Creative Thinking Aids Freshwater Science Communication

The BioFresh project is using innovative ways of communicating to illustrate the science and importance of freshwater biodiversity.

World Water Day is held each year on 22 March to focus global attention on the importance of freshwater systems and advocate for the sustainable management of water resources. Initiated by the United Nations, this year’s theme of “Water and Urbanisation” was intended to “focus international attention on the challenges and opportunities of urban water and sanitation management” .
There is no explicit mention of freshwater biodiversity in the World Water Day literature, even though healthy freshwater ecosystems provide a range of important ecosystem services, including clean drinking water. The issue of freshwater biodiversity is often neglected in environmental campaigning and policy-making circles.

BioFresh is a European Union project that aims to bring freshwater biodiversity into the policy frame through the creation of a global information platform for scientists and ecosystem managers. The project gives access to all the available databases describing the distribution, status and trends of global freshwater biodiversity.