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AbstractRunning water ecosystems of Europe are affected by various human pressures. However, little is known about the prevalence, spatial patterns, interactions with natural environment and co‐occurrence of pressures. This study represents the first high‐resolution data analysis of human pressures at the European scale, where important pressure criteria for 9330 sampling sites in 14 European countries were analysed. We identified 15 criteria describing major anthropogenic degradation and combined these into a global pressure index by taking additive effects of multiple pressures into account. Rivers are affected by alterations of water quality (59%), hydrology (41%) and morphology (38%). Connectivity is disrupted at the catchment level in 85% and 35% at the river segment level. Approximately 31% of all sites are affected by one, 29% by two, 28% by three and 12% by four pressure groups; only 21% are unaffected. In total, 47% of the sites are multi‐impacted. Approximately 90% of lowland rivers are impacted by a combination of all four pressure groups.

This manual describes the new European Fish Index – EFI+ - and its application software. The EFI+ software and manual have been developed within the EFI+ project. The EFI+ project was funded by the European Commission (EC) under the 6th Framework Programme, "Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development", Key Action 1: Sustainable Management and Quality of Water of the European Commission (Specific Targeted Research Project FP6-2005-SSP-5-A, Task 4: Ecological status assessment – filling the gaps). In the year 2000, the EC adopted a new legislation, the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This new legislation, now implemented in 27 EU member countries, aims for good ecological conditions in all surface waters. Fishes are, for the first time, part of a European-wide monitoring network designed to assess the ecological status of running waters. Between 2001 and 2004 the EC funded the FAME project developed, evaluated and implemented new standardised fish-based methods to assess the ecological status of running waters in Europe (FP5, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Management. Key Action 1: Sustainable Management and Quality of Water, EVK1-CT-2001-00094, http://fame.boku.ac.at).The main output of the FAME project was the European Fish Index (EFI), the first standardised fish-based assessment method applicable across a wide range of European rivers. The EFI employs a number of environmental descriptors to predict biological reference conditions and then quantifies the deviation of the fish community structure from these reference conditions on a statistical basis. The EFI was developed mainly based on data from Western and Northern Europe and was calibrated against estimates of human pressures and impacts. Although a wide range of river types was included in the development of the EFI, some river types, e.g. very large rivers, were underrepresented. The EFI has now been tested by European countries within their national monitoring programmes and has been evaluated for use for reporting under the WFD. During this ...

Plans are currently being drafted for the next decade of action on biodiversity—both the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Biodiversity Strategy of the European Union (EU). Freshwater biodiversity is disproportionately threatened and underprioritized relative to the marine and terrestrial biota, despite supporting a richness of species and ecosystems with their own intrinsic value and providing multiple essential ecosystem services. Future policies and strategies must have a greater focus on the unique ecology of freshwater life and its multiple threats, and now is a critical time to reflect on how this may be achieved. We identify priority topics including environmental flows, water quality, invasive species, integrated water resources management, strategic conservation planning, and emerging technologies for freshwater ecosystem monitoring. We synthesize these topics with decades of first‐hand experience and recent literature into 14 special recommendations for global freshwater biodiversity conservation based on the successes and setbacks of European policy, management, and research. Applying and following these recommendations will inform and enhance the ability of global and European post‐2020 biodiversity agreements to halt and reverse the rapid global decline of freshwater biodiversity.

Plans are currently being drafted for the next decade of action on biodiversity—both the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Biodiversity Strategy of the European Union (EU). Freshwater biodiversity is disproportionately threatened and underprioritized relative to the marine and terrestrial biota, despite supporting a richness of species and ecosystems with their own intrinsic value and providing multiple essential ecosystem services. Future policies and strategies must have a greater focus on the unique ecology of freshwater life and its multiple threats, and now is a critical time to reflect on how this may be achieved. We identify priority topics including environmental flows, water quality, invasive species, integrated water resources management, strategic conservation planning, and emerging technologies for freshwater ecosystem monitoring. We synthesize these topics with decades of first-hand experience and recent literature into 14 special recommendations for global freshwater biodiversity conservation based on the successes and setbacks of European policy, management, and research. Applying and following these recommendations will inform and enhance the ability of global and European post-2020 biodiversity agreements to halt and reverse the rapid global decline of freshwater biodiversity.

Plans are currently being drafted for the next decade of action on biodiversity—both the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Biodiversity Strategy of the European Union (EU). Freshwater biodiversity is disproportionately threatened and underprioritized relative to the marine and terrestrial biota, despite supporting a richness of species and ecosystems with their own intrinsic value and providing multiple essential ecosystem services. Future policies and strategies must have a greater focus on the unique ecology of freshwater life and its multiple threats, and now is a critical time to reflect on how this may be achieved. We identify priority topics including environmental flows, water quality, invasive species, integrated water resources management, strategic conservation planning, and emerging technologies for freshwater ecosystem monitoring. We synthesize these topics with decades of first‐hand experience and recent literature into 14 special recommendations for global freshwater biodiversity conservation based on the successes and setbacks of European policy, management, and research. Applying and following these recommendations will inform and enhance the ability of global and European post‐2020 biodiversity agreements to halt and reverse the rapid global decline of freshwater biodiversity. ; We thank the organizers of the ALTER‐Net/EKLIPSE Post‐2020 Biodiversity Workshop for discussions that led to this collaboration. CBvR was supported by a Fulbright Early Career Scholar Award from the Fulbright Spain Commission, SJT by the NERC Highlight Topic "Hydroscape" (NE/N006437/1), SCJ and GK by the "GLANCE" project (01LN1320A) from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), HPG by the BMBF "BIBS" project (01LC1501G1), KAW by the Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government (2016–2021 Strategic Research programme), SD by the Leibniz Competition (J45/2018), AIL by FCT (CESAM; UID/AMB/50017/2019), IJ by the J. E. Purkyně Fellowship of the Czech Academy of Science, and VH by a Ramon y Cajal Contract (RYC‐2013‐13979).