Our rivers and wetlands – and the communities of plants, fish, birds, insects and wildlife therein – are an integral part of our lives which provide the resource base to meet a multitude of needs.

However, the world’s freshwater ecosystems are under great pressure. 

Coastal and freshwater ecosystems are deteriorating at a faster rate than any other ecosystem. They are used as dumping grounds for waste, drained for agricultural and other purposes, and disrupted by dams, diversions, and canals. 

Humans depend upon healthy aquatic networks for drinking water, food security, and a wide range of environmental goods and services. The conservation of biodiversity (species, habitats, ecosystem functions) must become an integral part of all water resource management programmes. 

There are signs of progress in how pollution and its risks can be mitigated, and how trends in environmental degradation can be potentially reversed.