In the face of increasing pressure on freshwater resources, there exists an urgent need for new practical tools to achieve their sustainable management. Sustainable water resources and ecosystem services at the global scale can be achieved by two types of actions: first, the reduction of energy and material use per capita — expressed by the UNEP Concept of Ecoefficiency and second, by enhancement of the absorbing capacity of ecosystems. The Ecohydrology concept developed during UNESCOs International Hydrological Programme is a new approach in environmental sciences. It is based on the assumption that the control and regulation of nutrients and water cycling by synergistically integrated hydrological and biotic processes at the catchment scale should provide opportunities for restoration and enhancement of the absorbing capacity of ecosystems against human impacts. The new dimensions of ecohydrological research, which are introduced in this special issue, emerged during a conference in Venice and are focused on multidimensional feedbacks between water, biota and society. Based on the Ecohydrology principles formulated during the first phase of the Eecohydrology Project (EH IHP V 2.3/2.4) the development of research on such issues in the framework of IHP VI should provide a new tool for improving water resources, environmental quality, ecosystem services and socio-economic development.
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