Ecohydrology for water management adaptation to climate change

The following topics will be addressed during the presentation:

• the importance of ecosystems in the catchment as a system for stabilising the hydrological cycle,
• using water-biocenoses interactions to develop innovative near-nature methods and system solutions – Ecohydrology,
• priorities of the United Nations International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO) and the European Commission’s ‘Water4All’ mega-programme,
• new methodology and new methods in catchment management (IWRM) for eliminating the risks of floods and droughts,
• water as a key factor in maximising opportunities for sustainable development – Conclusions of the UN World Conference NY 2023.

Professor Maciej Zalewski is the founder of the Department of Applied Ecology at the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection of the University of Lodz and the European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lodz. He was director of the European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology from 2000 to 2022. Since 1989 he has been UNESCO’s leading expert on ecohydrology and coordinates the organisation’s research projects. From 1989 to 1996 he was chairman of the working group of the UNESCO MAB (Man and Biosphere) programme – “Fish and Land-Inland Water Ecotones”. He was also chairman of the EIFAC FAO European Fisheries Commission working group “Physical Habitat Modification and Freshwater Fisheries”. From 1996 to 2006, and since 2010, he is chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the UNESCO Ecohydrology Programme (International Hydrological Programme, IHP). Professor Zalewski is the creator of the modern concept of ecohydrology that forms the basis for the “Nature Based Solutions” methodology currently under development at the UN. He is highly regarded as a scientist in Poland and abroad, and has been in constant cooperation with UNESCO for more than a dozen years. From 2001 to 2004, he was a member of the Scientific Council of the UNESCO Regional Office for Science in Venice. He has also served on the Scientific Boards of such institutions as the International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management Public Works Research Institute, Tsukuba-shi, Japan (2006-2010), International Rivers and Heritage Institute Tours, France (2000-2011), United Nations Environment Programme Global Environment Monitoring System (GEMS) Water Programme. The team of the Europes Regional Centre for Ecohydrology and the Department of Applied Ecology, under the leadership of Professor Zalewski, is involved in numerous national and international research projects. Among them, two were awarded by the European Commission in 2018, the Best LIFE+ in 2018 award for the project “Ecotones for reducing diffuse pollution” (EKOROB) and the Best of the Best LIFE+ 2018 award for the project “Ecohydrologic rehabilitation of recreational reservoirs “Arturówek” Łódź as a model approach to rehabilitation of urban reservoirs”. In 2020, Professor Zalewski was nominated as an expert by the European Commission’s Committee of the Regions to develop an opinion on the effectiveness of implementation and identification of new challenges for the Water Framework Directive. Professor Zalewski’s proposed directions for expanding the WFD in the context of climate change adaptation were accepted during consultations and unanimously adopted at the Committee of the Regions meeting. Since 2022, Professor Zalewski has been chair of the Cross-Sectoral Working Group Ecohydrology and Water Quality, within the 9th phase of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme IHP-IX. From 2022 to 2024, Professor Zalewski served as vice-chair of the Supervisory Board of the European Partnership “Water Security for the Planet (Water4All)” – a multibillion-dollar program of the European Commission to accelerate systemic transformation in water research, including in distributing innovations and connecting end-user needs with solution providers.