Together with other consortium members, Pensoft will be working on establishing the most suitable exploitation pathways for each result. The experienced communication team at the scholarly publishing and technology providing company will also be actively raising societal and technical awareness necessary to transform governance for systemic resilience through yearly newsletters and policy briefs. In addition, Pensoft takes part in Work Package 6, where it will be responsible for the project’s visual identity and ensuring constant visibility of project results, as well as proper data management. 

List of project consortium members: 

Coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, the project brings together 30 partner organisations from 15 countries to develop coastal resilience through nature-based solutions (NbS).

  1. Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) 
  2. EURECAT Technology Centre 
  3. The New Water Culture Foundation (FNCA)
  4. National Research and Development Institute for Marine Geology and Geoecology (GeoEcoMar) 
  5. Consortium for the coordination of research relating to the Venice lagoon system (CORILA) 
  6. National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS) 
  7. Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC)
  8. Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS)
  9. Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Spain SL (RMIT Spain)
  10.  University of Aveiro (UA) 
  11.  Pensoft Publishers (Pensoft) 
  12.  Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU)
  13.  Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation (NLWKN) 
  14.  University of Save (USV)
  15.  Northern University Foundation (UNR) 
  16.  Mohammed Premier University (UMP) 
  17.  Assane-Seck University of Ziguinchor (UASZ)  
  18.  Global Climate Forum (GCF) 
  19.  Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon GMBH 
  20.  Odesa I.I. Mechnykov National University 
  21.  International Center for Coastal Resources Research of Spain 
  22.  Can Tho University 
  23.  Ministry of Infrastructure and of Transport of Italy 
  24.  Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) 
  25.  University of San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) 
  26.  WWF Romania 
  27.  Association for the Defense of Nature/WWF – Spain 
  28.  Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology – RMIT University (RMIT Uni) 
  29.  Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain (MITECO) 
  30.  Portuguese Environment Agency (APA)
For more information:

Follow the COAST-SCAPES project on Bluesky and LinkedIn.

Project website coming soon!

Funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101213138, COAST-SCAPES (rethinking COASTal landSCAPES with climate-resilient interventions: systemic land-to-sea solutions).

Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the EU, nor the REA can be held responsible for them.

In a Land Down Under, Pensoft joined the 11th ESP World Conference

The latest outcomes at the SELINA project and modern, open-access scholarly publishing were ‘hot’ topics we discussed with delegates in Darwin.

Official group photo of the delegates at ESP11 (Darwin, Australia).
Courtesy of the Ecosystem Services Partnership.

Between 22nd and 26th June, the 11th Ecosystem Services Partnership World Conference (ESP11) brought about 250 international delegates from diverse backgrounds: professional and demographic alike, to the Darwin Convention Centre in the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia.

Amongst the central topics of the event were the integrations of local and indigenous values and knowledge into the understanding of ecosystem services and their sustainable management; the implementation of nature-based solutions into practice; and the collaboration of scientists with policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders. 

Inspired by the location – curiously, Australia is the longest continuously inhabited continent on Earth – the conference had a well-pronounced focus on indigenous peoples and culture. Aptly, the conference ran under the theme: “From global to local ecosystem services: pathways to Nature-based Solutions inspired from Down Under”.

Cultural diversity was specially celebrated at both the opening and the closing ceremonies, as well as the special conference dinner. Attendees enjoyed multiple traditional performances from the region, but also from other parts of the world. They also had the chance to hear directly from members of Darwin’s indigenous communities about their own perspectives on ecosystem services and their sustainable management.

Indigenous Australian performance at the opening ceremony at ESP11 (Darwin, Australia).

During the week, each day would open with keynote speeches by renowned scientists from around the world. The programme would then continue with   a set of six parallel sessions. The conference also included poster sessions, a conference dinner and field trips meant to provide the conference participants with a face-to-face encounter with Australian natural phenomena, including close-up encounters with the signature Northern Territory fauna, such as crocodiles, birds and sea turtles.

One of the field trips took participants to the uninhabited Bare Sand Island where they got the chance to see up close a Flatback sea turtle coming out of the water, making her nest and laying her eggs before making her way back to the waves under the cover of the night.  

At the Pensoft stand, delegates met Pensoft’s Head of Journal development and PR: Iva Boyadzhieva, who would answer their questions about the various publishing opportunities and scholarly resources by the publisher, but also about the latest activities and results of the Horizon Europe-funded project SELINA (an acronym for Science for Evidence-based and Sustainable Decisions about Natural Capital).

