Freshwater Systems

PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS
Freshw ater Systems

Carmen Revenga Jake Brunner Norbert Henninger
Ken Kassem Richard Payne
PI L O T A N A L Y SI S O F GLOBA L E C O SY ST E M S
Freshw ater
Systems
C A R MEN R EV ENGA
JA KE B R UNNER
N OR BERT H ENNINGER
K EN K A SSEM
R ICHA R D P AY NE
CAROLLY NE HUTTER
PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR
HYACINTH BILLINGS
PRODUCTION MANAGER
MAGGIE POWELL AND KATHY DOUCETTE

COVER DESIGN AND LAYOUT
DAVID HOSANSKY
EDITING
Each World Resources Institute Report represents a timely, scholarly treat- inquiry. It also solicits and responds to the guidance of advisory panels and expert
ment of a subject of public concern. WRI takes responsibility for choosing reviewers. Unless otherwise stated, however, all the interpretation and findings set
the study topics and guaranteeing its authors and researchers freedom of forth in WRI publications are those of the authors.
Copyright © 2000 World Resources Institute. All rights reserved. Photo Credits: Cover: Little Abiqua Creek, Oregon, Dennis A. Wentz, Smaller ecosystem
photos: Forests: Digital Vision, Ltd., Agriculture: Philippe Berry, Grasslands: PhotoDisc, Coastal:
ISBN: 1-56973-460-7 Digital Vision, Ltd., Prologue: Iguaçu Falls, Argentina/Brazil, Carmen Revenga, Human
Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 00-109503 M odification of Freshw ater Systems: Dalles Dam, Oregon, Corbis Images, Water Quantity:
Digital Vision Ltd., Water Quality: Florida Everglades, South Florida Water M anagement District,
Printed in the United States of America on chlorine-free paper with Food — Inland Fisheries: Nile River, Gene Wampler, Biodiversity: Florida Everglades, South
Florida Water M anagement District.
recycled content of 50% , 20% of which is post-consumer.
Pi l o t A n a l y si s of Gl o b al Ec o sy st e m s
Freshw ater
Systems
C A R MEN R EV ENGA
JA KE B R UNNER
N OR BERT H ENNINGER
K EN K A SSEM
R ICHA R D P AY NE
W ith analytic al c ontributions from:

C. Nilsson, M. Svedmark, P. Hansson, S. Xiong, and K. Berggren, Land-
scape Ecology, Umeå University, Sweden (river fragmentation analysis)
Charles J. Vörösmarty and Balázs Fekete, Complex Systems Research

Center, University of New Hampshire, and Wolfgang Grabs, Global Runoff
Data Centre, Koblenz, Germany (global runoff analysis)
Kirsten M. J. Thompson, World Resources Institute (population projection

and water scarcity analysis)
Published by World Resources Institute

Washington, DC
This report is also available at http://www.wri.org/wr2000
Pilot Analysis of
Global Ecosystems (PAGE)
Project M anagem ent A series of five technical reports, available in print and on-line at
Norbert Henninger, WRI http://www.wri.org/wr2000.
Walt Reid, WRI
Dan Tunstall, WRI A G RO ECO SY STEM S
Valerie Thompson, WRI Stanley Wood, Kate Sebastian, and Sara J. Scherr, Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems:
Arwen Gloege, WRI Agroecosystems, A joint study by International Food Policy Research Institute and World
Elsie Velez-Whited, WRI Resources Institute, International Food Policy Research Institute and World Resources
Institute, Washington D.C.
Agroecosyst em s October 2000 / paperback / ISBN 1-56973-457-7 / US$20.00
Stanley Wood, International Food
Policy Research Institute CO A STA L ECO SY STEM S
Kate Sebastian, International Food Lauretta Burke, Yumiko Kura, Ken Kassem, Mark Spalding, Carmen Revenga, and
Policy Research Institute Don McAllister, Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Coastal Ecosystems, World Resources
Sara J. Scherr, University of Institute, Washington D.C.
Maryland November 2000 / paperback / ISBN 1-56973-458-5 / US$20.00
Coast al Ecosyst em s FO REST ECO SY STEM S

Lauretta Burke, WRI Emily Matthews, Richard Payne, Mark Rohweder, and Siobhan Murray, Pilot Analysis
Yumiko Kura, WRI of Global Ecosystems: Forest Ecosystems, World Resources Institute, Washington D.C.
Ken Kassem, WRI October 2000 / paperback / ISBN 1-56973-459-3 / US$20.00
Mark Spalding, UNEP-WCMC
Carmen Revenga, WRI FRESH W A TER SY STEM S
Don McAllister, Ocean Voice Carmen Revenga, Jake Brunner, Norbert Henninger, Ken Kassem, and Richard Payne
International Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems: Freshwater Systems, World Resources Institute,
Washington D.C.
Forest Ecosyst em s October 2000 / paperback / ISBN 1-56973-460-7 / US$20.00
Emily Matthews, WRI
Richard Payne, WRI G RA SSLA N D ECO SY STEM S
Mark Rohweder, WRI Robin White, Siobhan Murray, and Mark Rohweder, Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems:
Siobhan Murray, WRI Grassland Ecosystems, World Resources Institute, Washington D.C.
November 2000 / paperback / ISBN 1-56973-461-5 / US$20.00
Freshw at er Syst em s
Carmen Revenga, WRI
Jake Brunner, WRI
Norbert Henninger, WRI The full text of each report w ill be available on-line at the time of publication. Printed
Ken Kassem, WRI copies may be ordered by mail from WRI Publications, P.O. Box 4852, Hampden
Richard Payne, WRI Station, Baltimore, M D 21211, USA. To order by phone, call 1-800-822-0504 (w ithin
the United States) or 410-516-6963 or by fax 410-516-6998. Orders may also be
placed on-line at http://w w w .w ristore.com.
Grassland Ecosyst em s
Robin White, WRI
The agroecosystem report is also available at http://w w w .ifpri.org. Printed copies may
Siobhan Murray, WRI be ordered by mail from the International Food Policy Research Institute, Communica-
Mark Rohweder, WRI tions Service, 2033 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20006-5670, USA.
iv Pi l o t A n a l y si s of Global Ec o s y s t e m s
Contents
FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................................................................... vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..................................................................................................................................................... ix
INTRODUCTION TO THE PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS ..................................................... Introduction / 1
FRESHWATER SYSTEMS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 1

Scope of the Assessment
Key Findings and Information Issues
Conclusions
PROLOGUE: FRESHWATER SYSTEMS— WHAT THEY ARE, WHY THEY MATTER ....................................................... 11
HUMAN MODIFICATION OF FRESHWATER SYSTEMS ................................................................................................... 15

Modification Of Rivers
Changes In Groundwater Resources
Wetland Extent and Change
Watershed Modification
Modification Of Freshwater Systems Information Status and Needs
WATER QUANTITY .......................................................................................................................................................... 25

Overview
Condition Indicators of Water Quantity
Capacity of Freshwater Systems to Provide Water
Water Quantity Information Status and Needs
WATER QUALITY ............................................................................................................................................................. 31

Overview
Condition Indicators of the Quality of Surface Waters
Condition Indicators of Groundwater Quality
Capacity of Freshwater Systems to Provide Clean Water
Water Quality Information Status and Needs
FOOD— INLAND FISHERIES ........................................................................................................................................... 41

