Rivers and streams

Research Manager

Researcher Scientist, PhD

Researcher Scientist, PhD

A recent Nature article with two NIVA co-authors shows that biodiversity in European streams and rivers has increased since the 1970s, but that the positive trend has stopped in the last decade.

OPINION: Near half of the global plastic leakage from land to sea comes from a few countries in Southeast Asia. To overcome the plastic problem, we need to treat the cause and not just the symptoms. We must turn the spotlight on the sources.

In this pilot project, we're using citizen science to gather important information about Norwegian rivers and streams.

We need to improve our understanding of the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in surface waters, particularly downstream of urban waste water treatment plants. However, at present there is no European overview of the presence of AMR in surface waters. This project will develop a basic approach and methodology for a European scale AMR monitoring of surface waters.

How are northern ecosystems affected by climate change, and how do different ecosystems affect each other? This 5-year Fram Centre research program aims to provide critical new knowledge related to: (1) Cross-ecosystem climate change impacts; and (2) How to best integrate cross-ecosystem linkages into cohesive management approaches.

The Gyrochlorine project is a collaboration between NIVA, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) and the Norwegian Veterinary Institute.

The programme collects monitoring data from approximately 20 countries in Europe and North America to monitor and investigate the extent to which air pollution affects lakes and rivers, particularly regarding acidification, heavy metals and pollutants.

MadMacs (mass development of aquatic macrophytes; causes and consequences of macrophyte removal for ecosystem structure, function, and services) aims to determine the causes of mass development of water plants, and to study the direct and indirect consequences of their removal on ecosystem functions and services.

MERLIN is an EU-funded Innovation project implementing nature-based solutions to help deliver the environmental, societal and economic goals of the European Green Deal.

The program "Monitoring in reference rivers" consists of monitoring in assumed reference sites in rivers with no or negligible human impact.

PAIRWISE aims to advance knowledge of antimicrobial resistance as a pollution in aquatic environments, wildlife, and livestock. PAIRWISE focuses on dispersal and dynamics of antibiotic resistant bacteria, antibiotic resistance genes and antibiotics in aquatic environments affected by wastewater treatment plants.

The SOS-Water project, initiated in October 2022 and funded by the EU, aims at addressing the increasing pressure on global freshwater resources by defining a “safe operating space” (SOS) for water resources, considering environmental, social, and economic dimensions, while co-creating objectives and indicators integrated into hydrological models.

The purpose of the river monitoring program is to calculate inputs of nutrients and pollutants to Norwegian marine areas through monitoring of rivers and modeling of inputs from areas without monitoring.

NIVA's sections on Freshwater Ecology have expertise in the monitoring and restoration of freshwater ecosystems and their biodiversity. We develop knowledge and understanding that provide a basis for applied, evidence-based freshwater management.