Our work on rivers
Rivers are freshwater wetlands that connect and sustain diverse ecosystems including lakes, inland deltas, swamps and marshes. Safeguarding and restoring healthy, resilient freshwater systems is key to achieving global goals for water, food, biodiversity, peace and climate change.
Needless to say, rivers are integral to the hydrological cycle, storing and regulating water. They provide nearly all of the freshwater we use for drinking and agriculture. Through farming, fishing, and tourism, rivers provide millions of people with sources of food and livelihoods. In fact, the annual esimated value of water and freshwater ecosystems is US$58 trillion – equivalent to 60% of global GDP. Freshwater ecosystems cover less than 1% of Earth’s surface, yet are home to at least 10% of Earth’s species. Rivers support some of the world’s most iconic species, including hippos, crocodiles, jaguars, manatees, and beavers. Connecting land and sea, they enable fish and waterbird migration.
Rivers have always been important to people. The world’s first great civilizations arose in the fertile flood plains of rivers: the Nile in Egypt, the Indus in southern Asia, the Tigris and the Euphrates in the Middle East, and the Huang in China. Even today, some of the world’s biggest cities are found along the banks of rivers – London, Kolkata, Chicago.
But most rivers are dammed and cut off from their natural floodplains. Only a third still flow freely. The fragmentation and loss of rivers, lakes and floodplains is a result of ill-advised dams and other development projects like the construction of roads. Such changes can have disastrous consequences up and downstream.
Freshwater ecosystems have seen a devastating 85% collapse in wildlife populations. Erratic rainfall spurred by climate change and the mismanagement of rivers caused floods across countries like India and Pakistan and droughts in Iran. Concurrently, incidents of water-related violence have more than doubled in the past 10 years, and water scarcity is predicted to remain a primary cause of displacement in the future.
The good news is that water (and rivers) and increasingly being recognised as integral to solving the multiple crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, water security and sustainable development. And we know what must be done. Free-flowing rivers connected to healthy wetlands are cost-effective solutions to these crises. Just last year, Europe achievied a record-high number of dam removals.
But rivers do not adhere to political boundaries (in fact, 60% of the world’s freshwater is transboundary), making international cooperation crucial in managing water resources and protecting wetlands.
Wetlands International works across countries to conserve, restore and sustainably manage river systems. Find out more about some of our projects below.
