Small standing waters, ponds or (temporary) pools, are among the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. They are disappearing at an alarming rate due to climate change, intensive agriculture, and other anthropogenic pressures, resulting in the extinction of their unique biodiversity.

The European Pond Conservation Network (EPCN), founded in 2004, aims to promote the conservation of ponds across Europe by linking research, conservation practice and science communication. An important part of this mission is the series of international EPCN workshops held every two years.

For the next three years, the organization has elected Zsófia Horváth, head of the Biodiversity and Metacommunity Ecology Research Group at Institute of Aquatic Ecology, as its new president.

The Pond Manifesto developed by EPCN is available in seven languages, with the Hungarian version prepared by the team of HUN-REN CER.