Lakes are essential for maintaining biodiversity and contribute to maintaining the critical benefits for humanity. They are facing significant pressures from human activities. The aim of this project is to improve the management of lakes by integrating the multiple ecosystem benefits, including ecosystem services, into governance processes. We aim to achieve this by for the first time applying the Nature Futures Framework (NFF) to lakes and their catchment areas. NFF is a novel tool developed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) to guide processes towards desirable futures for nature and people.We will operationalize the NFF for lakes through case studies in three catchment areas in Great Britain, Finland and the Netherlands. PLURALAKES is an active effort to bridge the gap between policy formulation and practical management of lakes, providing useful insights to ensure the sustainability of freshwater ecosystems.

2025

2027