Only 17% of free-flowing rivers are protected panda.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from panda.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The FINANCIAL New science about the fate of freshwater ecosystems released today by the journal Sustainability, finds that only 17% of rivers globally are both free-flowing and within protected areas, leaving many of these highly-threatened systems – and the species that rely on them – at risk, WWF notes.
“Populations of freshwater species have already declined by 84% on average since 1970, with degradation of rivers a leading cause of this decline. As a critical food source for hundreds of millions of people, we need to reverse this trend” said Ian Harrison, Freshwater Specialist at Conservation International.
“While 17% of all free-flowing rivers are within protected areas, in most countries the level of protection for large rivers is far lower,” said Jeff Opperman, World Wildlife Fund s (WWF) global lead freshwater scientist, “and it’s these large rivers that are most crucial for supporting fisheries that support rural communities.”