Value of freshwater biodiversity
Foundational to water and nutrient cycles, wetlands provide a vital source of water, food, medicine and income. Freshwater habitats are essential for flood control and climate change mitigation.
Freshwater species
Freshwaters are among the most valuable ecosystems on the planet for their biodiversity and importance to livelihoods. Yet the freshwater realm is under threat, with its species declining faster than those on land and in the oceans. IUCN is working to raise the profile of freshwater biodiversity by highlighting its value, assessing the extinction risk of freshwater species and identifying sites important for their survival.
Publicación
2021
Western Africa is rich in freshwater biodiversity and regional endemicity, supporting the entire global populations of many threatened freshwater species including fishes, molluscs, …
Publicación
2019
The Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa Catchment (LMNNC) supports exceptionally high diversity and endemism of freshwater species. This globally recognised centre of freshwater biodiversity is of…
10%
of all known species are supported by wetlands, which cover less than 1% of the Earth's surface.Description
(Strayer and Dudgeon, 2010)
83%
- the percentage freshwater vertebrate populations have declined since 1970.Description
(WWF, 2018)
IUCN's work on freshwater biodiversity
IUCN is leading the assessment of freshwater species (including crabs, crayfishes and shrimps, fishes, molluscs, dragonflies and damselflies, and plants) for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and helping identify Key Biodiversity Areas that are important for the survival of these species. This knowledge is used to advise governments, NGOs, the private sector and other stakeholders for informing effective conservation measures.
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Nature 2030 priorities:
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Sustainable development goals:
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Artículo
Freshwater for the Future
Freshwater resources and the life and diversity they sustain are under mounting pressure from mass alteration of the river, estuarine, peatland, wetland and watershed ecosystems worldwide, made worse by the impacts of climate change.
Artículo
14 Abr, 2022
Less than 1% of the Earth’s surface is covered by freshwater, yet freshwater ecosystems hold a disproportionately large amount of the world’s species and genetic diversity. At the same time, these…
Blog
02 Feb, 2022
Blog — “Wetlands Action for People and Nature” – that is the theme for World Wetlands Day this year, focusing on how to invest our human resources into ensuring the world’s wetlands are…
Literatura gris
2022
This report presents the results of a broad assessment of the freshwater diversity in four Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and some key additional sites in the Sebou river basin in Morocco.
Artículo
23 Mayo, 2022
To mark International Day for Biodiversity (22 May), a new report shines the spotlight on overlooked and underappreciated freshwater species that are in urgent need of conservation. …
Freshwater species
