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INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON WATER SCIENCES AND RESEARCHEcohydrology – transdisciplinary sustainabilityscience for multicultural cooperationProfessor Macej Zalewski, Katarzyna Izydorczyk, Iwona Wagner, Associate Professor Joanna Mankiewicz-Boczek,Magdalena Urbaniak, and Wojciech Frtczak, European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology, Polish Academy of SciencesGlobalization has accelerated development and, ingeneral, improved the quality of life of humanity.However, interconnected socioeconomic systems havealso accelerated and amplified the exploitation of naturalresources, which increases the risk of conflict.Harmonizing human needs with the potential of the biosphere isthe primary challenge in achieving a sustainable future. 1 In order toachieve global sustainability by reducing the overexploitation of naturalresources, there is an urgent need to replace competition for resourceuse with competition for resource use efficiency. This is especially relevantfor water and ecosystem resources, as water is a primary factor ofbiosphere dynamics. A sustainable approach must be based on integrativescience, with a focus on the integration of hydrology and ecology.Ecohydrology is an integrative, transdisciplinary, problemsolvingscience which focuses on the regulation of processes. It isbased on the general theories of physics, hydrology and ecology,whose implicit goal is to achieve sustainability. 2 It also considersgeophysics, geology, molecular biology, genetics, geo-informationtechniques, mathematical modelling with socioeconomic concepts(such as foresight) and aspects of law. 3 Ecohydrologyis based on two assumptions:• water is the major driver of biogeosphere evolution,since all ecological processes depend on water andtemperature 4• on the basin scale, the hydrological cycle is aframework for quantifying hydrological andbiological processes and identifying various formsof human impact.An understanding of those two factors, and of the functionalinterrelationships between hydrology and biotaat the catchment scale, should enable the regulation ofecological processes from the molecular to the landscapescale; the ultimate aim being to harmonize society’s needswith an enhanced carrying capacity for ecosystems. 5With this in mind, understanding the dependenceof ecosystem dynamics on soil water availability is afundamental step towards developing a methodologyand system approach at the river basin level. 6 EffectiveImage: ERCEImage: ERCEBrainstorming with decision makers involved in water resources, agriculture, urbanareas, forests, planning and NGOs in the Pilica catchmentPrimary school students measuring the concentration ofnutrients in groundwater[ 299 ]