Biodiversity Barometer 2025 published with BOKU participation

Austrian Biodiversity Council

Austrian Biodiversity Council with BOKU members Veronika Gaube, Thomas Hein, Rafaela Schinegger und Simon Vitecek. (C) Yvona Asbäck

The Austrian Biodiversity Council has published the Biodiversity Barometer 2025 – a scientific assessment of biodiversity policy developments in Austria. The Barometer evaluates political framework conditions across five key fields of action and 23 indicators. The results show an urgent need for action: none of the assessed areas shows improvement, and for the first time, the Barometer contains no 'green light' indicators.

Key challenges and links to BOKU’s mission

The Barometer identifies major challenges, including deficits in the implementation of existing strategies, insufficient funding for biodiversity measures and limited integration of biodiversity goals into other policy sectors such as agriculture, energy and spatial planning. At the same time, the analysis outlines solutions, including stronger targets for ecosystem protection and restoration, better integration of biodiversity into sectoral policies, and improved coordination between policy, administration, science, and practice.

The issues addressed in the Barometer relate directly to many core research areas of BOKU and reflect the university’s mission, formulated in the BOKU mission statement: to develop scientific solutions for the protection and sustainable use of natural life‑support systems.

BOKU expertise in the Austrian Biodiversity Council

Several BOKU researchers are members of the Austrian Biodiversity Council and contribute expertise from different fields:

Dr. Veronika Gaube (Institute of Social Ecology) works on societal transformation processes and sustainable resource use.

Univ.‑Prof. Dr. Thomas Hein (Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management) conducts research on river ecosystems and sustainable water management.

Assoc.‑Prof. Dr. Rafaela Schinegger (Institute of Landscape Development, Recreation and Conservation Planning) works on conservation planning with a focus on ecological connectivity and restoration.

Ass.‑Prof. Dr. Simon Vitecek (Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management) studies species diversity and evolutionary aspects of aquatic biodiversity.

A new book is out! The Danube River and The Western Black Sea Coast: Complex Transboundary Management

Edited by internationally recognised experts Jürg Bloesch, Bernd Cyffka, Thomas Hein, Cristina Sandu and Nike Sommerwerk, this volume is part of the renowned Elsevier series “Ecohydrology from Catchment to Coast”, which deals with the world's largest rivers.

This comprehensive book deals with the catchment area of the Danube, the second largest river in Europe, and the adjacent Western Black Sea coast. It deals in depth with the complex interplay between natural and social processes, focusing on typical Danube fish species, the sturgeons, that illustrate the intricate links between sea and river.

Thomas Hein is one of the Editors, and six scientists from the Institute significantly contributed to 6 of the 17 chapters.

More Details can be found here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780443186868/the-danube-river-and-the-western-black-sea-coast

Declining River Levels in Austria: Expert Dr. Ronald Pöppl Calls for Urgent Action

Our group member, Dr. Ronald Pöppl, gave an interview to draw public and authorities’ attention to the ongoing decline of river water levels in Austria, especially during summer and in the eastern regions. He explains the main causes and stresses the urgent need for action. Dr. Pöppl calls for restoring floodplains, improving groundwater storage, reducing soil sealing, and promoting sustainable land use to help safeguard Austria’s water resources.

Learn more by clicking the link below: https://orf.at/stories/3397626/

New WebGIS Application: Vienna’s landscape evolution 200 – 2010 CE and historical hydraulic constructions

As part of several interdisciplinary projects on the environmental history of Vienna’s waterbodies, the past fluvial landscape was reconstructed from 200 CE onwards. Step by step the historical states of the landscape were compiled. The resulting maps of Vienna’s landscape evolution from 200 to 2010 provide a solid basis for interpreting the environmental conditions for Vienna’s urban development and help to localise certain riverine and urban landmarks relevant for the history of Vienna.

Visit https://arcg.is/1jqTSq