Falling Walls Falling Walls Science Summit 2023

Breaking the Wall of the Silent Freshwater Biodiversity Crisis

Sonja Jähnig

Life Sciences

The nominating institute Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries on the breakthrough:

The importance of freshwater biodiversity contrasts with its low profile in policy and society. Jähnig studies freshwater megafauna, as these large, charismatic animals can function as umbrella species in nature conservation, and act as flagship species for public awareness raising. She is co-founder of the global Alliance for Freshwater Life, and led the Living Waters research agenda that was handed over to the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Foto credits: Aerial river landscape – Michel Roggo/roggo.ch | Sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) – Michel Roggo/roggo.ch | Beluga (Huso huso) – Zeb Hogan | Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) – Michel Roggo/roggo.ch | Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) – Michel Roggo/roggo.ch

Sonja Jähnig

Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB)

I have been a research group leader at IGB since 2014 and a Professor of Aquatic Ecogeography at the HU Berlin since 2020. I am also executive board member of the Alliance for Freshwater Life. After completing my doctorate at the University of Duisburg-Essen, I did a Postdoc at the Hydrobiological Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan and at the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt. My research focuses on global change impacts on freshwater ecosystems – from invertebrates to freshwater megafauna. I live with my husband and our two daughters in Berlin.

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