Focus on Project

Climate change has arisen as a result of an increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of our blue planet. This is caused by the use of fossil fuels in industry and transport, as well as by so-called factory farming. Climate change has become a major concern for people around the world. This is particularly so because climate change poses a direct threat to our water security, food security, and energy security. Global vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades as the average global temperature, which has increased by only 0.6 ° C in the past century, by up to 6.4 ° by the end of the current century C could rise. That is why we have to take all the appropriate measures now, here and now to stop climate change.

Water resources, in the face of global climate changes, become one of the critical factors for achieving good ecological status of freshwater ecosystems and the Millennium Development Goals of the UN. Ecohydrology (EH) is a sub-discipline of hydrology focused on ecological aspects of the hydrological cycle. It refers specifically to two phases of the hydrological cycle: terrestrial plant – water – soil interactions and aquatic biota – hydrology interactions.

The background of “aquatic ecohydrology” was established in the framework of the UNESCO MAB “Ecotone” Programme (Zalewski, Schiemer, Thorpe 2001). The concept of integrating hydrology and ecology was formulated and developed in the framework of the UNESCO International Hydrological Programme IHP V and VI (Zalewski et al. 1997, Zalewski 2000, 2002, Zalewski & Robarts 2002, Chicharo et al. 2000, Wolanski et al 2002, Janauer 20004, Trepel 2006, Timczenko et al. 2002, Harper et al.2004).

The main body of ecohydrology theory is based on the assumption that sustainable use of freshwater resources in man-modified landscapes is highly complex. It is dependent not only on our ability to reduce emission of pollutants, but to a great extent on the ability of the environment to restore and to regulate water and nutrient circulation towards the enhancement of ecosystem capacity, sufficient to absorb human impact. EH provides a novel tool for regulation of ecological processes from the molecular to the landscape scale, defined as the “dual regulation” rule – regulation of biota by hydrology and vice versa (Zalewski 2006). From the ecosystem management and conservation perspective this paradigm provides a conceptual and methodological framework for understanding how ecosystem properties can be used as management tools for achieving harmony between man’s needs and environmental potential. During the development of the framework of UNESCO IHP phases V and VI, ecohydrology has become a transdisciplinary science. It integrates hydrology and ecology, by providing hypotheses valid for both scientific disciplines, and by incorporating into those hypotheses problem solving components to satisfy the needs of society.

FocusOnProject global teams understand the evolving pressures surrounding these challenges. As a result, they can help public institutions and companies to respond by understanding and evaluating the broader value impacts and outcomes, identifying the opportunities, and supporting the reporting of nonfinancial performance risks to their stakeholders.