Status and Trends in Inland Fisheries
Pressures on Inland Fishery Resources
Condition Indicators of Fish Production
Capacity of Freshwater System to Provide Food
Inland Fisheries Information Status and Needs
Fr e s h w a t e r Sy s t e m s v
BIODIVERSITY ................................................................................................................................................................ 49
Overview
Indicators of Biological Value
Condition Indicators of Biodiversity
Capacity of Freshwater Systems to Sustain Biodiversity
Biodiversity Information Status and Needs
TABLES
Table 1. Alteration of Freshwater Systems Worldwide .................................................................................................. 16
Table 2. Large Dams and Storage Capacity of Large Reservoirs by Continent ............................................................... 17
Table 3. Global Annual Renewable Water Supply Per Person in 1995 and Projections for 2025 .................................... 27
Table 4. Trends in U.S. Stream Water Quality, 1980–89 .............................................................................................. 35
Table 5. Changes in Fish Species Composition and Fisheries for Selected Rivers, Lakes, and Inland Seas ..................... 45
Table 6. Species Richness by Ecosystem .................................................................................................................... 50
Table 7. Watersheds with High Fish Species Richness and Endemism ......................................................................... 51
FIGURES
Figure 1. Trading Biodiversity for Export Earnings: The Changing Lake Victoria Fishery (Kenya Only) ......................... 12
Figure 2. Skjern River Floodplain: Marshland and Meadow Area in 1871 and 1987 ..................................................... 13
Figure 3. Statistical distribution of BOD by Continent, 1976–90 ................................................................................. 34
Figure 4. Inland Capture Fisheries by Continent, 1984–97 ......................................................................................... 42
Figure 5. Top Ten Producing Countries, 1997 ............................................................................................................. 43
Figure 6. Global Inland Capture and Freshwater Aquaculture Growth, 1984–97 .......................................................... 44
Figure 7. Commercial Landings of Salmon and Steelhead in the Columbia River, 1886–1998 ....................................... 46
Figure 8. Globally Outstanding Freshwater Ecoregions in North America .................................................................... 52
BOXES
Box 1. What Is at Stake and What Are the Trade-offs: Okavango Delta ........................................................................ 20
Box 2. Index of Watershed Indicators from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ................................................. 32
Box 3. Threats and Issues Facing Inland Fisheries by Continent ................................................................................. 47
MAPS
Map 1. River Channel Fragmentation and Flow Regulation
Map 2. Number of Large Dams under Construction by River Basin as of 1998
Map 3. Residence Time of Continental Runoff by River Basin
Map 4. Africa: Wetlands, Dams, and Ramsar Sites
Maps 5a and 5b. United States: Historical Wetland Loss by State, 1780s–1980s and United States: Net Change in Wetland
Area, 1982–92
Map 6. Percentage of Cropland Area by River Basin
Map 7. Percentage of Urban and Industrial Land Use by River Basin
Maps 8a and 8b. Europe and the Middle East: Intensive Agricultural Land Use by Subbasin and Insular Southeast Asia:
Intensive Agricultural Land Use by Subbasin
Map 9. Annual Renewable Water Supply Per Person by River Basin, 1995
Map 10. Projected Annual Renewable Water Supply Per Person by River Basin, 2025
Map 11. Annual Renewable Water Supply and Dry Season Flow by River Basin
Map 12. Trends in Inland Capture Fisheries by Country, 1984–97
Map 13. Important Areas and Ecoregions for Freshwater Biodiversity
Map 14. Fish Species Richness and Endemism by River Basin
Map 15. Amphibian Census Sites and Decline Index
Map 16. Imperiled Freshwater Fish and Herpetofauna in North American Freshwater Ecoregions
Map 17. Number of Species Introductions into Inland Waters by Country
Map 18. Zebra Mussel Expansion and Water Hyacinth Presence in the United States
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................................... 59
vi PI L O T A N A L Y SI S O F G L O B A L EC O SY ST EM S
Forew ord
Earth’s ecosystems and its peoples are bound together in a food and timber, the study also analyses the condition of a
grand and complex symbiosis. We depend on ecosystems to broad array of ecosystem goods and services that people need,
sustain us, but the continued health of ecosystems depends, or enjoy, but do not buy in the marketplace.
in turn, on our use and care. Ecosystems are the productive The five PAGE reports show that human action has pro-
engines of the planet, providing us with everything from the foundly changed the extent, condition, and capacity of all
water we drink to the food we eat and the fiber we use for major ecosystem types. Agriculture has expanded at the ex-
clothing, paper, or lumber. Yet, nearly every measure we use pense of grasslands and forests, engineering projects have
to assess the health of ecosystems tells us we are drawing on altered the hydrological regime of most of the world’s major
them more than ever and degrading them, in some cases at rivers, settlement and other forms of development have con-
an accelerating pace. verted habitats around the world’s coastlines. Human activi-
Our knowledge of ecosystems has increased dramatically ties have adversely altered the earth’s most important bio-
in recent decades, but it has not kept pace with our ability to geochemical cycles — the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles
alter them. Economic development and human well-being — on which all life forms depend. Intensive management
will depend in large part on our ability to manage ecosys- regimes and infrastructure development have contributed
tems more sustainably. We must learn to evaluate our deci- positively to providing some goods and services, such as food
sions on land and resource use in terms of how they affect and fiber from forest plantations. They have also led to habi-
the capacity of ecosystems to sustain life — not only human tat fragmentation, pollution, and increased ecosystem vul-
life, but also the health and productive potential of plants, nerability to pest attack, fires, and invasion by nonnative spe-
animals, and natural systems. cies. Information is often incomplete and the picture con-
A critical step in improving the way we manage the earth’s fused, but there are many signs that the overall capacity of
ecosystems is to take stock of their extent, their condition, ecosystems to continue to produce many of the goods and
and their capacity to provide the goods and services we will services on which we depend is declining.
need in years to come. To date, no such comprehensive as- The results of the PAGE are summarized in World Resources
sessment of the state of the world’s ecosystems has been un- 2000–2001, a biennial report on the global environment pub-
dertaken. lished by the World Resources Institute in partnership with
The Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems (PAGE) begins the United Nations Development Programme, the United Na-
to address this gap. This study is the result of a remarkable tions Environment Programme, and the World Bank. These
collaborative effort between the World Resources Institute institutions have affirmed their commitment to making the
(WRI), the International Food Policy Research Institute viability of the world’s ecosystems a critical development pri-
(IFPRI), intergovernmental organizations, agencies, research ority for the 21st century. WRI and its partners began work
institutes, and individual experts in more than 25 countries with a conviction that the challenge of managing earth’s eco-
worldwide. The PAGE compares information already avail- systems — and the consequences of failure — will increase
able on a global scale about the condition of five major classes significantly in coming decades. We end with a keen aware-
of ecosystems: agroecosystems, coastal areas, forests, fresh- ness that the scientific knowledge and political will required
water systems, and grasslands. IFPRI led the agroecosystem to meet this challenge are often lacking today. To make sound
analysis, while the others were led by WRI. The pilot analy- ecosystem management decisions in the future, significant
sis examines not only the quantity and quality of outputs but changes are needed in the way we use the knowledge and
also the biological basis for production, including soil and experience at hand, as well as the range of information brought
water condition, biodiversity, and changes in land use over to bear on resource management decisions.
time. Rather than looking just at marketed products, such as
Fr e s h w a t e r Sy s t e m s v ii
A truly comprehensive and integrated assessment of glo- nerabilities and resilience of ecosystems, so that we can find
bal ecosystems that goes well beyond our pilot analysis is ways to reconcile the demands of human development with
necessary to meet information needs and to catalyze regional the tolerances of nature.
and local assessments. Planning for such a Millennium Eco- We deeply appreciate support for this project from the
system Assessment is already under way. In 1998, represen- Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research,
tatives from international scientific and political bodies be- The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Netherlands
gan to explore the merits of, and recommend the structure Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Devel-
for, such an assessment. After consulting for a year and con- opment Cooperation Agency, the United Nations Develop-
sidering the preliminary findings of the PAGE report, they ment Programme, the United Nations Environment
concluded that an international scientific assessment of the Programme, the Global Bureau of the United States Agency
present and likely future condition of the world’s ecosystems for International Development, and The World Bank.
was both feasible and urgently needed. They urged local, A special thank you goes to the AVINA Foundation, the
national, and international institutions to support the effort Global Environment Facility, and the United Nations Fund
as stakeholders, users, and sources of expertise. If concluded for International Partnerships for their early support of PAGE
successfully, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment will gen- and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, which was in-
erate new information, integrate current knowledge, develop strumental in launching our efforts.
methodological tools, and increase public understanding.
Human dominance of the earth’s productive systems gives JONATHAN LASH
us enormous responsibilities, but great opportunities as well. President
The challenge for the 21st century is to understand the vul- World Resources Institute
viii PI L O T A N A L Y SI S O F G L O B A L EC O SY ST EM S
Acknow ledgments
The World Resources Institute and the International Food national Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN); Com-
Policy Research Institute would like to acknowledge the mem- plex Systems Research Center, University of New Hampshire;
bers of the Millennium Assessment Steering Committee, who Convention on Wetlands; COWI Consulting Engineers and
generously gave their time, insights, and expert review com- Planners AS, Denmark; Declining Amphibian Populations
ments in support of the Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems. Task Force; DHI Water & Environment, Denmark; European
Edward Ayensu, Ghana; Mark Collins, United Nations Environment Agency; Fisheries Department, Food and Agri-
Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring culture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); Global
Centre (UNEP -WCMC), United Kingdom; Angela Cropper, Runoff Data Centre, Koblenz, Germany; Land and Water
Trinidad and Tobago; Andrew Dearing, World Business Coun- Development Division, FAO; Landscape Ecology, Umeå Uni-
cil for Sustainable Development (WBCSD); Janos Pasztor, versity, Sweden; U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
UNFCCC; Louise Fresco, FAO; Madhav Gadgil, Indian In- ministration – National Geophysical Data Center (NOAA-
stitute of Science, Bangalore, India; Habiba Gitay, Austra- NGDC); National Resources Conservation Service, U.S. De-
lian National University, Australia; Gisbert Glaser, UNESCO; partment of Agriculture (USDA); National Wetlands Inven-
Zuzana Guziova, Ministry of the Environment, Slovak Re- tory, United States Fish and Wildlife Service; Oregon De-
public; He Changchui, FAO; Calestous Juma, Harvard Uni- partment of Fish and Wildlife, U.S.A; State of Ohio Environ-
versity; John Krebs, National Environment Research Coun- mental Protection Agency, U.S.A.; United States Geological
cil, United Kingdom; Jonathan Lash, World Resources Insti- Survey (USGS); Washington Department of Fish and Wild-
tute; Roberto Lenton, UNDP; Jane Lubchenco, Oregon State life, U.S.A.; World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC);
University; Jeffrey McNeely, World Conservation Union World Wildlife Fund-U.S. (WWF-U.S.)
(IUCN), Switzerland; Harold Mooney, International Council The authors would also like to express their gratitude to
for Science (ICSU); Ndegwa Ndiangui, Convention to Com- the many individuals who contributed information and ad-
bat Desertification; Prabhu L. Pingali, CIMMYT; Per Pinstrup- vice, attended expert workshops, and reviewed successive
Andersen, Consultative Group on International Agricultural drafts of this report.
Research; Mario Ramos, Global Environment Facility; Peter Robin Abell, WWF-U.S.; Devin Bartley, Fisheries Depart-
Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden; Walter Reid, Secretariat; ment, FAO; Amy Benson, USGS; Ger Bergkamp, IUCN- The
Cristian Samper, Instituto Alexander Von Humboldt, Colom- World Conservation Union; Stephen J. Brady, Natural Re-
bia; José Sarukhán, CONABIO, Mexico; Peter Schei, Direc- sources Conservation Service, USDA; Jesslyn Brown, USGS/
torate for Nature Management, Norway; Klaus Töpfer, UNEP; EROS Data Center; Morley Brownstein, Health Canada;
José Galízia Tundisi, International Institute of Ecology, Bra- Cynthia Carey, Department of Biology, University of Colo-
zil; Robert Watson, World Bank; Xu Guanhua, Ministry of rado; John Cooper, Environment Canada; Thomas E. Dahl,
Science and Technology, People’s Republic of China; A.H. National Wetlands Inventory, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
Zakri, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia. Nick Davidson, Convention on Wetlands; Jean-Marc Faurès,
The Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems would not have Land and Water Development Division, FAO; Stephen Fos-
been possible without the data provided by numerous insti- ter, British Geological Survey; Andy Fraser, Environment
tutions and agencies. The authors of the freshwater systems Canada; Scott Frazier, Wetlands International; Brij Gopal,
analysis wish to express their gratitude for the generous co- Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India; Jippe
operation and invaluable information they received from the Hoogeveen, Land and Water Development Division, FAO;
following organizations: Colette Jacono, USGS; Jim Kapetsky, Fisheries Department,
BirdLife International; Center for Environmental Systems FAO; James Karr, University of Washington; Les Kaufman,
Research, University of Kassel, Germany; Center for Inter- Marine Program, Boston University; Kim Martz, USGS; Don
Fr e s h w a t e r Sy s t e m s ix
McAllister, Ocean Voice International; Timothy L. Miller, Canada; Charles Spooner, U.S. Environmental Protection
USGS; Peter Moyle, Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biol- Agency; Bruce Stein, The Nature Conservancy; Melanie J.
ogy, University of California, Davis; Tom Neill, Oregon De- Stiassny, American Museum of Natural History; Greg Thomp-
partment of Fish and Wildlife; Christer Nilsson, Umeå Uni- son, Environment Canada, Niels Thyssen, European Envi-
versity, Sweden; Kim W. Olesen, DHI Water & Environment, ronment Agency; Joshua Viers, Dept. of Environmental Sci-
Denmark; Francisco Olivera, Center for Research in Water ence and Policy, University of California, Davis; Zipangani
Resources, University of Texas at Austin; Chales R. O’Neill, M. Vokhiwa, Ministry of Research and Environmental Affairs,
National Zebra Mussel Information Clearinghouse, New York Malawi; Charles Vörösmarty, University of New Hampshire;
Sea Grant; Sandra Postel, Global Water Policy Project; Ed- David Wilcove, Environmental Defense.
ward T. Rankin, State of Ohio Environmental Protection We also wish to thank the many individuals at WRI who
Agency; Corinna Ravilious, WCMC; Ilze Reiss, Environment were generous with their help as this report progressed: Tony
Canada; Hans H. Riber, COWI Consulting Engineers and Janetos, Yumiko Kura, Gregory Mock, and Dan Tunstall.
Planners AS, Denmark; Steve Rothert, International Rivers Kirsten Thompson and Johnathan Kool worked tirelessly in
Network; Robert Rusin, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA; the GIS lab to produce the PAGE maps. Hyacinth Billings,
Dork Sahagian, IGBP/GAIM, University of New Hampshire; Kathy Doucette, Carollyne Hutter, and Maggie Powell guided
John R. Sauer, USGS; Teresa Scott, Washington Department the report through production with their usual calm skill, and
of Fish and Wildlife; Igor Shiklomanov, State Hydrological provided editorial and design assistance.
Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia; Robert Slater, Environment
x PI L O T A N A L Y SI S O F G L O B A L EC O SY ST EM S
I n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e P A G E
Introduction to the Pilot Analysis

of Global Ecosystems
PEO PLE A N D ECO SY STEM S may not know of each other’s relevant the extent and distribution of the five
The world’s economies are based on the findings. major ecosystem types and identifies
goods and services derived from ecosys- ecosystem change over time. It analyzes
tems. Human life itself depends on the O BJECTI V ES the quantity and quality of ecosystem
continuing capacity of biological pro- The Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems goods and services and, where data
cesses to provide their multitude of ben- (PAGE) is the first attempt to synthesize exist, reviews trends relevant to the pro-
efits. Yet, for too long in both rich and information from national, regional, and duction of these goods and services over
poor countries, development priorities global assessments. Information sources the past 30 to 40 years. Finally, PAGE
have focused on how much humanity include state of the environment re- attempts to assess the capacity of eco-
can take from ecosystems, and too little ports; sectoral assessments of agricul- systems to continue to provide goods
attention has been paid to the impact of ture, forestry, biodiversity, water, and and services, using measures of biologi-
our actions. We are now experiencing fisheries, as well as national and glo- cal productivity, including soil and
the effects of ecosystem decline in nu- bal assessments of ecosystem extent water conditions, biodiversity, and land
merous ways: water shortages in the and change; scientific research articles; use. Wherever possible, information is
Punjab, India; soil erosion in Tuva, Rus- and various national and international presented in the form of indicators and
sia; fish kills off the coast of North Caro- data sets. The study reports on five ma- maps.
lina in the United States; landslides on jor categories of ecosystems: A second objective of PAGE is to
the deforested slopes of Honduras; fires ? Agroecosystems; identify the most serious information
in the forests of Borneo and Sumatra in ? Coastal ecosystems; gaps that limit our current understand-
Indonesia. The poor, who often depend ? Forest ecosystems; ing of ecosystem condition. The infor-
directly on ecosystems for their liveli- ? Freshwater systems; mation base necessary to assess ecosys-
hoods, suffer most when ecosystems are ? Grassland ecosystems. tem condition and productive capacity
degraded. These ecosystems account for about has not improved in recent years, and
A critical step in managing our eco- 90 percent of the earth’s land surface, may even be shrinking as funding for
systems is to take stock of their extent, excluding Greenland and Antarctica. environmental monitoring and record-
their condition, and their capacity to PAGE results are being published as a keeping diminishes in some regions.
continue to provide what we need. Al- series of five technical reports, each cov- Most importantly, PAGE supports the
though the information available today ering one ecosystem. Electronic versions launch of a Millennium Ecosystem As-
is more comprehensive than at any time of the reports are posted on the Website sessment, a more ambitious, detailed,
previously, it does not provide a com- of the World Resources Institute [http:/ and integrated assessment of global eco-
plete picture of the state of the world’s /www.wri.org/wr2000] and the systems that will provide a firmer basis
ecosystems and falls far short of man- agroecosystems report also is available for policy- and decision-making at the
agement and policy needs. Information on the Website of the International Food national and subnational scale.
is being collected in abundance but Policy Research Institute [http://www/
efforts are often poorly coordinated. ifpri.org]. A N I N TEG RA TED A PPRO A CH TO
Scales are noncomparable, baseline The primary objective of the pilot A SSESSI N G ECO SY STEM G O O D S
data are lacking, time series are incom- analysis is to provide an overview of eco- A N D S E R V I CES
plete, differing measures defy integra- system condition at the global and con- Ecosystems provide humans with a
tion, and different information sources tinental levels. The analysis documents wealth of goods and services, including
Freshwater Systems Introduction / 1

