With 10 million deaths worldwide expected each year by 2050, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is now considered by all major international organisations as one of the most challenging threats to humanity. This is due to the global distribution of AMR, its high health impact, as well as its profound economic and social implications. The ANTIVERSA project explores the links between AMR and biodiversity, particularly in freshwater habitats and soils. The project aims to answer the question of whether biologically diverse ecosystems have a greater capacity to prevent or delay the spread compared to low biodiversity environments. Important social trends (globalisation and urbanisation) will increase pressure on land and water resources in the future. Investigating the idea that high biodiversity in urbanised systems leads to ecosystems containing fewer potential pathogens (i.e. fewer bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes) is essential. Consequently, the project experimentally tests the hypothesis that the level of biodiversity of microbial communities affects the successful invasion of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). This will be tested by exposing naturally formed communities in freshwater and soil ecosystems that differ in microbial biodiversity. The experiments will be carried out in a harmonised procedure incorporating a specific diversity of freshwater and soil sediments from seven central European nations. The experiments will have varying degrees of complexity, from exposure of single strains of ARB to exposure of sewage treatment plant effluent and pig farm manure to different temperature values. Furthermore, the selected sites will be monitored for ARG and ARB biodiversity and abundance to test a (negative) correlation of microbial community biodiversity and ARG and ARB abundance in situ. In addition, indicators for water quality, soil quality and human health will be monitored, which will contribute to the development of water and soil quality management regulations. The project recognises the importance of the socio-economic aspects of antimicrobial resistance and biodiversity, so it also includes important communication and social-scientific elements. It addresses several stakeholders, as well as the general public, who are - to some extent - involved in activities involving an increasing dispersion of pollutants, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Water and soil resources provide important ecosystem services for society and the economy, so this research project is situated at the interface of the sectors listed above and will test an aspect of biodiversity maintenance that may become even clearer and could highlight a hitherto neglected ecosystem service.