Freshwater

The freshwater opportunity: preserving the waters which connect us

What do rivers mean to you? For Hugo Costa, deep in the Amazon, the seasons of the Juruá River can define the food you eat, the journeys you travel, and the people you meet. For Yolarnie Amepou, looking over a vast river delta in Papua New Guinea, ten different cultures have been shaped by [...]

By |2024-04-17T10:59:43+00:00June 12th, 2023|Conservation Optimism, Freshwater, Hydropower, Rivers|Comments Off on The freshwater opportunity: preserving the waters which connect us

Inland waters: it is time to prioritise the waters of life

In the United Nations biodiversity agreement, freshwater ecosystems were finally included as ‘inland waters’ in the commitment to safeguard and restore at least 30 per cent of the world’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans by 2030. So, what is the freshwater biodiversity crisis, and why should we be concerned for people and [...]

By |2024-04-12T14:51:57+00:00March 23rd, 2023|Conservation Optimism, Freshwater, Hydropower, Rivers|Comments Off on Inland waters: it is time to prioritise the waters of life

The myth of green hydropower

Large dams are disastrous for freshwater ecosystems. From preventing salmon migrations, to flooding niche river ecosystems, to blocking nutrient-rich sediment from getting downstream, hydropower is a catastrophe for wildlife. Yet currently, hydropower supplies more than half of our renewable energy. Isn’t cutting our dependence on fossil fuels worth the biodiversity cost of new dams? [...]

By |2024-04-12T14:14:15+00:00March 13th, 2023|Dams, Freshwater, Hydropower, Threats|Comments Off on The myth of green hydropower

Snapshots from a global biodiversity conference

The world's largest and most important global gathering on biodiversity convened in Montreal, Canada, in December 2022. As the speeches, pledges and media coverage of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties 15 (COP15) fade into memory, we hear from four people who were there. Large, [...]

By |2023-02-20T10:16:36+00:00February 20th, 2023|Advocacy, Biodiversity, Capacity, Congo Basin, Events, Freshwater, Inclusion|Comments Off on Snapshots from a global biodiversity conference

Rivers – overlooked and undervalued allies in the age of the climate crisis

What role do rivers play in your life? For billions of people around the world, they are – literally – their source of life and survival. Although rivers cover less than one percent of the Earth’s surface, they are the most biodiverse and productive ecosystems in the world. In this post, Félix Feider looks [...]

By |2023-06-12T09:47:30+00:00October 25th, 2022|Dams, Freshwater, Hydropower, Rivers|Comments Off on Rivers – overlooked and undervalued allies in the age of the climate crisis