food, building and clothing materials, the current provision of goods and ser- and discussed at a Millennium Assess-
medicines, climate regulation, water pu- vices and the likely capacity of the eco- ment planning meeting in Winnipeg,
rification, nutrient cycling, recreation system to c ontinue providing those Canada, (September, 1999) and at the
opportunities, and amenity value. At goods and services. Goods and services meeting of the Parties to the Conven-
present, we tend to manage ecosystems are selected on the basis of their per- tion to Combat Desertification, held in
for one dominant good or service, such ceived importance to human develop- Recife, Brazil (November, 1999).
as grain, fish, timber, or hydropower, ment. Most of the ecosystem studies ex-
without fully realizing the trade-offs we amine food production, water quality K EY FI N D I N G S
are making. In so doing, we may be sac- and quantity, biodiversity, and carbon Key findings of PAGE relate both to eco-
rificing goods or services more valuable sequestration. The analysis of forests system condition and the information
than those we receive — often those also studies timber and woodfuel pro- base that supported our conclusions.
goods and services that are not yet val- duction; coastal and grassland studies
ued in the market, such as biodiversity examine recreational and tourism ser-
Th e Cu r r e n t St a t e o f
and flood control. An integrated ecosys- vices; and the agroecosystem study re-
tem approach considers the entire range views the soil resource as an indicator Eco sy st e m s
of possible goods and services a given of both agricultural potential and its cur- The PAGE reports show that human ac-
ecosystem provides and attempts to op- rent condition. tion has profoundly changed the extent,
timize the benefits that society can de- distribution, and condition of all major
rive from that ecosystem and across eco- P A RTN ERS A N D TH E RESEA RCH ecosystem types. Agriculture has ex-
systems. Its purpose is to help make PRO CESS panded at the expense of grasslands and
trade-offs efficient, transparent, and sus- The Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosys- forests, engineering projects have al-
tainable. tems was a truly international collabo- tered the hydrological regime of most of
Such an approach, however, presents rative effort. The World Resources In- the world’s major rivers, settlement and
significant methodological challenges. stitute and the International Food other forms of development have con-
Unlike a living organism, which might Policy Research Institute carried out verted habitats around the world’s coast-
be either healthy or unhealthy but can- their research in partnership with nu- lines.
not be both simultaneously, ecosystems merous institutions worldwide (see Ac- The picture we get from PAGE re-
can be in good condition for producing knowledgments). In addition to these sults is complex. Ecosystems are in good
certain goods and services but in poor partnerships, PAGE researchers relied condition for producing some goods and
condition for others. PAGE attempts to on a network of international experts services but in poor condition for pro-
evaluate the condition of ecosystems by for ideas, comments, and formal reducing others. Overall, however, there
assessing separately their capacity to views. The research process included are many signs that the capacity of eco-
provide a variety of goods and services meetings in Washington, D.C., attended systems to continue to produce many of
and examining the trade-offs humans by more than 50 experts from devel- the goods and services on which we de-
have made among those goods and ser- oped and developing countries. The pend is declining. Human activities
vices. As one example, analysis of a meetings proved invaluable in devel- have significantly disturbed the global
particular region might reveal that food oping the c onc eptual approac h and water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles on
production is high but, because of irri- guiding the research program toward which all life depends. Agriculture, in-
gation and heavy fertilizer application, the most promising indicators given dustry, and the spread of human settle-
the ability of the system to provide clean time, budget, and data c onstraints. ments have permanently converted ex-
water has been diminished. Drafts of PAGE reports were sent to over tensive areas of natural habitat and con-
Given data inadequacies, this sys- 70 experts worldwide, presented and tributed to ec osystem degradation
tematic approach was not always fea- critiqued at a technical meeting of the through fragmentation, pollution, and
sible. For each of the five ecosystems, Convention on Biological Diversity in increased incidence of pest attacks,
PAGE researchers, therefore, focus on Montreal (June, 1999) and discussed fires, and invasion by nonnative species.
documenting the extent and distribution at a Millennium Assessment planning The following paragraphs look across
of ecosystems and changes over time. meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ecosystems to summarize trends in pro-
We develop indicators of ecosystem con- (September, 1999). Draft PAGE mate- duction of the most important goods and
dition — indicators that inform us about rials and indicators were also presented
In t r o d u ct i o n / 2 PI L O T A N A L Y SI S O F G L O B A L EC O SY ST EM S
services and the outlook for ecosystem ecosystems. Water engineering has pro- and mortality in the developing world.
productivity in the future. foundly improved living standards, by Pollution and the introduction of non-
providing fresh drinking water, water for native species to freshwater ecosystems
Food Product ion irrigation, energy, transport, and flood have contributed to serious declines in
Food production has more than kept control. In the twentieth century, water freshwater biodiversity.
pace with global population growth. On withdrawals have risen at more than
average, food supplies are 24 percent double the rate of population increase Carb o n St o rag e
higher per person than in 1961 and real and surface and groundwater sources in The world’s plants and soil organisms
prices are 40 percent lower. Production many parts of Asia, North Africa, and absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) during pho-
is likely to continue to rise as demand North Americ a are being depleted. tosynthesis and store it in their tissues,
increases in the short to medium term. About 70 percent of water is used in ir- which helps to slow the accumulation
Long-term produc tivity, however, is rigation systems where efficiency is of- of CO2 in the atmosphere and mitigate
threatened by increasing water scarcity ten so low that, on average, less than half climate change. Land use change that
and soil degradation, which is now se- the water withdrawn reaches crops. On has increased production of food and
vere enough to reduce yields on about almost every continent, river modifica- other commodities has reduced the net
16 percent of agricultural land, espe- tion has affected the flow of rivers to the capacity of ecosystems to sequester and
cially cropland in Africa and Central point where some no longer reach the store carbon. Carbon-rich grasslands
America and pastures in Africa. Irri- ocean during the dry season. Freshwa- and forests in the temperate zone have
gated agriculture, an important compo- ter wetlands, which store water, reduce been extensively converted to cropland
nent in the productivity gains of the flooding, and provide spec ialized and pasture, which store less carbon per
Green Revolution, has contributed to biodiversity habitat, have been reduced unit area of land. Deforestation is itself
waterlogging and salinization, as well as by as much as 50 percent worldwide. a significant source of carbon emissions,
to the depletion and chemical contami- Currently, almost 40 perc ent of the because carbon stored in plant tissue is
nation of surface and groundwater sup- world’s population experience serious released by burning and accelerated de-
plies. Widespread use of pesticides on water shortages. Water scarcity is ex- c omposition. Forests c urrently store
crops has lead to the emergence of many pected to grow dramatically in some re- about 40 percent of all the carbon held
pesticide-resistant pests and pathogens, gions as competition for water grows be- in terrestrial ecosystems. Forests in the
and intensive livestock production has tween agricultural, urban, and commer- northern hemisphere are slowly increas-
created problems of manure disposal cial sectors. ing their storage capacity as they regrow
and water pollution. Food production after historic clearance. This gain, how-
from marine fisheries has risen sixfold W at er Qualit y ever, is more than offset by deforesta-
since 1950 but the rate of increase has Surface water quality has improved with tion in the tropics. Land use change ac-
slowed dramatically as fisheries have respect to some pollutants in developed counts for about 20 percent of anthro-
been overexploited. More than 70 per- countries but water quality in develop- pogenic carbon emissions to the atmo-
cent of the world’s fishery resources for ing countries, especially near urban and sphere. Globally, forests today are a net
which there is information are now fully industrial areas, has worsened. Water is source of carbon.
fished or overfished (yields are static or degraded directly by chemical or nutri-
declining). Coastal fisheries are under ent pollution, and indirectly when land Bio d iversit y
threat from pollution, development, and use change increases soil erosion or re- Biodiversity provides many direct ben-
degradation of coral reef and mangrove duces the capacity of ecosystems to fil- efits to humans: genetic material for crop
habitats. Future increases in production ter water. Nutrient runoff from agricul- and livestock breeding, chemicals for
are expec ted to c ome largely from ture is a serious problem around the medicines, and raw materials for indus-
aquaculture. world, resulting in eutrophication and try. Diversity of living organisms and the
human health hazards in coastal regions, abundance of populations of many spe-
W at er Quant it y especially in the Mediterranean, Black cies are also critical to maintaining bio-
Dams, diversions, and other engineer- Sea, and northwestern Gulf of Mexico. logical services, such as pollination and
ing works have transformed the quan- Water-borne diseases caused by fecal nutrient cycling. Less tangibly, but no
tity and location of freshwater available contamination of water by untreated less importantly, diversity in nature is
for human use and sustaining aquatic sewage are a major source of morbidity regarded by most people as valuable in
Fr e s h w a t e r Sy s t e m s In t r o d u ct i o n / 3
its own right, a source of aesthetic plea- of indicators that quantify the degree of Ecosyst em Condit ion and Capacit y
sure, spiritual solace, beauty, and won- human modification but more informa- t o Pro vid e Go o d s an d Services
der. A larming losses in glob al tion is needed to document adequately In contrast to information on spatial ex-
biodiversity have occurred over the past the nature and rate of human modifica- tent, data that can be used to analyze
century. Most are the result of habitat tions to ecosystems. Relevant data at the ecosystem condition are often unavail-
destruction. Forests, grasslands, wet- global level are incomplete and some able or incomplete. Indicator develop-
lands, and mangroves have been exten- existing data sets are out of date. ment is also beset by methodological dif-
sively converted to other uses; only tun- Perhaps the most urgent need is for ficulties. Traditional indicators, for ex-
dra, the Poles, and deep-sea ecosystems better information on the spatial distri- ample, those relating to pressures on en-
have experienc ed relatively little bution of ecosystems and land uses. Re- vironments, environmental status, or so-
change. Biodiversity has suffered as mote sensing has greatly enhanced our c ietal responses (pressure-state-re-
agricultural land, which supports far less knowledge of the global extent of veg- sponse model indicators) provide only
biodiversity than natural forest, has ex- etation types. Satellite data can provide a partial view and reveal little about the
panded primarily at the expense of for- invaluable information on the spatial underlying capacity of the ecosystem to
est areas. Biodiversity is also diminished pattern and extent of ecosystems, on deliver desired goods and servic es.
by intensification, which reduces the their physical structure and attributes, Equally, indicators of human modifica-
area allotted to hedgerows, copses, or and on rates of change in the landscape. tion tell us about changes in land use or
wildlife corridors and displaces tradi- However, while gross spatial changes in biological parameters, but do not nec-
tional varieties of seeds with modern vegetation extent can be monitored us- essarily inform us about potentially posi-
high-yield, but genetic ally uniform, ing c oarse-resolution satellite data, tive or negative outcomes.
crops. Pollution, overexploitation, and quantifying land cover change at the Ec osystem c onditions tend to be
competition from invasive species rep- national or subnational level requires highly site-specific. Information on rates
resent further threats to biodiversity. high-resolution data with a resolution of of soil erosion or species diversity in one
Freshwater ecosystems appear to be the tens of meters rather than kilometers. area may have little relevance to an ap-
most severely degraded overall, with an Much of the information that would parently similar system a few miles away.
estimated 20 percent of freshwater fish allow these needs to be met, at both the It is expensive and challenging to moni-
species becoming extinct, threatened, or national and global levels, already ex- tor and synthesize site-specific data and
endangered in recent decades. ists, but is not yet in the public domain. present it in a form suitable for national
New remote sensing techniques and im- policy and resource management deci-
I n f o r m a t i o n St a t u s proved capabilities to manage complex sions. Finally, even where data are avail-
global data sets mean that a complete able, scientific understanding of how
and Needs
satellite-based global pic ture of the changes in biological systems will affect
Eco syst em Ext en t an d Lan d Use earth could now be made available, al- goods and services is limited. For ex-
Charact erizat ion though at significant cost. This informa- ample, experimental evidence shows
Available data proved adequate to map tion would need to be supplemented by that loss of biological diversity tends to
approximate ecosystem extent for most extensive ground-truthing, involving ad- reduce the resilience of a system to per-
regions and to estimate historic change ditional costs. If sufficient resources turbations, such as storms, pest out-
in grassland and forest area by compar- were committed, fundamentally impor- breaks, or climate change. But scien-
ing current with potential vegetation tant information on ecosystem extent, tists are not yet able to quantify how
cover. PAGE was able to report only on land cover, and land use patterns around much resilience is lost as a result of the
recent changes in ecosystem extent at the world could be provided at the level loss of biodiversity in a particular site
the global level for forests and agricul- of detail needed for national planning. or how that loss of resilience might af-
tural land. Such information would also prove in- fect the long-term production of goods
PAGE provides an overview of hu- valuable to international environmental and services.
man modific ations to ec osystems conventions, such as those dealing with Overall, the availability and quality
thro ugh c o nve rsio n, c ultivatio n, wetlands, biological diversity, desertifi- of information tend to match the recog-
firesetting, fragmentation by roads and cation, and climate change, as well as nition accorded to various goods and ser-
dams, and trawling of c ontinental the international agriculture, forest, and vices by markets. Generally good data
shelves. The study develops a number fishery research community. are available for traded goods, such as
In t r o d u ct i o n / 4 PI L O T A N A L Y SI S O F G L O B A L EC O SY ST EM S
grains, fish, meat, and timber products fundamental importance in maintaining much of the baseline information nec-
and some of the more basic relevant pro- living systems. essary to determine ecosystem condi-
ductivity factors, such as fertilizer ap- Although the economic value of ge- tions at a global, regional or, in many
plication rates, water inputs, and yields. netic diversity is growing, information instances, even a local scale. We also
Data on products that are exchanged in on biodiversity is uniformly poor. lack systematic approaches necessary to
informal markets, or consumed directly, Baseline and trend data are largely lack- integrate analyses undertaken at differ-
are patchy and often modeled. Examples ing; only an estimated 15 to 20 percent ent locations and spatial scales.
include fish landings from artisanal fish- of the world’s species have been identi- Finally, it should be noted that PAGE
eries, woodfuels, subsistence food crops fied. The OECD Megascience Forum looks at past trends and current status,
and livestock, and nonwood forest prod- has launched a new international pro- but does not try to project future situa-
ucts. Information on the biological fac- gram to accelerate the identification and tions where, for example, technological
tors that support production of these cataloging of species around the world. development might increase dramati-
goods — including size of fish spawn- This information will need to be supple- cally the capacity of ecosystems to de-
ing stocks, biomass densities, subsis- mented with improved data on species liver the goods and services we need.
tence food yields, and forest food har- population trends and the numbers and Such considerations were beyond the
vests — are generally absent. abundance of invasive species. Devel- scope of the study. However, technolo-
The future capacity (long-term pro- oping databases on population trends (and gies tend to be developed and applied
ductivity) of ecosystems is influenced by threat status) is likely to be a major chal- in response to market-related opportu-
biological processes, such as soil forma- lenge, because most countries still need nities. A significant challenge is to find
tion, nutrient cycling, pollination, and to establish basic monitoring programs. those technologies, such as integrated
water purification and cycling. Few of The PAGE divides the world’s eco- pest management and zero tillage culti-
these environmental services have, as systems to examine them at a global vation practices in the case of agricul-
yet, been accorded economic value that scale and think in broad terms about the ture, that can simultaneously offer mar-
is recognized in any functioning market. c halle nge s of managing the m ket-related as well as environmental
There is a corresponding lack of sup- sustainably. In reality, ecosystems are benefits. It has to be recognized, none-
port for data collection and monitoring. linked by countless flows of material and theless, that this type of “ win-win” so-
This is changing in the case of carbon human actions. The PAGE analysis does lution may not always be possible. In
storage and cycling. Interest in the pos- not make a distinction between natural such cases, we need to understand the
sibilities of carbon trading mechanisms and managed ecosystems; human inter- nature of the trade-offs we must make
has stimulated research and generated vention affects all ecosystems to some when choosing among different combi-
much improved data on carbon stores degree. Our aim is to take a first step nations of goods and services. At present
in terrestrial ecosystems and the dimen- toward understanding the collective im- our knowledge is often insufficient to tell
sions of the global carbon cycle. Few pacts of those interventions on the full us where and when those trade-offs are
comparable datasets exist for elements range of goods and services that ecosys- occurring and how we might minimize
such as nitrogen or sulfur, despite their tems provide. We conclude that we lack their effects.
Fr e s h w a t e r Sy s t e m s In t r o d u ct i o n / 5
E x e c u t i v e S u m m a r y
F R E S H WA T E R S Y S T E M S :
E X E C UT IV E SUMMA R Y
The constant cycle of water between the oceans, atmosphere, On a global scale, only limited information is available on
and land sustains life on Earth. All organisms on the planet the condition of the world’s freshwater systems. Often the
need water to survive. Without water, microorganisms that spatial resolution and temporal domains for different parts of
decompose organic matter could not exist, interrupting the the world are poorly harmonized. Most developing countries
ecological loops of matter and energy and shutting down all lack environmental monitoring programs for freshwater sys-
ecosystems. tems. Even developed countries with data-collection systems
Freshwater systems are created by water that enters the on hydrology, species, habitats, and physical and chemical
terrestrial environment as precipitation and flows both above parameters of water quality have done little to develop indi-
and below ground toward the sea. These systems encompass cators that measure important ecological processes of fresh-
a wide range of habitats, including rivers, lakes, and wet- water systems, such as water purification and aquifer recharge.
lands, and the riparian zones associated with them. Their More also needs to be done to integrate data for entire water-
boundaries are constantly changing with the seasonality in sheds, from water supply and consumption to land use and
the hydrological cycle. Their environmental benefits and costs biodiversity.
are distributed widely across time and space, because of the Our analysis looks at measures that show the degree of
complex interactions between climate, surface water and human intervention in the hydrological cycle and what we
groundwater, and coastal marine areas. know concerning three important goods and services provided
This analysis concentrates on the terrestrial water that is by freshwater systems: water, food, and biodiversity. These
most accessible to humans: the water in rivers, lakes, and goods and services were chosen partly on the advice of a wide
wetlands. Humans also rely heavily on groundwater, which is range of freshwater experts and partly because of data avail-
the only source of fresh water in some parts of the world. ability. The data and indicators presented in this pilot analy-
However, this paper will not focus as extensively on ground- sis focus on the following:
water, in part because the data on this resource are scarce. ? Human modification of freshwater systems. (These
include all physical changes in the hydrological cycle,
especially river and stream corrections, flood control by
Sco p e o f t h e A sse ssm e n t dams, conversion of wetlands, and land-use changes in
This study analyzes quantitative and qualitative information the entire watershed— all of which are changing runoff
and develops selected indicators of the condition of the world’s characteristics).
freshwater systems. The condition is defined as the current ? Water quantity (i.e., availability).
and future capacity of the systems to continue providing the ? Water quality.
full range of goods and services needed or valued by humans. ? Food (fish in particular).
Where available, we use global data sets to illustrate key ? Biodiversity.
indicators. In cases in which global data are not available, We use these indicators to identify existing data, highlight
we use regional- and national-level information to illustrate characteristics of ideal indicators to measure the capacity of
important concepts, indicators, trends, and issues. Sometimes, freshwater ecosystems, and point out data and information
local-level case studies have been used to illustrate trends needs. These in turn will become useful inputs for the Mil-
that appear to be important but for which national or global lennium Ecosystem Assessment.
data do not exist.
Fr e s h w a t e r Sy s t e m s 1
Even though food production from irrigated crops is inti- Exact figures are hard to calculate because of the dispersed
mately related to water availability, and agriculture is the big- nature of these activities. In the United States alone, how-
gest user of water, this report does not assess the condition of ever, 30 million anglers went freshwater fishing in 1996, ex-
freshwater systems for agriculture production. A separate Pilot pending US$24.5 billion on trips and equipment (UFWS
A nalysis of Glob al Ec osystems (PA GE) report on 1996:8).
agroecosystems assesses agriculture production in detail. The spiritual and aesthetic qualities of freshwater systems
Moreover, this report on freshwater systems does not cover cannot readily be captured by the kind of quantitative analy-
additional important services derived from freshwater sys- sis presented here. For two reasons, this study does not con-
tems such as hydropower, transportation, and recreation. sider data on tourism revenues, which some analysts have
Hydropower electricity production plays a significant role used as proxy measures of human appreciation. First, the very
in the overall energy output of many countries. Of the total concept of analyzing freshwater systems goods and services
electricity generated in the world, hydropower accounts for is essentially utilitarian, whereas emotional commitment to
18 percent and in 18 countries, including Brazil, Norway, these systems as things of beauty or intrinsic value is essen-
Burundi, and Laos, it generates 90 percent or more of the tially normative. Second, any attempt to develop quantitative
electricity (Gleick 1998:276–280). indicators of such intangible issues risks removing them from
Since historical times, transportation has been a crucial their proper arena of political, moral, and cultural debate.
service that humans have derived from freshwater systems. Finally, even though groundwater resources play a criti-
Rivers have been harnessed as routes for exploring, coloniz- cal role in many regions of the world by providing potable,
ing, and settling new areas, as well as transporting goods and industrial, and irrigation water, global data on this resource
communicating. In western Europe, for example, inland wa- are scarce and dispersed among national agencies. This analy-
terways transport almost 8 percent of all inland freight (EEA sis, therefore, provides a general overview of the issues af-
1995:441). fecting groundwater resources and their condition.
Tourism and recreation, as well as the more subtle spiri-
tual and aesthetic qualities of freshwater systems, constitute
perhaps the most important omission from this study. Society
places a high value on freshwater recreational activities, such K e y Fi n d i n g s a n d I n f o r m a t i o n I ssu e s
as boating, fishing, hunting, birdwatching, and swimming. The following tables (pp. 3–7) summarize key findings of the
These services generate billions of dollars in direct and indi- study regarding the condition of freshwater systems, as well
rect revenue in many developed and developing countries. as the quality and availability of data.
2 PI L O T A N A L Y SI S O F G LO BA L EC O SY ST EM S
Hu m a n Mo d i f i c a t i o n o f F r e s h w a t e r Sys t e m s
PAGE MEASURES DATA S OURCES
AND I NDICATORS AND COMMENTS
Historical alteration of Compilation of data from the following sources: based on Naiman et al. 1995 as adapted from L’vovich
freshwater systems worldwide and White 1990. Additional data from Shiklomanov 1997, ICOLD 1998, Avakyan and Iakovleva 1998,
and IJHD 1998.
River channel fragmentation Analysis was done by C. Nilsson, M. Svedmark, P. Hansson, S. Xiong, and K. Berggren, Landscape
and flow regulation Ecology, Umeå University, Sweden. Additional data and analysis from Dynesius and Nilsson 1994. Rivers
assessed are those with a historical record of more than 350 virgin mean annual discharge. Based on
available information on dams and other flow regulations. Not all regions of the world were assessed.
Number of large dams under IJHD 1998. This data set includes only reported dams over 60 meters high that are currently under
construction by river basin construction, aggregated by river basin.
Residence time of continental Vörösmarty et al. 1997a. This indicator is based on the analysis of 622 of the largest reservoirs in the
3
runoff by river basin world (storage capacity at least 0.5 km ). The residence time of otherwise free flowing water is termed by
the authors “ aging of continental freshwater.”
Exploitation of groundwater Compilation of data and case studies are from the following sources: EEA 1995, British Geological
resources Survey 1996, Foster et al. 1998, and Scheidleder et al. 1999.
Wetlands extent and change in Data for the United States are from the National Wetlands Inventory, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
the United States and estimates (USFWS), and the Natural Resource Inventory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. European data are
for some European countries from the European Environment Agency.
Percentage of cropland and Cropland area is estimated from the Global Land Cover Characterization Database (GLCCD 1998) at l-
urban and industrial land use km resolution. Cropland in this analysis excludes areas of mixed natural/cropland vegetation.
by river basin Urban/industrial areas are based on NOAA-NGDC’s Stable Lights and Radiance Calibrated Lights of
the World CD-ROM (1998). The data set contains the locations of stable lights, including frequently
observed light sources, such as gas flares at oil drilling sites. Data were collected in 1994–95.
CONDITIONS AND T RENDS I NFORMATION S TATUS AND NEEDS

