FEAP Statement on the Ecosystem Values of Freshwater Fishponds in a Changing Climate

FEAP has published a Statement on the Ecosystem Values of Freshwater Fishponds in a Changing Climate.

Traditional pond aquaculture – based predominantly on common carp polyculture – maintains approximately 250,000 hectares of nature-like wetlands in the European Union. In a context of increasing drought frequency, water scarcity and biodiversity loss, freshwater fishponds should be recognised as multifunctional systems that combine local food production with nature conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The statement outlines the ecosystem services provided by well-managed fishponds – water storage and regulation, local climate regulation, biodiversity, nutrient cycling and water quality – alongside their food production, cultural and socio-economic value, and stresses that these ecological functions are not incidental to farming but are created and maintained by it.

FEAP calls for freshwater fishponds to be fully recognised in European and national policies as multifunctional aquaculture systems, and puts forward nine policy recommendations, including targeted public compensation for the maintenance of ecosystem services and the integration of fishpond systems into drought-resilience, wetland-restoration and water-management policies.

Read the full statement (PDF) ›

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