Sustaining Freshwater Biodiversity in the Anthropocene

Abstract

Globally, fresh water is a limited resource, covering only about 0.8 % of the world’s surface area. With over 126,000 species living in its ecosystems, freshwater harbours a disproportionate share of the planet’s biodiversity; it is essential for life, and central to satisfying human development needs. However, as we enter the Anthropocene, multiple threats are affecting freshwater systems at a global scale. The combined challenges of an increasing need for water from a growing and wealthier human population, and the uncertainty of how to adapt to definite but unpredictable climate change, significantly add to this stress. It is imperative that landscape managers and policy-makers think carefully about strategic adaptive management of freshwater systems in order to both effectively conserve natural ecosystems, and the plants and animals that live within, and continue to supply human populations with the freshwater benefits they need. Maintaining freshwater biodiversity is necessary to ensure the functioning of freshwater ecosystems and thereby secure the benefits they can provide for people. Thus freshwater biodiversity is also an important element of viable economic alternatives for the sustainable use of the freshwater ecosystems natural capital. In order to achieve this we need to do a better job at monitoring our freshwater biodiversity, understanding how the ecosystems function, and evaluating what that means in terms of service delivery.