? Although water in rivers, lakes, and wetlands contains only 0.01 ? Global information on dams and reservoirs is limited to dams that are 15
percent of the world’s freshwater and occupies less than 1 meters in height or greater, except for China, Japan, India, and Spain,
percent of the Earth’s surface, the global value of freshwater which report only on dams over 30 meters. The largest data gaps are for
services is estimated in the trillions of U.S. dollars. Russia, which reports only on hydropower dams, and China, where the
? Dams have a significant impact on freshwater ecosystems. Large majority of the world’s large dams have been built and for which
dams have increased sevenfold in number since 1950 and now information is exceedingly difficult to acquire.
impound 14 percent of the world’s runoff. ? The provision of latitude and longitude for each dam would highly improve
? Sixty percent of the largest 227 rivers of the world are strongly our ability to locate these structures within the correct hydrological unit
or moderately fragmented by dams, diversions, and canals. In and assess their downstream impacts.
all, strongly or moderately fragmented systems account for ? Information on discharges is also lacking for many reservoirs; however,
nearly 90 percent of the total water volume flowing through these data are needed to assess more fully the annual variations in river
these rivers. flow.
? In the developing world, large dams are still being built at a fast ? Another important data set needed to assess freshwater ecosystem
rate, threatening the integrity of some of the remaining free- conditions is complete global information on wetlands distribution and
flowing rivers in the world. The basins with the greatest number change. Location and size of wetlands is especially needed for Asia, Africa,
of large dams currently under construction are the Yangtze, the South America, the Pacific Islands, and Australia.
Tigris and Euphrates, and the Danube. ? Regional data for Oceania, Asia, Africa, eastern Europe, and the
? According to estimates by Vörösmarty et al. (1997a and 1997b), Neotropics allow for only cursory assessment of wetlands extent and
the average residence time of river water in regulated basins has location. Only North America and western Europe have better data and
tripled to over one month worldwide, whereas large reservoirs monitoring programs in place to track changes in wetlands area.
trap 30 percent of the global suspended sediments. ? Remote sensing data from the new Landsat 7 satellite and from radar,
? Half the world’s wetlands are estimated to have been lost during which can sense flooding underneath vegetation and can penetrate cloud
the 20th century, as land was converted to agriculture and urban cover, should improve the information base on the extent, location, and
use, or filled to combat diseases, such as malaria. change in wetlands.
? At least 1.5 billion people rely on groundwater as their only ? Limited information is available on groundwater exploitation at the global
source of drinking water. Overexploitation and pollution in many level. National-level data exist but are not readily accessible or are not
regions of the world are threatening groundwater supplies, but harmonized among countries. Groundwater information should be collected
comprehensive data on the quality and quantity of this resource in coordination with data collection efforts on the effects of their use on
are not available at the global level. other regional water resources, such as wetlands, lagoons, and river basins.
W a t e r Qu a n t i t y
PAGE M EASURES D ATA SOURCES

AND I NDICATORS AND C OMMENTS
Annual renewable water supply CIESIN et al. (2000), Global Population Database.This database is based on census data for over
per person by river basin in 1995 120,000 subnational administrative units for 1995. Water supply estimates are from a global runoff
and projections for 2025 database developed by Fekete et al. (1999) at the University of New Hampshire in collaboration with
the WMO/Global Runoff Data Centre in Germany. It combines observed discharge data with modeled
runoff data.
Annual renewable water supply Runoff estimates are from a global runoff database developed by Fekete et al. (1999). The dry season
and dry season flow by river basin flow is estimated by selecting the four driest consecutive months of the year for each basin.
CONDITIONS AND T RENDS I NFORMATION STATUS AND NEEDS

? Between 1900 and 1995, water withdrawals increased sixfold, more than ? Statistics on water availability and use at the global
twice the rate of population growth. Dams and reservoirs have helped provide scale are poor. In many parts of the world, we know
drinking water for much of the world’s population, increased agricultural less about water resources than we did 20 years ago.
output through irrigation, eased transport, and provided flood control and The number of functioning hydrological stations, for
hydropower. example, has fallen significantly since 1985.
? Many regions of the world have ample water supplies, but currently more ? Current statistics of water withdrawals and
than 40 percent of the world’s population live in river basins experiencing consumption are fraught with uncertainty because of
water stress. the highly decentralized nature of water use.
? As the world population grows from six to nine billion by the middle of the ? Most estimates are based on a combination of modeled
21st century, we will become more dependent on irrigation for our food and observed data.
supplies, which will exacerbate the water scarcity problem in many regions ? In order to improve our ability to monitor the
and push other regions and populations to situations of water stress. condition of freshwater systems to provide water for
? By 2025, the PAGE analysis projects that, assuming current consumption humans and ecosystems, better statistics on water
patterns continue, at least 3.5 billion people or 48 percent of the world’s availability and use are urgently needed, preferably at
population will live in water-stressed basins. the watershed level so that impacts on entire
? Based on the U.N. low-range population growth projection, 63 river basins ecosystems can be monitored.
are projected to have a population greater than 10 million by 2025. Of these
river basins, 29 are already water stressed and will descend further into
scarcity, 6 will move into water-stress conditions, and 12 additional basins
may experience a strong negative change in water supply per person between
1995 and 2025.
? Low dry season flows have exacerbated water supply and quality problems in
27 basins with more than 10 million people in 1995. These basins include
the Balsas and Grande de Santiago in Mexico, the Limpopo in Southern
Africa, the Hai Ho and Hong in China, the Chao Phraya in Southeast Asia,
and the Brahmani, Damodar, Godavari, Krishna, Mahi, Narmada, Ponnaiyar,
Rabarmarti, and Tapti in India.
W a t e r Qu a l i t y
PAGE M EASURES DATA SOURCES AND
AND I NDICATORS COMMENTS
Global concentrations of biochemical oxygen Data are from UNEP’s Global Environmental Monitoring System (GEMS) Water
demand (BOD), phosphorous, and nitrates by Programme (1995). This project measured water quality in 82 major river basins from 1976
river basin to 1990. Measurements are from a network of 175 sampling stations in around 60
countries. Because data from sampling points are extrapolated to the entire watershed,
these data should be interpreted with caution.
Trends in phosphorous and nutrient Data for Europe are from the European Environment Agency. Data for the United States are
concentrations in Europe and the United from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA)
States program, and the USGS National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN).
NASQAN monitors water quality in the four largest river systems in the United States: the
Mississippi (including the Missouri and Ohio), the Columbia, the Colorado, and the Rio
Grande. NAWQA performs detailed studies in 60 smaller basins across the United States,
including Alaska and Hawaii.
Biological methods of water quality Data are from studies from around the world, including the United States, France, India,
monitoring the United Kingdom, and Australia. All studies illustrate applications of biological criteria
to monitor water quality.
Nitrate pollution in groundwater Data are from various sources and studies for China, India, western Europe, and the United
States.
CONDITIONS I NFORMATION STATUS