Pensoft’s stand at the ESP11 conference in Darwin, Australia.

Having started in 2022 and set to run until 2027, SELINA comprises 50 partner organisations coordinated by the Leibniz University Hannover and Prof. Dr. Benjamin Burkhard (Leibniz University Hannover, Germany), who is also co-Chair of the ESP and Editor-in-Chief of the One Ecosystem journal. As an experienced science communicator and open-science publisher, at SELINA, Pensoft has been assigned to lead the project’s communication and dissemination activities.

The transdisciplinary project aims to provide smart, cost-effective, and nature-based solutions to historic societal challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and food security. One of the consortium’s main objectives is to identify biodiversity, ecosystem condition, and ecosystem service factors that can be successfully integrated into decision-making processes in both the public and private sectors.

Most recently, the consortium launched SELINA’s Communities of Practice initiative to promote collaborative learning and knowledge integration across Europe. This digital platform provides a forum for scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and business representatives to exchange knowledge and further engage with its real-life application. On the Communities of Practice, visitors may explore how SELINA is driving change across Europe.

Once again, all around the venue one could easily catch a glimpse of both local and exotic biodiversity that had taken cover on the laptops of the participants. The vivid stickers have become a signature Pensoft freebies that feature scientific illustration of species discussed in publications from across the publisher’s scholarly portfolio in a nod to the authors who have chosen a journal from the Pensoft scholarly portfolio. 

Besides grabbing a sticker or two from the Pensoft stand, visitors were also intrigued to learn more about Pensoft’s flagship journals fitting the scope of the conference like Nature Conservation, NeoBiota and Biodiversity Data Journal, but also about the most recently launched titles: Individual-based Ecology and Advances in Pollinator Research.

Those who have missed the opportunity to sign up for those journals’ newsletters at the stand, can do this by filling in their email address from the homepage of the journal they fancy or by updating their profiles in the Pensoft system.

Understandably, the highlight in the Pensoft’s journal portfolio for ESP11 delegates was One Ecosystem, which was once born in a collaboration between Pensoft, the predecessor of SELINA: ESMERALDA, and the ESP community itself.

Since its launch in 2016, the open-access peer-reviewed journal has published about 200 research papers, including field-specific research outputs typically falling outside of what traditional scientific journals would see as a publication. These include Software description, Methods, Ecosystem Services Mapping, Ecosystem Accounting Table amongst others. You can find about the origins of One Ecosystem in the 2016 launching editorial. A few years ago, the journal became part of the scholarly literature databases of both Scopus and Web of Science. In fact, the latest Scopus CiteScore of One Ecosystem places the journal in Q1 in all five categories it has been assigned to.

At a special session within the ESP11 programme, Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Benjamin Burkhard welcomed various questions concerning the One Ecosystem journal.

As part of the ESP11 programme, a session dedicated on the open-science approach of One Ecosystem that relies on opening up diverse research outputs and data, in order to prompt transparency, reusability and interdisciplinary in ecological research. Together, Pensoft’s Iva Boyadzhieva, Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Benjamin Burkhard and subject editor ​Dr. Paulo Pereira talked about the journal and addressed the questions of the audience, while also providing general advice on scholarly publishing and editorial work to early career researchers at the session.

The session also presented the announcement that in 2025, ESP members are eligible for a 10% discount on the APC at One Ecosystem.

As usual, the conference closed with an engaging and heart-warming ceremony, where the organisers paid another tribute to local communities and volunteers who made the event an unforgettable experience for everyone. The ceremony finished with the awards for the three best posters presented at ESP11.

Hamid Arrum Harahap was awarded first place for his poster “Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) to Climate Change for Indigenous Women in the Mentawai Islands and Aceh Singkil, Sumatra (Indonesia)”.

Hamid Arrum Harahap (Universitas Andalas, Indonesia), Nicole Boyd (Charles Darwin University) and Gail Sucharitakul (Imperial College of London, United Kingdom) were recognised for their research posters. 

“My poster highlights the climate knowledge of Indigenous women in the Mentawai Islands and Aceh Singkil. Their voices are often underrepresented in climate discourse, despite contributing the least to climate change and being among the most affected by its impacts”

said first-place sitter Hamid Arrum Harahap about his poster, titled “Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) to Climate Change for Indigenous Women in the Mentawai Islands and Aceh Singkil, Sumatra (Indonesia)”.

