GLAND, Switzerland (8 May 2019) – Just over one-third (37%) of the world’s 246 longest rivers remain free-flowing, according to a new study published in the scientific journal Nature. Dams and reservoirs are drastically reducing the diverse benefits that healthy rivers provide to people and nature across the globe.

A team of 34 international researchers from McGill University, WWF, and other institutions[i] assessed the connectivity status of 12 million kilometers of rivers worldwide, providing the first ever global assessment of the location and extent of the planet’s remaining free-flowing rivers[ii].

Among other findings in ‘Mapping the World’s Free-Flowing Rivers’, the researchers determined only 21 of the world's 91 rivers longer than 1,000 km that originally flowed to the ocean still retain a direct connection from source to sea. The planet’s remaining free-flowing rivers are largely restricted to remote regions of the Arctic, the Amazon Basin, and the Congo Basin.

“The world’s rivers form an intricate network with vital links to land, groundwater, and the atmosphere,’’ said lead author Günther Grill of McGill’s Department of Geography. ‘’Free-flowing rivers are important for humans and the environment alike, yet economic development around the world is making them increasingly rare. Using satellite imagery and other data, our study examines the extent of these rivers in more detail than ever before.”

Dams and reservoirs are the leading contributors to connectivity loss in global rivers. The study estimates there are around 60,000 large dams worldwide, and more than 3,700 hydropower dams are currently planned or under construction. They are often planned and built at the individual project level, making it difficult to assess their real impacts across an entire basin or region.

“This first ever map allows us to prioritize and protect the world’s remaining free-flowing rivers, as these are lifelines for wildlife and people across the globe,” said Michele Thieme, WWF Freshwater Scientist and co-author of the paper. “Rivers provide diverse benefits that are often overlooked and undervalued. Decision makers must consider the full value of rivers when they plan new infrastructure.”

Healthy rivers support freshwater fish stocks that improve food security for hundreds of millions of people, deliver sediment that keeps deltas above rising seas, mitigate the impact of extreme floods and droughts, prevent loss of infrastructure and fields to erosion, and support a wealth of biodiversity. Disrupting rivers’ connectivity often diminishes or even eliminates these critical ecosystem services.

Protecting remaining free-flowing rivers is also crucial to saving biodiversity in freshwater systems. WWF’s Living Planet Report 2018 recently revealed that populations of freshwater species have experienced the most pronounced decline of all vertebrates over the past half-century, falling on average 83 percent since 1970. This week, IPBES’ 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services highlighted threats to the world’s freshwater ecosystems and called for the protection and restoration of free-flowing rivers.

The study also notes that climate change will further threaten the health of rivers worldwide. Rising temperatures are already impacting flow patterns, water quality, and biodiversity. Meanwhile, as countries around the world shift to low-carbon economies, hydropower planning and development is accelerating, adding urgency to the need to develop energy systems that minimize overall environmental and social impact.

“While hydropower inevitably has a role to play in the renewable energy landscape, countries should also consider other renewable options,” said Thieme. “Well-planned wind and solar energy can have less detrimental impacts on rivers and the communities, cities, and biodiversity that rely on them.”

With the historic coming together of key decisions on environment, climate and sustainable development, 2020 provides an unmissable opportunity for world leaders to protect and restore free flowing rivers as part of a New Deal for Nature and People – an agreement which would aim to halt and reverse the loss of nature, and protect our planet.

ENDS
 

Notes to Editors:

For further information, contact:

Scott Edwards | WWF-International | sedwards@wwfint.org | +44 7887 954116

[i] Contributing Institutions:

McGill University, WWF-US, WWF-NL, WWF-UK, WWF-Mediterranean, WWF-India, University of Basel, Joint Research Centre (JRC), WWF-China, WWF-Canada, WWF-Zambia, WWF-Greater Mekong Programme, The Nature Conservancy, University of Nevada, WWF-Malaysia, IHE Delft, WWF-Germany and HTWG Konstanz, King’s College London, Umeå University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, University of Washington, Harvard University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Conservation International , WWF-Mexico, WWF-International, Stanford University, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Freie Universität Berlin, WWF-Brazil, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.

[ii] First ever science-based definition of a free-flowing river:

Rivers where ecosystem functions and services are largely unaffected by changes to fluvial connectivity allowing an unobstructed exchange of water, material, species, and energy within the river system and with surrounding landscapes.

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