While we know relatively little about our planet's freshwater biodiversity or ecosystems, we do know that fresh water contains a higher concentration of biodiversity than either terrestrial or marine biomes. Of all of the fish species on the planet, for example, almost half are found in freshwater environments.
We also know that humans depend upon the nearly 200 services that come from these ecosystems, from drinking water to hydroelectricity to fish for food, but we are losing these services even faster than we can fully comprehend how they benefit us. For our own well-being, we need to better understand what these services are, how they are threatened, where they are concentrated, and how they relate to both the ecosystems that sustain them and the people that benefit from them.
We cannot manage threats to freshwater systems unless we understand their impacts. We also need to gain insight into where rare and threatened species live in order to best protect them. CI must prioritize and target our work in those places most favorable for protecting freshwater species, ecosystems, and ecosystem services.
Why is it important?
Freshwater ecosystems are comprised of the fresh water itself as well as microbes, plants, animals, rocks, and soils — and all contribute to an ecosystem's capacity to function and deliver services.
Freshwater species are important components of freshwater ecosystem function and serve as good proxies for freshwater ecosystem health. Current estimates of the total number of freshwater species are probably low because many freshwater species remain undiscovered or have not yet been scientifically described. For example, the number of scientifically recognized species of amphibians increased by 48 percent between 1985 and 2006! Without knowing how many freshwater species exist, it is easy to underestimate the value of this biodiversity and to insufficiently conserve and manage the freshwater systems that sustain it.
How is CI contributing?
CI and our partners are analyzing the critical components of freshwater ecosystems, including biodiversity, to determine how they interact with and deliver services to us. We are mapping places where freshwater biodiversity and the sources, flows, and delivery of ecosystem services are the most concentrated. We are working to understand how humans disrupt ecosystem function through development projects and how climate change and our responses to it impact ecosystems.
We are also studying ecosystem services "trade-offs." For example, if we build a hydropower dam upstream, it will generate electricity and allow for greater water storage and flood control, but it could also prevent fish migrations and cause the collapse of a fishery downstream. A sophisticated understanding of trade-offs and development alternatives is required if we are to suggest workable solutions for managing our lands and waters to benefit both species and people.
What are CI's major areas of work?
-
Prioritizing the most valuable places, describing threats to freshwater ecosystems and creating the most effective interventions for conservation and service delivery through research and data analysis.
-
Developing a toolkit to improve decision-making in land and water resource use and management so that key threats are minimized, trade-offs between development and services are understood, and the most important services are provided to people and species alike.
Results expected
-
Global prioritization of places favorable for the protection of freshwater species and ecosystem services for people both now and in the future, globally and locally.
-
Creation of a strategic global-to-local conservation agenda for CI and our partners for the next 10 to 20 years.
-
Quantification of the threats impacting freshwater ecosystems and the benefits that they provide, including water for drinking, irrigation, and sanitation.
-
Reduction in the ecological footprint of infrastructure development and agricultural practices due to a new appreciation of the role that freshwater ecosystems play in providing services.
-
Setting of standards for planning and managing watersheds, landscapes, and sites to integrate conservation and development, through the use of toolkit and web-based products and publications.
-
Collection of data to create Integrated Water Resource Management plans for CI's "flagship" projects, which will suggest ways to provide an optimal mix of conservation, ecosystem service flows, sustainable use, and land and water production for human well-being in a given geography.
Priorities
-
Filling in geographic and taxonomic gaps in the Global Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment to identify patterns of species distribution and threats, indicators of habitat quality, and ecosystem health.
-
Piloting cross-biome (terrestrial-freshwater-marine) Rapid Assessment Programs to build upon CI's headwater-to-estuary watershed conservation and seascape efforts.
-
Defining freshwater hotspots, priority watersheds, and key biodiversity and ecosystem service provision sites — and goals for their conservation.
-
Developing spatial planning and mapping tools for fresh water; field-testing and evaluating a new toolkit for our field programs.
-
Mapping locations where ecosystem-based solutions for infrastructure needs and climate change adaptation can be accomplished by enhancing freshwater ecosystem management