Lessons from pond creation and restoration projects in Europe

Pond ecosystems harbour substantial biodiversity and contribute to several ecosystem services as nature‐based solutions (NbS). Pond restoration and creation projects have been initiated to address these trends, yet while some insights are published, many remain within the expertise of practitioners and are not easily accessible. Moreover, papers synthesizing findings from multiple such projects to derive broad, universal conclusions are very much lacking. Here, we contacted pond creation and restoration practitioners that worked on recent pond restoration projects in Europe using a questionnaire. We reported which practices are currently most common and identified where current good practices might need to be modified. As expected, most projects targeted and monitored species and habitats protected under the European Union Birds Directive and Habitats Directive. Most projects focused on species as conservation targets, rather than the promotion of specific Natura 2000 habitats, pond ecosystem services or NbS. Several challenges were highlighted including funding limitations and stakeholder engagement difficulties. Recommendations included amending legal frameworks, improving connectivity among pondscapes for effective biodiversity conservation and implementing more systematic monitoring. This work illustrates how consultation of practitioners as stakeholders can generate insights that may remain hidden in typical monitoring reports.