AND T RENDS AND N EEDS
? Water-borne diseases from fecal contamination of surface waters continue to be a ? Data on water quality at the global level is
major cause of mortality and morbidity in the developing world. very scarce. There have been very few
? Surface water quality has improved in the United States and western Europe in the sustained programs to monitor water quality
past 20 years with respect to some pollutants; however, nutrient loading from worldwide.
agricultural runoff continues to be a problem in these two regions. ? Information is usually limited to industrial
? Worldwide water quality conditions appear to have degraded in almost all regions with countries or small, localized areas.
intensive agriculture and large urban/industrial areas. ? Water monitoring is also almost exclusively
? Cases of algal blooms and eutrophication are being documented more frequently in limited to chemical pollution rather than
most inland water systems around the world. biological monitoring, which would provide a
? Of the 82 major river basins in the world, those in North America, Europe, and Africa better understanding of the condition of the
had the highest concentration of organic matter for the period 1976–90. system. For regions, such as Europe, where
? Phosphorous concentration in U.S. waterways show improvement, whereas nitrate some monitoring is taking place, difference
concentrations have remained more or less stable for the 1980-89 period. in measures and approaches make the data
hard to compare.
? Evidence shows that nitrate pollution in groundwater, from fertilizer use, is getting
worse in northern China, India, and Europe. Population increases in these areas and
the need to increase agricultural production will require increase use of fertilizers,
which will exacerbate the groundwater pollution problem.
F o o d P r o d uc t i o n – I nl a nd F i s he r i e s
PAGE M EASURES DATA SOURCES
AND I NDICATORS AND COMMENTS
Historical change in fish catch and Data are from various sources for the following bodies of water: Danube, Rhine, Missouri, Great
species composition for selected Lakes, Illinois, Pearl (Xi Jiang), Lake Victoria, Colorado in the United States, and the Aral Sea.
rivers, lakes, and inland seas. All studies looked at either changes in species composition or changes in commercial landings of
important inland fisheries.
Recent trends in catch statistics from Inland capture fisheries data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
inland waters (FAO) for the period 1984–97. Inland capture fisheries include freshwater and diadromous fish
caught in inland waters, and freshwater molluscs and crustaceans.

? In 1997, inland fisheries landings accounted for 7.7 million ? Data on inland fisheries landings are poor, especially in
metric tons, or almost 12 percent of total capture available for developing countries. The FAO database on inland fisheries
human consumption, a level estimated to be at or above maximum landings is the most complete data set at the global level;
sustainable yields. Taking into account the inland capture, however, it has important limitations. Some of the main problems
fisheries are estimated to be underreported by two or three times, are that much of the catch is not reported at the species level and
the contribution to direct human consumption is likely to be at much of the fish consumed locally is never reported, making
least twice as high. fishery assessment difficult.
? Freshwater aquaculture currently has a higher production than ? There is no systematic data collection on the contribution of
capture fisheries, contributing 17.7 million metric tons of fish and stocking, fish introductions, and other enhancement programs to
seafood in 1997. In 1997, marine and inland aquaculture inland fisheries. This information, as well as information on
production provided 30 percent of the fish for human recreational fisheries, which are becoming increasingly important
consumption; 60 percent of this production comprised of in many countries, should be incorporated into data collection
freshwater finfish or fish that migrate between fresh and saltwater. efforts.
? At the global level, inland fisheries landings have been increasing ? Reporting on fishery resources at the watershed level instead of
since 1984. Most of this increase has occurred in Asia, Africa, the national level, as it has been done to date, would improve our
and more moderately in Latin America. In North America, understanding of the condition of the system and the linkages
Europe, and the former Soviet Union, landings have declined, between upstream activities and their downstream effects. This
whereas in Oceania they have remained stable. information could then be applied to watershed and fishery
? Despite this increase in landings, maintained in many regions by resources management plans.
fishery enhancements, such as stocking and fish introductions, ? Historical trends in fisheries statistics are available only for a few
the greatest overall threat for the long-term sustainability of well-studied rivers, and because of the multispecies composition
inland fishery resources is the loss of fishery habitat and the of the catch in most inland water bodies, particularly in
degradation of the terrestrial and aquatic environment. developing countries, assessments on the condition of the
? Historical trends in commercial fisheries data for well-studied resources are hard to carry out.
rivers show dramatic declines over the 20th century, mainly from
habitat degradation, invasive species, and overharvesting.
F r e s h w a t e r Bi o d i ve r s i t y
PAGE M EASURES D ATA SOURCES
AND I NDICATORS AND C OMMENTS
Important areas and ecoregions for freshwater Olson and Dinerstein 1999 and Groombridge and Jenkins 1998. Both analyses are
biodiversity priority-setting exercises for conservation, based on existing data and expert opinion.
Fish species richness and endemism by river Revenga et al. 1998. Data compiled for the World Resources Institute by the World
basin Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). Additional information comes from Kottelat
and Whitten (1996) and Oberdorff (1997).
Biological distinctiveness index for North Abell et al. 2000. Regional priority-setting analysis for conservation, based on a
America combination of existing environmental data and expert opinion.
Bird population trends in the United States and Data are from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, which is organized by the
Canada Patuxent Environmental Science Center. Data used in this report are limited to
wetland-dependent species. Population trends cover the period 1966–98.
Global amphibian population census Data are from the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force (DAPTF). DAPTF is a
network of more than 3,000 scientists working in 90 countries.
Threatened species and habitats in North Data for North America are from Abell et al. 2000. These data cover threat status for
America, the Middle East, and Europe North American fish and reptile species. Data for Europe and the Middle East are from
BirdLife International. Data are for threatened bird species and important bird areas in
these two regions.
Presence of nonnative species: introduced fish, Introduced fish species information is from FAO’s Database on Introductions of
zebra mussel in the United States, and water Aquatic Species (DIAS). Data on zebra mussel expansion are from the USGS Non-
hyacinth distribution indigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) information resource. Data on global distribution of
water hyacinth are from a variety of sources. Water hyacinth distrubution in the United
States is from the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force, cochaired by the USFWS and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

? Freshwater ecosystems harbor an extraordinary concentration of species; approximately 300 ? Direct measurements of the condition of
new freshwater species are described each year. World Wildlife Fund-US (WWF-US) has biodiversity in freshwater systems are sparse
identified 53 freshwater ecoregions around the world as priority areas for conservation, based worldwide. Basic information on freshwater
on their unique assemblage of species, habitats, and ecological or evolutionary phenomena, species for many developed nations and most
while the WCMC has identified 136 areas of high freshwater biodiversity around the world. of the developing world is lacking, as well as
? Physical alteration, habitat loss and degradation, water withdrawal, pollution, threat-analyses for most freshwater species.
overexploitation, and the introduction of nonnative species all contribute to declines in This makes analyzing population trends
freshwater species. impossible or limited to a handful of well-
? More than 20 percent of the world’s freshwater fish have become extinct or been threatened known species.
or endangered in recent decades. ? Information on nonnative species is frequently
? Of the 108 large basins analyzed, 27 have high fish species richness. More than half of these anecdotal and often limited to records of the
basins are in the tropics, and the rest are in central North America, India, and China. presence of a particular species, without
? Evidence shows that freshwater species, such as amphibians, fish, and wetland-dependent documentation of the effects on the native
birds, are at high risk of imperilment in many regions of the world. In the United States and fauna and flora. Spatial data on invasive
parts of Canada, however, 66 percent of the populations of wetland birds are increasing. species are available for few species, mostly in
the United States and Australia.
? The intentional or accidental introduction of nonnative species in freshwater systems is a
global phenomenon. Evidence for North America, one of the best-documented regions, shows ? Excellent trend data are available for bird
that the introduction of alien species not only has contributed to the extinction and populations in the United States and Canada,
imperilment of native fauna but also has substantial associated economic costs. and other available regional data are good but
lack long-term population trends, such as data
? Modeled estimates of future species extinction rates suggest that the rates for freshwater
on the distribution of important bird areas from
animal species are five times higher than for terrestrial species.
BirdLife International.
? The growing concern for species, the maintenance of pristine habitats, and the need to
maintain other goods and services, such as clean water, is driving the trend, in some
? At a minimum, there should be monitoring of
key indicator species and monitoring of the
countries, to restore and rehabilitate freshwater systems.
presence or introduction of nonnative species
and their impacts on native fauna and flora.
Co n cl u si o n s to better understand how watershed changes are likely to af-

fect the water quantity, and quality, of rivers and lakes.
Human activities have severely affected the condition of fresh- In terms of food production from inland waters, there is an
water systems worldwide. Even though humans have increased urgent need to improve the quality of the data on inland cap-
the amount of water available for use with dams and reser- ture fisheries and those environmental and socioeconomic
voirs, more than 40 percent of the world’s population lives in factors that affect their sustainability. Improved inland fish-
conditions of water stress. This percentage is estimated to ery data are likely to require improved or new monitoring
grow to almost 50 percent by 2025. Surface and groundwater networks, which means a financial commitment to strengthen
is being degraded in almost all regions of the world by inten- both national fisheries departments and collaborating orga-
sive agriculture and rapid urbanization, aggravating the wa- nizations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of
ter scarcity problem. In addition, lack of access to clean wa- the United Nations.
ter continues to be a leading cause of illness and death in Better information on water quality can provide nations
much of the developing world. Food production from wild with immediate benefits because of the direct connection
fisheries has been affec ted by habitat degradation, between water quality and human health. But gathering such
overexploitation, and pollution to a point where most of these information generally requires expensive monitoring networks
resources are not sustainable without fishery enhancements. that are beyond the reach of many developing countries. Even
Finally, the capacity of freshwater ecosystems to support though surface water monitoring programs are well developed
biodiversity is highly degraded at a global level, with many in most Organization for Economic Cooperation and Devel-
freshwater species facing rapid population declines or ex- opment (OECD) countries, water quality monitoring in most
tinction. parts of the world is rudimentary or nonexistent. Even those
The PAGE study relied on existing global and regional developed countries that have water quality monitoring pro-
data collected by organizations and scientists around the grams in place focus on chemical parameters that leave out
world. Without their efforts and their willingness to share the important biological information. One of the biggest challenges
data, this study would not have been possible. We found many in future water monitoring programs is the integration of
detailed data sets at the national level, particularly for the chemical and biological measures of water quality.
United States. However, at the global level, data on freshwa- If surface water monitoring is still deficient in many coun-
ter resources are scarce. Basic statistics on water availability tries, the situation for groundwater is worse. Many nations
and use, for example, are not readily available or are avail- lack proper monitoring of groundwater recharge quality.
able only at the national level. This makes an assessment of Information on groundwater quality, as well as on aquifer stor-
freshwater systems difficult because the ideal biophysical unit age capacity and exploitation, is urgently needed. Currently
of analysis is the watershed— which often crosses national there are two proposed initiatives that could help fill in the
boundaries. information gap on groundwater resources as well as promote
Improved national and global data on ecosystem land use their sound management. The first is a high-level Ground-
characteristics, basic hydrological information, fisheries pro- water Management Advisory Team, coordinated by the World
duction, and freshwater species could lead to significantly Bank and the Global Water Partnership. The aim of this team
more knowledge about the condition of freshwater systems. is to promote more effective management of groundwater re-
Better information on actual stream and river discharge, and sources around the world, through improved understanding
the amount of water withdrawn and consumed, would increase of the hydrogeological constraints and strengthening of the
our ability to manage freshwater systems more efficiently and institutional framework. The second is an International
evaluate trade-offs. But much effort and financial commit- Groundwater Resources Assessment Center, that will collect
ment would have to be made to restore many of the hydrologi- data on and monitor groundwater worldwide. This initiative
cal stations around the world, which have been declining since is being coordinated by UNESCO and the World Meteoro-
the mid-1980s and, in some cases, are no longer functioning. logical Organization.
Remotely sensed data from new satellites with higher qual- Finally, as this study will stress, information on freshwa-
ity sensors and much larger onboard storage capacity will ter biodiversity is poor even in those developed nations that
allow better analysis of the changes in land-use patterns, and have considerable financial and technical resources. There
may allow for a complete and accurate mapping of the extent are several new international initiatives, including the OECD’s
of both seasonal and permanent wetlands. With this informa- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and the Glo-
tion, resource managers would be able to use existing models bal Taxonomy Initiative of the Convention on Biological Di-
versity that will help identify and catalogue species around ? Compiling a global data set on groundwater resources,
the world. This knowledge and monitoring would allow for a including their distribution, capacity, and use.
more complete assessment of the condition of freshwater sys- ? Encouraging national governments to establish water
tems. quality monitoring programs that combine chemical and
Recommendations for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment biological measures for both surface and groundwater.
include the following: ? Strengthening the role of national fisheries departments
in data collection for inland fisheries resources.
? Compiling more complete information on the precise ? Establishing a systematic data collection effort on the
location of the world’s dams, including the thousands of contributions of fish stocking, introduction, and other
dams less than 15 meters in height that are not currently enhancement programs to inland fisheries.
listed in international databanks. ? Monitoring key indicator species for freshwater systems,
? Developing a complete global spatial data set on as well as monitoring the presence or introduction of
wetlands distribution. Information on the location and nonnative species and their impacts on native fauna and
size of wetlands is especially needed for Asia, Africa, flora.
South America, and Oceania.
? Promoting the restoration of the hydrological monitoring
stations and improving the water supply and use
statistics at the watershed level.
P r o l o g u e
PROLOGUE:
F R E S H WAT E R S Y S T E M S
W HAT T HEY A RE , W HY T HEY M AT T E R
Freshwater ecosystems in rivers, lakes, and wetlands contain Prior to the 20th century, global demand for these goods and
just a fraction—one-hundredth of 1 percent—of the Earth’s services was small compared to what freshwater ecosystems
water and occupy less than 1 percent of the Earth’s surface could provide. Historically, human development has favored
(Watson et al. 1996:329; McAllister et al. 1997:18). Yet these activities with high economic returns that often maximized single
vital systems render services of enormous global value that are objectives, such as abstracting water for irrigation schemes and
on the order of several trillion U.S. dollars, according to some urban aqueducts, draining mosquito-ridden swamps, and erect-
estimates (Postel and Carpenter 1997:210). ing dams to produce electricity and control seasonal water flows.
The most important goods and services that humans derive Conflicts between different users and uses were more frequent
from freshwater systems revolve around water supply: provid- in areas with an unreliable water supply. In areas with more
ing a sufficient quantity of water for domestic, agriculture, and reliable runoff patterns, the biggest problems were flood haz-
industrial use; maintaining high water quality; and recharging ards and localized pollution problems when the discharge of
aquifers that feed groundwater supplies. But freshwater eco- human effluent exceeded the waste assimilation capacity of
systems provide many other crucial goods and services as well: freshwater systems.
fish for food and sport, biodiversity, mitigation of floods, as- With population growth, industrialization, and the expan-
similation and dilution of wastes, nutrient cycling and restora- sion of irrigated agriculture, demand for all water-related goods
tion of soil fertility, recreational opportunities, aesthetic values, and services has increased dramatically, straining the capacity
and transportation for both people and goods. Harnessed by of freshwater systems. Although many policymakers are aware
dams, these systems also produce hydropower, one of the world’s of the growing problems of water scarcity, there are many other
most important renewable energy sources. signs of freshwater stress. The total amount and the number of
Freshwater Systems 11
P r o l o g u e
pollutants entering freshwater systems, for example, has grown source of food and employment for the region’s 30 million people.
from a limited amount of organic matter from human and ani- Before the 1970s, Lake Victoria contained more than 350 spe-
mal wastes and a few metals from mining to large quantities of cies of fish in the cichlid family, of which 90 percent were en-
human effluent and thousands of chemicals, such as pesticides demic, giving it one of the most diverse and unique assemblages
and fertilizers. of fish in the world (Kaufman 1992:846–847, 851). Today, more
The number of large dams (over 15 meters high) has increased than half of these species are either extinct or found only in
sevenfold since 1950, from about 5,750 to more than 41,000 very small populations (Witte et al. 1992:1, 17).
(ICOLD 1998:7, 13), impounding at least 14 percent of the The collapse in the lake’s biodiversity was caused primarily
world’s annual runoff (L’vovich and White 1990:239). Between by the introduction of two exotic fish species, the Nile perch
1950 and 2000, annual water availability per person decreased and Nile tilapia, which fed on and outcompeted the cichlids for
from 16,800 m3/year to 6,800 m3/year, calculated on a global food. But other pressures factored in the collapse as well. Over-
basis and assuming 42,700 km3/yr of global freshwater runoff fishing depleted native fish stocks and provided the original
(Shiklomanov 1997:73). Runoff is defined as the renewable motivation for introducing the Nile perch and tilapia in the early
supply of water that flows through the world’s rivers after evapo- 1950s. Land-use changes in the watershed dumped pollution
ration and infiltration (WMO 1997:7). Water availability per and silt into the lake, increasing nutrient load and causing al-
person, therefore, refers to the amount of this renewable supply gal blooms and low oxygen levels in deeper waters—a process
of water divided by the global population. With global popula- called eutrophication. These changes resulted in major shifts
tion expected to reach at least 7.8 billion by 2025—the U.N. in the lake’s fish populations. Cichlids once accounted for more
medium population projection (UNPD 1999:2)—per capita than 80 percent of Lake Victoria’s biomass and provided much
water availability is estimated to fall to 5,400 m 3/year.
As the amount of water available on a per capita basis de-
Figure 1
clines, trade-offs between alternative water uses become more
acute in terms of the environmental implications. Trading Biodiversit y f or Export Earnings:
In many rivers, ecosystem functions or responses have been The Changing Lake Vict oria Fishery
lost or impaired to the point at which human values and species (Kenya only)
diversity are adversely affected and restoration or protection is
necessary to sustain natural watershed services. Maximizing one
70
environmental good is no longer possible without significant
trade-offs for other goods and services. Resource competition
and conflicts are growing, becoming regional and global in scale. Nile Perch
60 Cichlids
Managing freshwater systems increasingly will require integrat-
Percentage Contribution to Lake Victoria Fish Catch
ing multiple objectives and data, using a basin and ecosystem

