Freshwater

Os ecossistemas de águas continentais – incluindo lagos, rios e córregos, bem como áreas úmidas como brejos e turfeiras – estão entre os mais ameaçados do planeta. Desde 1970, as populações monitoradas de espécies de água doce registraram uma diminuição média de 85%, superando significativamente o ritmo de declínio das espécies marinhas e terrestres. Atualmente, quase um terço das espécies de água doce enfrenta risco iminente de extinção.

Les écosystèmes d’eaux intérieures — tels que les lacs, les fleuves, rivières et ruisseaux, les marais et les tourbières — figurent parmi les plus menacés de la planète. Depuis 1970, les populations suivies d'espèces d'eau douce ont reculé en moyenne de 85 %, un rythme bien plus rapide que celui observé dans les milieux marins et terrestres, et près d'une espèce sur trois est aujourd’hui menacée d'extinction.

Inland waters – such as rivers, lakes and other wetlands – are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. They are also the most threatened; almost one in three species is at risk of extinction and monitored populations of freshwater species have declined by 85% since 1970. The loss of these ecosystems has cascading effects on human livelihoods, cultures and our overall well-being.

This monograph first describes the popular types of accounting usually followed in case of freshwater resources. Second, it reviews some fo the successful examples of accounting done in select countries from all over the world and focuses on lessons learnt from doing such an exercise in a developing country like India. Third, the change in the quality of water over the period 1993-2003 has been computed for surface water and groundwater.

This report presents the results of a broad assessment of freshwater diversity in the Douro river basin in Spain and Portugal. The Douro river basin is the largest of the Iberian Peninsula, and an ecological region of great value due to the high diversity of ecosystems and the number of species. A total of 14 sites, either identified as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) or potential KBA sites, were surveyed for fish and macroinvertebrate species.

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.

L’Afrique occidentale est riche en biodiversité d’eau douce et en endémicité régionale, soutenant l’ensemble des populations mondiales de nombreuses espèces d’eau douce menacées, notamment les poissons, les mollusques, les libellules, les crabes, les crevettes et les plantes aquatiques. Ce rapport s’appuie sur une évaluation de référence régionale réalisée en 2009 ainsi que sur une évaluation des Zones clés pour la biodiversité (KBAs) d’eau douce en 2015.