Ponds are relatively small areas of stagnant water, less than 10 ares in size and generally no more than 1 metre deep. Compared to their reduced water volume, they are often very rich in species. Frequently running dry in summer, they lack fish, and it's the absence of these predators that enables many of the environment's specialized animals, such as amphibians, dragonflies, molluscs and others, to thrive.
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, stagnant waters were very common in agricultural environments, where they were used, for example, as drinking troughs for livestock or water reservoirs in the event of fire. With the installation of water distribution networks, ponds were no longer used, and in the absence of maintenance, they gradually disappeared either by natural succession or were even eliminated by backfilling.
Surveys have shown that the total surface area of ponds in Luxembourg has fallen by more than 80%. Since then, there has been a strong need to reverse this trend, as this loss of habitat has led to the realization that many of the species that depend on these bodies of water are also at risk of disappearing. In response to this urgent need, a number of initiatives have already been launched in the past.
Currently, natur&ëmwelt Hëllef fir d’Natur manages more than 250 bodies of water out of a total of 2,500 recorded in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. To further expand the network of ponds and lakes and to help improve the conservation status of many threatened species, the Foundation has proposed creating 50 new water bodies starting in 2018. The project is funded by the “Fund for Environmental Protection.” The strategy for creating these habitats is based on the one proposed in 2013 by the “Open-Habitat Ponds” habitat action plan of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, Department of the Environment.