Beyond the current: Improving European flowing waters in an era of global change

Access to clean and good-quality water underpins resilient ecosystems, healthy societies and prosperous industries. Yet, throughout Europe, we face a pressing water quality and biodiversity crisis due to increased inputs of multiple pollutants into streams and rivers from intensified agriculture, urban areas, and industry. Extreme weather events exacerbate the impact of these stressors on the resilience of freshwater ecosystems. Streams and rivers are amongst the most sensitive ecosystems to pollution and global change, leading to significant biodiversity loss and direct impacts on the health and well-being of the EU population. Access to clean water is one of the Sustainable Development Goals and part of the European Green Deal, the Mission to Restore our Ocean and Waters until 2030, and the EU Nature Restoration Law. However, costly actions and measures have failed to bring widespread improvements in water quality and ecology.

BEYOND’s overarching aim is to contribute to a sustainable and efficient EU-wide improvement of river water quality and pollution mitigation together with stakeholders and citizens by targeting multiple pollutants and heterogeneity in the land-water continuum, accounting for recipient-specific sensitivity to pollution pressures and the spatial and temporal variation in sources, pathways, and impacts on stream ecology and ecosystem services, now and under future climatic conditions and hydrological extremes.