“In regions where downscaling climate models is difficult, intergenerational knowledge passed through indigenous women is critical. Our study highlights that while our climate models from modern science are built on numbers and projections, Indigenous women’s climate memories are rooted in stories and emotions—together, they offer complementary insights for understanding and adapting to climate change.”

In addition to the prizes handed by the ESP, he received a waiver for a free publication at One Ecosystem from the journal’s publisher Pensoft. 

“I plan to use this opportunity to publish my research on Indigenous knowledge and ecosystem services. I am currently working on two studies: one on the relational values of ecosystem services governance with Indigenous Batak communities, and the other on ecosystem-based adaptation and the vulnerability of ecosystem services to climate change, focusing on Indigenous women in Sumatra and Far North Queensland, Australia. I believe One Ecosystem is an ideal platform for this work, as it offers an innovative and accessible forum for multidisciplinary studies like mine and focusing on sustainability of the ecosystem. 

he added.

Third-placed Gail Sucharitakul received a copy of “Mapping Ecosystem Service”: a best-seller in Pensoft’s scientific book portfolio, edited by Prof. Dr. Benjamin Burkhard and Dr. Joachim Maes (European Commission DG Environment): both well-renowned in the field and the ESP community scientists. Maes is also a Deputy Editor-in-Chief at One Ecosystem. 

Now that the ESP11 World Conference has turned into a wonderful memory, we set our sights on the 2026 European conference, which will be taking place in historic Prague, Czech Republic. See you there!

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Follow One Ecosystem (BlueSky, X and Facebook), SELINA (BlueSky, X, Facebook and Linkedin) and Pensoft (BlueSky, X, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin) on social media.

FERRO project celebrates one year of advancing lake restoration across Europe

With a mission to address nutrient pollution and drive sustainable lake restoration across Europe, the FERRO project marks its first year.

Launched in June 2024, the Horizon Europe-funded project: Fostering European Lakes Restoration by Nutrient Removal, Recovery and Reuse: Integrated Catchment and In-lake Scale Approach (FERRO) – brings together scientists, engineers, and environmental experts from across Europe to develop innovative, nature-based, and circular solutions to reduce nutrient pollution in freshwater ecosystems.

Eutrophication, caused by excessive nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen that enter lakes and reservoirs, remains one of the most pervasive threats to freshwater bodies. These excess nutrients often originate from agricultural runoff and wastewater discharges, resulting in algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and biodiversity loss.

FERRO addresses these challenges by working at both catchment scale and in-lake level, aiming not only to remove harmful nutrients, but also to recover and reuse them – aligning with Europe’s goals for circular economy and sustainable water management.

With a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, FERRO combines natural science, engineering, economics, and policy to develop scalable restoration strategies adaptable across Europe’s diverse lake regions.

The FERRO consortium

FERRO unites seven partners from six European countries, each contributing unique expertise to the project’s holistic approach:

Together, these organisations form a powerhouse of knowledge, experience, and innovation in the fields of limnology, hydrology, environmental policy, circular resource use and communications.

Pensoft’s role in FERRO

As the leader of the Communication and Dissemination Work Package #2, Pensoft plays a key role in ensuring that FERRO’s results and insights reach the widest possible audience. The responsibilities include the development and maintenance of the project’s visual identity and digital presence, managing media relations, producing public outreach materials, and facilitating knowledge exchange between scientific, policy, and stakeholder communities. Pensoft also supports the strategic dissemination of scientific outputs and policy-relevant findings, ensuring alignment with the project’s broader impact goals.

FERRO marked its first anniversary with a successful General Assembly meeting held in Leipzig, Germany, between 20th and 22nd May. Over the three-day meeting, the project partners gathered to reflect on the progress achieved during the first year, align their visions for the project’s future, and collaboratively plan the next phases of implementation

As the project entered its second year, the Leipzig meeting served as a moment to evaluate initial findings, refine methodologies, and strengthen engagement with stakeholders at local, regional, and EU levels. The outcomes will guide the FERRO consortium in its continued efforts to advance lake restoration across Europe.

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Stay tuned for more updates as the FERRO project continues to develop and implement its solutions for healthier lakes and more sustainable nutrient management across Europe! 

You can keep tabs on the project’s official website: ferroproject.eu and also follow FERRO on LinkedIn, X and YouTube.