Smith, K. G.

The Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot is known to be one of the most biologically rich and complex regions on Earth. The north-western part of the hotspot (the area that covers all of the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, most of Italy and Malta) supports important river, lake, karst and wetland systems critical for the survival of threatened and restricted range freshwater species.

The Eastern Mediterranean region supports just over 4.4% of the global human population yet contains only 1.1% of its renewable water resources, which are under constant threat from the impacts of unsustainable water withdrawal, dam development and climate change.

Our knowledge of species diversity within the inland waters of Indo-Burma is poorly documented and the region remains relatively under-surveyed. In this volume we aim to address this knowledge gap and present the most up-to-date information on the distribution and extinction risk of freshwater species in all inland water ecosystems across the Indo-Burma hotspot, and where appropriate, the reasons behind their declining status.

The Western Ghats is one of the world’s most heavily populated biodiversity hotspots providing for and supporting 400 million people through water for drinking, transport, irrigation, and hydroelectric power, together with food and resources to sustain livelihoods.

Lack of readily available information on the status and distribution of inland water taxa in western Africa explains why biodiversity is often poorly represented within the development planning process. In response to this need for information, a regional assessment of the status and distribution of 1,395 taxa of freshwater fishes, molluscs, odonates, crabs, and selected families of aquatic plants from across western Africa was conducted.

This volume gives the most up-to-date information on the distributions and conservation status of species in all inland water ecosystems across mainland continental Africa and the reasons behind their declining status. This represents the most comprehensive assessment yet of freshwater biodiversity at the species level for an entire continent. For managers, this information will assist in designing and delivering targeted action to mitigate and minimise these threats.

Biodiversity within inland water ecosystems in southern Africa is highly diverse and of great importance to livelihoods and economies, however, development activities are not always compatible with the conservation of this diversity and it is poorly represented in the development planning process. One of the main reasons is a lack of readily available information on the status and distribution of inland water taxa.

Freshwater in the Mediterranean basin is of huge economic, environmental and livelihood importance. However, with a growing population and an increasing number of tourists, the freshwater resources are under great pressure. Since the threatened status of plants and animals is one of the most widely used indicators for assessing the condition of ecosystems and their biodiversity, an assessment was undertaken for freshwater fish in this region.

Biodiversity within inland water ecosystems in Eastern Africa is highly diverse and of great importance to livelihoods and economies, however, development activities are not always compatible with the conservation of this diversity and it is poorly represented in the development planning process. One of the main reasons is the lack of readily available information on the status and distribution of inland water taxa.