Better global water management for better environmental and economic benefits

Rivers that serve 80% of the world's population are threatened by agricultural runoff, pollution and invasive species, according to a new international study. 'Riverthreat' was funded in part by the EU's EVOLTREE ('Evolution of trees as drivers of terrestrial biodiversity') project, which received just over EUR 14 million under the 'Sustainable development, global change and ecosystems' Thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The findings were recently published in the journal Nature.

Researchers, led by the City College (CCNY) of the City University of New York (CUNY) and the University of Wisconsin, studied the effects of a variety of environmental stressors on water systems. They found that in addition to threatening human lives, pollutants also endanger the biodiversity of 65% of the world's river habitats and put thousands of aquatic wildlife species at risk. The team produced a series of maps documenting these negative impacts using a computer-based framework.

The researchers found that the security of human water supplies were highly threatened in both developed and developing nations, but insisted that the expensive engineering schemes used by rich western countries trying to solve such problems were untenable for poorer nations, and called for a global, more economic approach to water security.

One of the study's goals is to support international protocols that can be used for water system protection. The researchers believe an international approach is critical since more than 250 river basins cross international borders.