In her talk, entitled “Protecting Groundwater Ecosystems with Effective Risk Evaluation,” Dr. Di Lorenzo highlighted the far-reaching importance of groundwater for surface ecosystems and human activities, as well as its often-overlooked role as an ecosystem in its own right. She presented the unique ecological characteristics of groundwater fauna, which make them particularly sensitive to pollutants, and pointed out where current regulatory approaches are insufficient. Additionally, she advocated for tailored environmental risk assessment frameworks to ensure effective protection of groundwater ecosystems.