approach to comprehensively assess the impacts on biological,
50
chemical, and hydrological systems. Such an approach is espe-
cially important because some key freshwater services, such as
water purification, maintenance of biodiversity, and watershed 40
protection, never enter the market and, thus, have no price tag.
This makes it harder to assess the trade-offs at stake when dif-
ferent uses of a freshwater resource are proposed. 30
The example of Africa’s Lake Victoria illustrates the pro-
found and unpredictable trade-offs that can occur when man-
agement decisions are made without regard to the ecosystem’s 20
reaction. In Lake Victoria, maximizing one particular good in
concert with increasing resource pressure has caused drastic
ecological changes. It also has led to a shift in the distribution 10
of economic benefits from the previously large number of local
beneficiaries who obtained a livelihood at a very modest level
from the fisheries to a few who could afford to invest or partici- 0
pate in international fish exports. 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986
Lake Victoria, bounded by Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, is

the world’s largest tropical lake, and its fish are an important Source: Achieng 1990.
12 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

P r o l o g u e
of the fish catch (Kaufman 1992:849). By 1983, Nile perch made carious lake ecosystem (Kaufman 1992:849–851; Kaufman,
up almost 70 percent of the catch, with Nile tilapia and a native personal communication, 2000).
species of sardine making up most of the balance (see Figure 1) In sum, introducing Nile perch and tilapia to Lake Victoria
(Achieng 1990:20). traded the lake’s biodiversity and an important local food source
Although the introduced fish devastated the lake’s for a significant—although perhaps unsustainable—source of
biodiversity, they did not destroy the commercial fishery. In fact, export earnings. When fisheries managers introduced these
total fish production and its economic value rose considerably. species, they unknowingly altered the balance of goods and
The Nile perch fishery now produces some 300,000 metric tons services the lake produced and redistributed the economic ben-
of fish yearly (FAO 1998), earning US$280 million to US$400 efits flowing from them. Knowing the full dimensions of these
million in the export market—a market that did not even exist trade-offs, would they make the same decision today?
before the perch was introduced (Kaufman, personal communi- Another very different case that illustrates these trade-offs
cation, 2000). Unfortunately, local communities that had de- between environmental goods and services over time and the
pended on the native fish for decades did not benefit from the cost to recover some of these services is the Skjern River flood-
success of the Nile perch fishery, primarily because Nile perch plain restoration effort in Denmark. The Skjern River is the
and tilapia are caught with gear that local fishermen could not largest river in Denmark, with a watershed area covering 6 per-
afford. And, because most of the Nile perch and tilapia are cent of the country. It is the main source of freshwater and nu-
shipped out of the region, the local availability of fish for con- trients to the Ringkøbing Fjord, which is a coastal, shallow la-
sumption has declined. In fact, while tons of perch find their goon connected to the North Sea (NFNA 1997:5). The down-
way to restaurants as far away as Israel and Europe, there is stream floodplain, where the restoration project is taking place,
evidence of protein malnutrition among the people of the lake occupies about 1 percent of the watershed (Riber, personal com-
basin (Kaufman, personal communication, 2000). munication, 2000). Agriculture with extensive animal husbandry
The sustainability of the Nile perch fishery is also a con- is the predominant land use in the watershed. The course of the
cern. Recent evidence suggests that eutrophication and oxygen lower Skjern River has been modified several times since the
depletion in the lake, as well as overfishing in certain areas, are 18th century, with the greatest change taking place in the 1960s
already threatening the long-term sustainability of the Nile perch when the lower 20 kilometers of the river were straightened and
fishery. The stability of the entire aquatic ecosystem—so radi- confined within embankments. This last modification converted
cally altered over a 20-year span—is in doubt (Kaufman 4,000 hectares of wetlands, meadows, and marshlands into farm-
1992:850). The ramifications of the species introductions can land, mostly for grain production, reducing the wetland area to
even be seen in the watershed surrounding Lake Victoria. Dry- only 2 percent of its original extent (see Figure 2) (NFNA 1999:6,
ing the perch’s oily flesh to preserve it requires firewood, un- 7).
like the cichlids, which could be air-dried. This has increased One benefit of the river channelization, in addition to pro-
pressure on the area’s limited forests, increasing siltation and viding more land for agriculture, was to reduce the frequency of
eutrophication, which, in turn, has further unbalanced the pre- floods. Although flooding of the floodplain was prevented, a
Figure 2
Skjern River Floodplain: M arshland and M eadow Area in 1871 and 1987
Source: DHI Water and Environment 1999.
P r o l o g u e
new flooding risk in the neighboring towns emerged, but these goal is to bring back salmon, bird, and plant populations. Fur-
flooding events were marginal (Riber, personal communication, thermore, the new wetlands will act as filters, decreasing
2000). Also on the negative side of the ledger, channel modifi- eutrophication in the fjord and helping to restore its biodiversity.
cation reduced biodiversity in the watershed. For example, ot- The cost of the restoration project is estimated at US$35 mil-
ters disappeared, nesting waterfowl declined, and the salmon lion. It will take 3 years to restore the planned 2,200 hectares
population—the last wild salmon population in Denmark—was of wetlands. The area will be operated as a natural park by the
reduced to a small fraction of its peak (NFNA 1999:4, 24, 25). National Forest and Nature Agency, which is also responsible
Draining wetlands caused other environmental changes, includ- for implementing the project (NFNA 1999).
ing ground subsidence of up to one meter in certain areas, ochre Restoration projects like the Skjern River floodplain incor-
leaching, and waterlogging that reduced the productivity of the porate, albeit retroactively, all the elements that are important
reclaimed agricultural land. In addition, the intensive agricul- for the management of freshwater systems. They rely on scien-
tural use brought higher nutrient loadings to the fjord, contrib- tific data and modeling, integrate multiple objectives, use a basin
uting to its eutrophication (Olesen and Havnø 1998:3; NFNA and ecosystem approach, and look at trade-offs between differ-
1999:12, 13). ent goods and services. To avoid costly restoration projects, fu-
The Skjern River floodplain restoration project was moti- ture assessments of freshwater systems need to include as many
vated by changes in societal values and priorities, notably the of these elements as possible. The level of detail and compre-
decreased economic importance of agriculture in the country, hensiveness will vary with the scale and purpose of the assess-
an increased appreciation of nature for recreation and tourism, ment. Assessments at a global level that are used to set priori-
and the desire to rectify past environmental damage. Work be- ties and identify key trends will require less detail, but they
gan in 1999 with the aim of restoring the Skjern River to a will ultimately constitute a much needed worldwide integration
“natural” river by eliminating embankments, returning the river of more apparent regional patterns.
to its original meandering course, and recreating wetlands. The

P r o l o g u e
H U M A N M O D I F I C AT I O N OF
F R E S H WAT E R S Y S T E M S
Freshwater systems have been altered since historical times, The PAGE analysis looks at the following indicators of modi-
but such modifications skyrocketed in the early to mid-1900s. fications to freshwater systems:
Table 1 shows a subset of these alterations. The projects in- ? Indicators of modification of rivers: river fragmentation and
clude modifying waterways to improve navigation, draining flow regulation, sediment, and nutrient retention.
wetlands, constructing dams and irrigation channels, and es- ? Indicators of modification of groundwater resources: over-
tablishing interbasin connections and water transfers. These view of overexploitation and saltwater intrusion problems
changes have improved transportation, provided flood control around the world.
and hydropower, and boosted agricultural output by making more ? Indicators of modification of wetland area: loss of wetlands
land and irrigation water available. At the same time, these in the United States and Europe.
physical changes in the hydrological cycle disconnect rivers ? Indicators of modification at the watershed level: cropland
from their floodplains and wetlands and slow water velocity in and urban or industrial land use by watershed.
riverine systems, converting them to a chain of connected res-
ervoirs. This, in turn, impacts the migratory patterns of fish spe-
cies and the composition of riparian habitat, opens up paths for M o d i f i ca t i o n o f Ri v e r s
exotic species, changes coastal ecosystems, and contributes to Humans have built large numbers of dams all over the world,
an overall loss of freshwater biodiversity and inland fishery re- most of them in the last 35 years. Today, there are more than
sources. Dams, on average, also affect the seasonal flow and 40,000 large dams (more than 15 meters high) in the world,
sediment transport of rivers for 100 kilometers downstream. 21,600 of which are in China alone (ICOLD 1998:7; IJHD
Some major water projects, such as the Aswan High Dam in 1998:60). This storage capacity represents a 700 percent in-
Egypt, have an effect that extends more than 1,000 kilometers crease in the standing stock of water in river systems compared
downstream (McAllister et al. 1997:56). to natural river channels since 1950 (Vörösmarty et al.
H u m a n M o d i f i c a t i o n o f F r e s h w a t e r S y s t e m s
Table 1
Alteration of Freshwater Systems Worldwide
Alteration Pre-1900 1900 1950–60 1985 1996–98
Waterways Altered 3,125 km 8,750 km – >500,000 km –
for Navigation
Canals 8,750 km 21,250 km – 63,125 km –
Large Reservoirs*
Number 41 581 1,105 2,768 2,836
3
Volume (km ) 14 533 1,686 5,879 6,385
Large Dams (>15 m High) – – 5,749 – 41,413
Installed Hydro Capacity (MW) – – < 290,000 542,000 ~660,000
Hydro Capacity Under

