Molluscs

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.

One of the main reasons cited for inadequate representation of biodiversity in the development processes is a lack of readily available information on inland water taxa. In response to this need for basic for information on species, the IUCN Species Programme conducted a regional assessment of the status and distribution of 2,261 taxa of freshwater fishes, molluscs, odonates, crabs and selected families of aquatic plants from throughout central Africa.

Biodiversity within inland water ecosystems in the Eastern Himalaya region is both highly diverse and of great regional importance to livelihoods and economies. However, development activities are not always compatible with the conservation of this diversity, and the ecosystem requirements of biodiversity are frequently not considered in the development planning process.

This assessment is the first overview of the conservation status of 877 northern African freshwater species belonging to five taxonomic groups—fish, molluscs, dragonflies and damselflies, freshwater crabs and aquatic plants—in accordance with the IUCN regional Red List guidelines. Species at risk of regional extinction are mapped and conservation measures are proposed to reduce the probability of future declines.

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.

More than 1,000 species of molluscs are threatened by habitat destruction, over-collection, or predation by alien species. The nine papers and five abstracts in this volume summarise the current status of molluscan diversity.