Tom Buijse

Dr. Tom Buijse is a Special Professor (part-time) in Freshwater Fish Ecology at Wageningen University & Research, affiliated with the Aquaculture and Fisheries department. He holds a PhD from Wageningen University (1992) and has over three decades of expertise in river restoration, fish ecology, and aquatic ecosystem management. His research focuses on ecological rehabilitation of large rivers like the Rhine, Danube, and Volga, emphasizing hydromorphological processes, fish-based assessment methods, and implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive.

Key roles include coordinating the EU-funded REFORM project (2011–2015) involving 26 partners and organizing international conferences on river restoration. His work bridges ecological science with socio-economic demands, addressing navigation, flood protection, and fisheries management. He supervises multiple PhD candidates and has published extensively on river rehabilitation and fish community dynamics.

His research highlights long-term restoration success, habitat succession in floodplains, and cyclic rejuvenation strategies to maintain nursery areas for rheophilic fishes. Despite no explicit awards listed, his contributions have shaped European river management policies.