Construction (MW) – – – – ~126,000
3 3 3 3
Water Withdrawals – 578 km /year 1,984 km /year ~3,200 km /year ~3,800 km /year
2
Wetlands Drainage** – – – 160,600 km –
*Large reservoirs are those with a total volume of 0.1 km3 or more. This is only a subset of the world’s reservoirs.
**Includes available information for drainage of natural bogs and low-lying grasslands as well disposal of excess water from irrigated fields. There is
no comprehensive data for wetland loss for the world.
Sources: Based on Naiman et al. 1995, as adapted from L’vovich and White 1990. Data on dams are from ICOLD 1998. Reservoir data are from
Avakyan and Iakovleva 1998. Hydro capacity data are from IJHD 1998 and L’vovich and White 1990. Water withdrawal data are from Shiklomanov
1997.
1997a:210). Table 2 shows the distribution of large dams by mentation and nutrient loads, changes in the temperature and
continent, based on the 25,410 registered dams reported by the chemical composition of the dammed river, decline in water
International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) and the stor- availability through evaporation from reservoirs, and an increase
age capacity of large reservoirs. in the occurrence of algal blooms and water-related diseases in
In terms of storage capacity, Asia and South America have reservoirs (Ward and Stanford 1989:56–62; Ligon et al.
seen the biggest recent increase in the number of reservoirs. In 1995:185–188; Vörösmarty et al. 1997a:216–218; McCully
Asia, 78 percent of the total reservoir volume was constructed 1996:30–48).
in the last decade, and in South America almost 60 percent of
all reservoirs have been built since the 1980s (Avakyan and RI V ER CHA N N EL FRA GM EN TATI ON A N D FLOW
Iakovleva 1998:47). The inventory of dams and reservoirs is REGULATI ON
incomplete for China and the former Soviet Union, which with River fragmentation, which is the interruption of a river’s natu-
the United States are the world’s top ranking countries in terms ral flow by dams, inter-basin transfers, or water withdrawal, is
of number of large dams (ICOLD 1998:7). Reservoirs with more an indicator of the degree that rivers have been modified by
than 0.5 km3 maximum storage capacity intercept and trap an humans (Ward and Stanford 1989; Dynesius and Nilsson 1994).
estimated 30 percent of global suspended sediments (Vörösmarty This indicator provides insight on the condition of these river
et al.1997b:271). systems and their capacity to provide a variety of goods and
Dams provide a variety of important benefits to society. They services.
store water for agricultural, domestic, and industrial use, pro- This study assesses most of the world’s large rivers to quan-
vide flood control and hydropower, and create reservoirs and tify the extent to which dams and canals have fragmented river
downstream releases that society uses for recreational purposes. basins and to determine how water withdrawals have altered
At the same time, dams can cause severe environmental im- river flows. The measures used to assess fragmentation and regu-
pacts. These environmental impacts include interference with lation include dams, reservoirs, interbasin transfers, and irri-
fish migratory routes, destruction of riparian habitat and spe- gation consumption. Irrigation consumption refers to the water
cies breeding grounds (through flooding of riparian habitat and that is evaporated or used by crops through transpiration, but
the loss of wetlands and sandbanks), siltation of reservoirs, ef- excludes the amount of water returned to the river after irriga-
fects in coastal areas and deltas resulting from increased sedi- tion.

Table 2
Large Dams and Storage Capacity of Large Reservoirs by Continent
World Number of Storage Capacity of
Registered Dams Large Large Reservoirs*
3
Continent Number** Percent Reservoirs* Total Volume (km )
Africa 1,265 5 176 1,000

Asia 8,485 33.4 815 1,980
Oceania 685 2.7 89*** 95***
Europe 6,200 24.4 576 645
North America 7,775 30.6 915 1,692
Central and South America 1,005 3.97 265 972
Total Registered Number 25, 410** — — —

Estimated Number 41,413 — 2,836 6,385
*Large reservoirs are those with a total volume of 0.1 km3 or more. This is only a subset of the world’s reservoirs.
**Total number of dams may not add up due to rounding. ICOLD reports a total of 25,410 registered dams.
***Includes only Australia and New Zealand.
Sources: ICOLD 1998; Avakyan and Iakovleva 1998.
The analysis presented here builds on an earlier fragmenta- moderately affected, will become strongly affected once the
tion analysis carried out by Dynesius and Nilsson (1994). Their Three Gorges dam is completed. In the 1994 study, Dynesius
analysis shows that 77 percent of the total water discharge of and Nilsson also looked at the fragmentation of 59 medium-
the 139 largest river systems in the northern third of the world sized river systems (VMAD of at least 40 m 3 per second but less
(North America, Europe, and the former Soviet Union) is strongly than 350 m3 per second) in Scandinavia and found that only
to moderately affected by fragmentation of the river channels. nine are still free-flowing.
Large river systems (LRS) are defined as rivers with a virgin Even though dam construction has greatly slowed in most
mean annual discharge (VMAD) equal to or above 350 m3 per developed countries (and some countries, such as the United
second. The PAGE study commissioned Nilsson et al. (2000) to States, are even decommissioning a few dams), the demand and
extend the fragmentation analysis to cover Africa, Latin America, untapped potential for dams is still high in the developing world,
China, and mainland Southeast Asia. particularly in Asia. As of 1998, there were 349 dams over 60
Map 1 shows the results of both analyses. Of the 227 major meters high under construction around the world (see Map 2)
river basins assessed, 37 percent are strongly affected by frag- (IJHD 1998:12–14). The countries with the largest number of
mentation and altered flows, 23 percent are moderately affected, dams under construction were Turkey, China, Japan, Iraq, Iran,
and 40 percent are unaffected. Strongly affected systems in- Greece, Romania, and Spain, as well as the Paraná basin in
clude those with less than one quarter of their main channel left South America. The river basins with the most large dams un-
without dams, where the largest tributary has at least one dam, der construction were the Yangtze in China, with 38 dams un-
as well as rivers whose annual flow patterns have changed sub- der construction, the Tigris and Euphrates with 19, and the
stantially. Unaffected rivers are those without dams in the main Danube with 11.
channel of the river and, if tributaries have been dammed, river Waterfalls, rapids, riparian vegetation, and wetlands are some
discharge has declined or been contained in reservoirs by no of the habitats that disappear when rivers are regulated or im-
more than 2 percent. pounded (Dynesius and Nilsson 1994:759). These habitats are
In all, strongly or moderately fragmented systems account essential feeding and breeding areas for many aquatic and ter-
for nearly 90 percent of the total water volume flowing through restrial species, and they also contribute significantly to main-
the rivers in the analysis. All river systems with parts of their taining other ecosystem services, such as water purification.
basins in arid areas or that have internal drainage systems are The fragmentation indicators presented earlier indicate that
strongly affected. The only remaining large free-flowing rivers many types of river ecosystems have been lost or are at a high
in the world are found in the tundra regions of North America risk, and, therefore, the populations of many river-dwelling spe-
and Russia, and in smaller coastal basins in Africa and Latin cies may have already disappeared or become highly fragmented.
America (see Map 1). It should be noted, however, that consid-
erable parts of some of the large rivers in the tropics, such as SED I M EN T A N D N UTRI EN T RETEN TI ON
the Amazon, the Orinoco, and the Congo, would be classified as By slowing the movement of water, dams also prevent the natu-
unaffected rivers if an analysis at the subbasin level were done. ral downstream movement of large amounts of sediment to del-
The Yangtze River in China, which currently is classified as tas, estuaries, flooded forests, wetlands, and inland seas. This
retention can rob the downstream areas of the sediments and Ch a n g e s i n Gr o u n d w a t e r Re so u r ce s

nutrients that they depend on, affecting species composition
and productivity. Coastal fisheries, for example, depend on up- Groundwater is a resource of global importance, particularly in
stream inputs to replenish nutrients. After the Aswan High Dam arid and semiarid areas of the world where access to surface
was built on the Nile River, the supply of phosphate and sili- water is limited. Groundwater resources include shallow and
cate to the coastal area was reduced to 4 and 18 percent, re- deep rechargeable aquifers that are connected to rivers, streams,
spectively, of pre-dam conditions (FAO 1995a:30). This drop in or seas, and nonrenewable aquifers or fossil water that may have
nutrients, combined with increased salinity in the delta because been created by precipitation during the last Ice Age. Most aqui-
of a reduction in the Nile outflow as well as overfishing, refers are replenished by rain that infiltrates through the soil or
duced the productivity of the coastal fisheries (FAO 1995a:38, by river losses during floods (UNEP 1996:6; Shiklomanov
39). 1997:19). Fossil water resources, on the other hand, are not
Water retention alters a river’s flow regime, which eliminates naturally or artificially recharged, so once they have been ex-
or reduces spring runoff or flood pulses that often play a critical ploited they may never be replenished (UNEP 1996:7;
role in maintaining downstream riparian and wetland commu- Shiklomanov 1997:23).
nities. These habitats are essential as breeding and feeding It is estimated that at least 1.5 billion people use groundwa-
grounds for many fish and bird species. When dams interrupt ter as their sole source of drinking water (UNEP 1996:4).
these pulses, these habitats and associated species are lost Groundwater is also important for irrigation. For instance, more
(Abramovitz 1996:11). Sediment retention also interferes with than 50 percent of the water used in India for irrigation comes
dam operations and shortens their useful lives. In the United from groundwater resources (Foster et al. 2000:2). Growing
States, about 2 km3 of reservoir storage capacity is lost from populations, expanding urbanization and industrialization, and
sediment retention each year, at a cost of US$819 million an- increasing demands for food security are placing more pressure
nually (Vörösmarty et al. 1997a:217). on the world’s groundwater supplies.
Finally, water and sediment retention affect water quality There are two major consequences of the increasing need
and the waste processing capacity of rivers (the ability to break for world groundwater supplies. One is “groundwater mining,”
down organic pollutants). The slow-moving water in reservoirs in which groundwater abstraction exceeds the natural rate of
is stratified into layers instead of being well-mixed, with the replenishment. This can result in land subsidence (in which
bottom waters of the reservoir often depleted of oxygen. These the land sinks), saltwater intrusion, and groundwater supplies
oxygen-starved waters can produce toxic hydrogen sulfide gas becoming economically and technically unfeasible for use as a
that degrades water quality. In addition, oxygen-depleted wa- stable water supply (UNEP 1996:4, 15). The second major con-
ters released from dams have a reduced capacity to process sequence is the degradation of water quality resulting from a
waste for up to 100 kilometers downstream because the waste- variety of point and nonpoint source pollutants, including agri-
processing ability of river water depends directly on its level of cultural runoff, sewage from urban centers, and industrial ef-
dissolved oxygen. fluents (see Section on Water Quality).
An indicator of the extent to which dams have affected water We lack basic information at the global level on the size,
storage and sediment retention at the global level is the change recharge rates, and condition of groundwater supplies. There is
in “residence time” of otherwise free flowing water. This indi- data on distribution, but they are dispersed among national agen-
cator, developed by Vörösmarty et al. (1997a), is based on the cies and, in most cases, not harmonized (Foster, personal com-
analysis of 622 of the world’s largest reservoirs —defined as munication, 2000). However, in areas where groundwater is
reservoirs with a storage capacity equal or above 0.5 km3—and important for domestic use and irrigation, countries have pro-
examined the increase in the time it takes an average drop of duced groundwater inventories and are monitoring groundwa-
water entering the river to reach the sea. This residence time is ter quality. For example, in Europe the European Environment
termed by the authors as the “aging of continental freshwater.” Agency shows that nearly 60 percent of the cities with more
Map 3 shows the changes in residence time or aging of river than 100,000 people are located in areas where there is ground-
water at the mouth of each of the 236 regulated drainage basins water overabstraction (EEA 1995:66). Groundwater
that were analyzed (Vörösmarty et al. 1997a:210–219). World- overexploitation is also evident in many Asian cities. The cities
wide, the average age of river water in regulated basins has of Bangkok, Manila, Tianjin, Beijing, Madras, Shanghai, and
tripled to well over one month (Vörösmarty et al. 1997a:215). Xian, for example, have all registered a decline in water table
Among the basins most affected are the Colorado and Rio Grande levels of 10–50 meters (Foster et al. 1998:23). This
in North America, the Nile and the Volta in Africa, and the Rio overexploitation in many cases is accompanied by water qual-
Negro in Argentina. ity degradation and land subsidence. For instance in Mexico,
where many cities have experienced declines in groundwater

