Interview with Dr David Tickner, WWF UK
Q: How would you describe the state of freshwater ecosystems globally?
When you look at the global indicators, the stats are not good. Statistics suggest that we’re losing wetlands three times faster than we’re losing forests, and the Living Planet Index shows that freshwater species are declining at more than twice the rate of terrestrial or ocean species. When looking at IUCN Red List statistics, many freshwater species are also at risk of extinction.
I think it is important to remember that behind all the global indicators, there are real stories, real rivers, lakes, and wetlands in decline with real impacts on wildlife and human communities and economies.
Q: Why are we seeing this decline in freshwater biodiversity, and what social or economic impacts are likely to occur?
Several factors are causing these impacts. Overuse of water is a major issue. Poorly planned infrastructure is often ineffective and dams can cause changes to river flows with impacts to ecology and local communities. Invasive species, climate change, and over-exploitation of resources like fisheries have effects on the ecosystem.
Pollution is another major issue for freshwater, impacting human health and economies. The World Bank and the World Economic Forum have started pointing to the significant risks from water pollution, especially during times of water scarcity from droughts or conflicts between water users.
Often the poorest and most disadvantaged, including indigenous groups, suffer the most from pollution and poor water management. Supply chains may also be impacted, and there is increased concern from the private sector, from food, beverage, textiles, and other sectors to try to address these issues.
Q: What are some of the ways countries or communities can improve the health of their freshwater ecosystems? Please give some examples of successes or signs of hope.
We are seeing a rising interest in river restoration globally, for example with the Chinese government trying to stimulate river restoration across the country. We are also seeing a dam removal movement particularly in North America, and in Europe and, just starting, in China. In England, there are stories of successful restoration of species, such as getting otters back into a wide range of rivers after decades of decline. It is important to harness these lessons and success stories along with the mounting interest in restoring freshwater ecosystems.
In addition, there are key actions that need to be implemented to try to bend the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss. WWF has been leading efforts through partnerships with other organisations including IUCN to put together a global ‘emergency recovery plan’ for freshwater biodiversity. The proposed plan calls for six key actions: 1) to rapidly accelerate the implementation of environmental flows in rivers and wetlands (for instance through more sustainable water allocation plans), making sure there’s enough water to keep the ecosystem functioning; 2) invest in substantial improvements to water quality and attack a wide array of sources of pollution; 3) make sure that the most important habitats are protected and well-managed; 4) tackle invasive species to prevent and control further species invasions; 5) tackle over-exploitation of fisheries and raw materials such as riverine aggregate sand and gravel which are used for construction; 6) and lastly, safeguard and improve connectivity in freshwater systems by addressing dams and flood defences, possibly removing dams to try and restore connectivity.
All solutions need to be context-specific so they will vary from place to place, but at the global level, rapid and widespread scale-up of these six actions need to be at the heart of any recovery plan for freshwater biodiversity.
Q: Freshwater conservation is one of the themes of the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2020. What impact do you hope the event will have on freshwater ecosystem policy and conservation?
Firstly, it’s great that freshwater will be a specific theme of the Congress. As I understand it, that’s the first time this has happened. That should help raise the profile of freshwater conservation as an issue. I would hope to see influential players and leaders within the conservation movement leave the Congress with transformational ideas and priority actions for freshwater, and to apply those ideas to their own organisations.
I would also hope to have sharper communications and improved messaging to stakeholders beyond the conservation communities, perhaps to industry, political leaders, and society about freshwater conservation. However, I think we need to view the Congress as a particularly important milestone in a journey over the next year or so. The year 2020 is going to be particularly important for sustainability and biodiversity.
Q: Traditionally, conservation of freshwater ecosystems gets less attention than other areas, such as oceans or forests. What could be done to reverse this trend?
I think the first and most important thing is that the freshwater conservation community itself has to do a better job of communicating with other sectors of the conservation community as well as with the world at large. We tend to talk to each other which is always a great way to share knowledge, but we tend to then perceive ourselves as a little bit neglected. It’s up to us to talk to the wider world to make ourselves relevant. If we don’t do that, we can't expect people to suddenly switch onto freshwater conservation as an issue. Another way to get attention for freshwater would be if leaders within the conservation community speak more publicly about freshwater conservation. To finish on a positive note, there have been a few mentions recently on Twitter from influential people like E.O. Wilson saying that freshwater biodiversity is the next big challenge, so this gives me hope.
About the author
Dr David Tickner - WWF UK’s Chief Freshwater Adviser