levels, the aquifer that supplies much of Mexico City had fallen W e t l a n d Ex t e n t a n d Ch a n g e
by 10 meters as of 1992 with a consequent land subsidence of
up to 9 meters (Foster et al. 1998:23, 25). One of the worst Wetlands are a key component of freshwater ecosystems. They
cases of groundwater overexploitation is Yemen where, in some include a variety of highly productive habitat types from flooded
areas, the rate of abstraction is 400 percent greater than the forests and floodplains to shallow lakes and marshes. Wetlands
rate of recharge (Briscoe 1999). provide a wide array of goods and services, including flood con-
In coastal zones, groundwater overabstraction can reverse trol, nutrient cycling and retention, carbon storage, water filter-
the natural flow of groundwater into the ocean, causing saltwa- ing, water storage and aquifer recharge, shoreline protection
ter to intrude into inland aquifers. Where coastal aquifers are and erosion control, and a range of food and material products,
used to supply drinking water or irrigation, saltwater intrusion such as fish, shellfish, timber, and fiber. Wetlands also provide
is a serious problem. Because of the high marine salt content, a habitat for a large number of species, from waterfowl and fish to
concentration of only 2 percent seawater in an aquifer is enough invertebrates and plants. In North America, for instance, 39
to make groundwater supplies unusable for human consump- percent of plant species depend on wetlands (Myers 1997:129).
tion (Scheidleder et al. 1999:91). A recent study of groundwa- Wetlands also have aesthetic and recreational values, although
ter resources in Europe shows that saltwater intrusion as a con- these are harder to quantify. They can include activities, such
sequence of overabstraction is most prevalent in the Mediterra- as birdwatching, hiking, fishing, and hunting.
nean countries, particularly along the coastlines of Spain, Italy, Not only are wetlands highly productive and biologically rich,
and Turkey (Scheidleder et al. 1999:91). Of 126 groundwater but a large part of the world’s population lives in or near flood-
areas, for which status was reported, 53 showed saltwater intru- plain areas, where the soils are rich in nutrients and, therefore,
sion. Most of the aquifers were used for public and industrial very fertile. As a result of their potential as agricultural land
water supply (Scheidleder et al. 1999:90, 92). (and also because they are feared as places that harbor dis-
Saltwater intrusion can also occur in inland areas where ease), wetlands have undergone massive conversion around the
groundwater overexploitation leads to the rise of highly miner- world. Sometimes, this has come with considerable ecological
alized water from deeper aquifers. This problem has been re- and socioeconomic costs (see Box 1 on the Okavango Delta). In
ported in Europe for 1 area in Latvia, 3 areas in Poland, and 14 Africa, for example, many wetlands and floodplains are at risk
in the Republic of Moldova (Scheidleder et al. 1999:90, 91). of disappearing as a result of large-scale irrigation schemes and
It should be noted that data provided by different European other water management activities (Barbier and Thompson
countries are based on groundwater sampling units that are not 1998:434). When large irrigation or hydropower schemes are
standardized and range in size from single sampling sites to proposed, the downstream impacts often are not fully taken into
regional administrative units. The quality of data, therefore, is account. Barbier and Thompson (1998) compared the gains
uneven, and it gives an incomplete picture of the situation. upstream to the losses downstream of a large-scale irrigation
Countries that have not reported data are not necessarily free of scheme in the Hadejia-Jama’are River basin in northeastern
groundwater resources problems. Nigeria. This analysis concluded that even though the proposed
Saltwater intrusion is also a serious problem in the large irrigation scheme would increase food production upstream, the
coastal cities of South and Southeast Asia, where groundwater water management plan would not provide enough benefits to
abstraction is widespread but unregulated. The depression of justify the significant losses to local communities downstream
groundwater tables because of overabstraction has caused salt- that would result from reduced agricultural, fishing, and
water intrusion as far inland as 10 kilometers in the coastal fuelwood production (Barbier and Thompson 1998:439–440).
alluvial aquifer in Madras, and up to 5 kilometers in Manila. In Another dramatic example of the unforeseen damage by
Bangkok, groundwater overexploitation has caused the water large-scale water engineering works is the effects of a dam and
level of the underlying aquifer to drop by 60 meters, resulting flood embankments on the Waza-Logone floodplain in northern
in problems with saltwater intrusion and land subsidence. The Cameroon (Ngantou and Braund 1999:19, 20). In the 1970s,
land surface has fallen by as much as 60 to 80 centimeters in the Waza-Logone floodplain provided habitat for tens of thou-
the center of the city (British Geological Survey 1996:21). sands of grazing mammals, birds, and fish, as well as suste-
Finally, although little information is available, changes in nance for more than 100,000 sedentary and nomadic people.
the water levels affect cave- and aquifer-dwelling species. Most The population lived primarily by fishing and pastoralism —
of these species have not yet been studied and may have impor- activities that depended heavily on the annual flood regime.
tant ecological functions (McAllister et al. 1997:24). The construction of a dam and the development of a rice irriga-
tion scheme in 1979 resulted in reduced flooding over large
parts of the plain, leading to the collapse of the fishery, a reduc-
Box 1
What Is at St ake and What Are t he Trade-of f s: Okavango Delt a
One of the most remarkable cases in which a globally impor- the government of Namibia floated plans to build a 250-
tant wetland area is at risk from drainage and water extrac- kilometer pipeline from the Okavango River to tap 20 mil-
tion is the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The Okavango River lion m3 of the river’s water annually for Namibia’s capital
flows from the highlands of Angola through Namibia and city (Pottinger 1997:1). This project would be the first major
Botswana, where it forms the Okavango Delta, a vast 15,000- diversion of the Okavango’s waters, and it would have un-
square kilometer alluvial fan on the otherwise parched sands known but potentially negative effects on wildlife, rural live-
of the Kalahari Desert (Rothert 1999:1). The desert oasis pro- lihoods, and the Delta’s growing tourist industry. A recent
vides habitat for a large array of plants and animals that would review of Namibia’s water needs showed that groundwater
not survive the arid environment, and it helps sustain almost sources, combined with existing water supplies, effective
130,000 people of several ethnic groups living in over 30 demand management, and artificial aquifer recharge, could
communities (Rothert, personal communication, 2000). The provide the needed water to Namibia without the costly
people have depended on the Okavango’s waters for gen- development of the pipeline (Rothert 1998:22). Yet pres-
erations, and with a growing tourist industry, which employs sure to build the pipeline arises every few years with the
thousands of people and earns Botswana over US$250 mil- onset of a drought, a regular occurrence in this arid region.
lion in revenues annually, they have every incentive to pre- A short-term planning perspective means that the likelihood
serve and manage the Delta’s wildlife and water resources of diverting the Okavango River remains high (Rothert
(Rothert 1999:1). 1998:1, 2).
The Okavango River is also one of the few large river sys-
tems in the world without notable human developments such
as dams or water diversions. But over the past 20 years, there
References
have been several proposals for large-scale engineering
projects that would alter this fragile ecosystem and develop Howe, C.W. 1994. “The IUCN Review of the Southern Okavango
the region. The first large development plan for the Delta Integrated Water Development Project.” Environment 36 (1):25–
was the 1982 Southern Okavango Integrated Water Devel- 28.
opment Project. The Botswana government faced strong op-
Pottinger, L. 1997. “Namibian Pipeline Project Heats Up.” World
position to the project from local residents, and it eventually
Rivers Review 12 (1):2–3. Available on-line at: http:\\www.irn.org.
agreed to an outside assessment of the project that was con-
ducted by IUCN-The World Conservation Union (IUCN). The Rothert, S. 1998. “Okavango Pipeline Remains a Pipe-Dream for
IUCN report concluded that most of the major engineering Now.” World Rivers Review 13 (3):1–2. Available on-line at:
works of the project would not meet their stated objectives http:\\www.irn.org.
of increasing food production and rural living standards. The
Rothert, S. 1999. Meeting Namibia’s Water Needs While Sparing
Botswana government cancelled all plans to implement the
the Okavango. Berkeley, California, U.S.A.: International Rivers
project in 1992 over the protests of the bureaucracy in charge
Network.
of water development (Howe 1994:25, 28).
Large development projects that will likely cause harm to Rothert, S. International Rivers Network. Personal communication,
the Delta ecosystem are still being proposed. In late 1996, July 20, 2000.
tion in available grazing grounds, and a shortage of surface water GLOBA L EX TEN T OF W ETLA N D S
during the dry season. As a consequence, there was a drastic A recent review of wetland resources concluded that reliable
decline in biodiversity as well as a massive migration of people global estimates of wetlands extent could not be produced with
and livestock out of the area. In 1988, the international com- available data (Finlayson and Davidson 1999:2). The review—
munity recognized the problems in the Waza-Logone floodplain commissioned by the Convention on Wetlands, also known as
and helped launch a program to rehabilitate the floodplain. The the Ramsar Convention, and carried out by Wetlands Interna-
rehabilitation project is now in its third phase, and it already tional and the Environmental Research Institute of the Super-
has boosted fish production and increased the availability of vising Scientist in Australia – stated that regional data for
dry-season grazing (Ngantou and Braund 1999:19, 20). Oceania, Asia, Africa, eastern Europe, and the neotropics al-

low just a cursory assessment of wetland extent and location. emissions (Matthews and Fung 1987:61–86) or the International
Only North America and western Europe have published more Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project (ISLCP 1987–1988).
robust estimates of wetland extent. In addition, some good ex- It also provides more detail on wetlands than the most recent
amples of wetland inventory processes exist. The MedWet pro- land cover characterization map by the International Geosphere-
gram, for example, is coordinating wetlands activities through- Biosphere Programme (IGBP) of the International Council for
out the Mediterranean (Finlayson and Davidson 1999:6). Science, which mostly shows coastal wetlands. However, be-
Wetland inventories have been incomplete and are difficult cause of its scale, it underestimates wetlands areas in valley
to undertake for a number of reasons: bottoms, such as dambos (“valley meadowlands” in southern
? Definitions. The definition of a wetland varies with research Africa), which are important for agricultural production, food
purpose and an organization’s mandate. For example, stud- security, and habitat (Chenje and Johnson 1996:52–54).
ies interested in modeling trace gases have concentrated on Map 4 also shows a proxy variable, location of dams, to indi-
inland wetlands (defined as “areas with a water table at or cate the potential of changed hydrological regimes. Only a few
near the soil surface for a significant part of the growing sea- of the wetlands shown on Map 4 have been designated as im-
son, and which are covered by active vegetation during the portant wetlands under the Ramsar Convention (Ramsar Con-
period of water saturation,” IGBP 1998:7). The Ramsar Con- vention Website: http://ramsar.org/key_sitelist.htm). Of these,
vention uses a very broad definition, covering both inland
6 have been listed in the Montreux Record, a register of wet-
and marine wetlands. The latter includes reefs and seagrass
land sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance
beds as specific habitat types because the definition delin-
eates marine areas up to a water depth of six meters. that includes places where changes in ecological character have
occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of
? Scope. Data from national inventories are often incomplete
and difficult to compare because some concentrate on spe- technological developments, pollution, or other human inter-
cific habitat types, such as wetlands of importance to migra- ference (Ramsar Convention Website: http://ramsar.org/
tory birds, whereas others include artificial wetlands, such key_montreux_record.htm).
as rice paddies.
? Limitations of maps. Wetland inventories sometimes use HOW HA S W ETLA N D A REA CHA N GED ?
existing maps to estimate wetland extent, such as Opera- Modifying wetlands has been a major focus of many develop-
tional Navigation Charts for global analyses and large-scale ment and river regulation plans for decades. Wetlands have been
topographic maps for national assessments. Wetland extent either completely converted to other land uses (often by build-
then becomes a function of scale and the cartographic con- ing drainage ditches and filling in swamps) or their functions
vention of the mapmaker. For example, navigation charts will have been altered gradually by changing hydrologic regimes
depict only wetlands that are visible by pilots. In addition, and introducing agricultural crops and livestock. Data on ac-
the rules for placing wetlands symbols on a map usually vary tual numbers of wetlands converted or modified are not avail-
with institutions.
able globally. However, Myers (1997:129) estimated that half of
? Boundaries. Researchers have problems defining boundaries the wetlands of the world were lost in the 20th century. A 1992
and separating individual wetlands from wetland complexes.
review of 344 Ramsar sites showed that 84 percent were either
Some boundaries are difficult to determine because of lim-
threatened or experiencing ecological changes, mostly from
ited access and seasonal changes in water availability.
drainage for agriculture and urban development, pollution, and
? Limitations of remote sensing products. The wide range in
siltation (Dugan and Jones 1993:35–38).
the sizes and types of wetlands and the problem of combin-
ing hydrologic and vegetation characteristics to define wet- Certain regions and countries have undertaken a more con-
lands make it difficult to produce a global, economical, and cise effort to track wetland loss. For example, the U.S. Fish and
high-resolution data set with existing sensors. Wildlife Service tracks the status of U.S. wetlands and the
amount of wetlands lost or gained over time through its Na-
Considering these limitations, Map 4 is currently the best tional Wetlands Inventory. Its first assessment examined the
regional approximation of wetlands in Africa. The World Con- extent of wetland losses over the first 200 years of the country’s
servation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and IUCN— estimated history. Total wetland losses in the lower 48 states were esti-
the location and extent of the wetlands. A group of experts de- mated to be 53 percent from the 1780s to the 1980s, with 22
lineated wetlands boundaries by generalizing information on states believed to have lost 50 percent or more of their wetlands
inundated areas, rivers, lakes, and topography from the 1:1 (see Map 5a). Only Alaska, Hawaii, and New Hampshire lost
million Operational Navigation Charts (WRI 1995:18). This map less than 20 percent (Dahl 1990:5). Most of the losses were to
provides more detail than other global, coarse resolution data agriculture.
sets that use potential vegetation, soils, and terrain to delineate Wetland losses in the lower 48 United States were also quan-
wetlands—for example, data produced to estimate methane tified and statistically compared for the 1970s and 1980s (Dahl
and Johnson 1991:1–23). The study estimated the loss of wet- causing the underlying water table to drop. If water withdraw-
lands in the lower 48 states during this period to be greater als are large enough, wetlands can be permanently destroyed
than 2 percent, totaling 1.05 million hectares. The total recorded (EEA 1995:66). In 1995, the European Environment Agency
change in wetlands area dropped from 42.9 million hectares in estimated that around 25 percent of the most important wet-
the mid-1970s to 41.8 million hectares in the mid-1980s (Dahl lands in Europe were threatened by groundwater
and Johnson 1991:1). overexploitation (EEA 1995:67). A more recent study shows
The study showed that 1.34 million hectares of inland fresh- that six wetlands designated as Ramsar sites in Denmark, four
water wetlands were lost during this period, while 320,680 hect- sites in Hungary, and one in the United Kingdom were reported
ares of freshwater ponds were gained. Of the lost freshwater as being in danger because of groundwater overexploitation
wetlands, 54 percent were converted to agriculture, 41 percent (Scheidleder et al. 1999:96). An additional 46 Ramsar sites
were filled but not yet converted to an identifiable land use from 7 European countries were reported as being under threat
category, and 5 percent were converted to urban uses (Dahl and for other reasons (Scheidleder et al. 1999:96). The information
Johnson 1991:11, 12). The largest drop of any wetland category gathered from these countries, however, is very incomplete. Only
was for forested freshwater wetlands, which declined by 6.2 14 countries out of 37 responded to the questionnaire, and the
percent over the ten-year period. Much of this loss was in the threat status for wetlands was provided for only 50 percent of
southeastern states, each of which lost significantly more than the identified Ramsar sites. Therefore, these data do not reflect
40,000 hectares of forested freshwater wetlands (Dahl and the actual extent of the threat to wetlands on the continent
Johnson 1991:11, 12). (Scheidleder et al. 1999:95, 96).
The Natural Resources Inventory (NRI), a division of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, carried out an additional study OPPORTUN I TI ES FOR FUTURE W ETLA N D S M ON I TORI N G
of wetland loss on nonfederal lands from 1982–87 in the United USI N G REM OTE SEN SI N G
States. During this period an average of 72,600 hectares were The IGBP has identified the production of a global baseline
lost each year (Brady and Flather 1994:693). Although this data set of wetlands as a high priority (IGBP 1998). New remote
analysis was limited to the five-year period, it provides some sensing techniques and improved capabilities to manage com-
indication of regional trends in wetland losses and gains during plex global data sets make such an endeavor more feasible (IGBP
the 1982–92 period that Map 5b illustrates. 1998:17). Radar, which can sense flooding underneath vegeta-
The combined NRI and Fish and Wildlife Service data give tion and can penetrate cloud cover, is probably the best alter-
the best estimates of wetland losses over time in the United native for developing a global wetland database (IGBP 1998:27).
States. These data show that the rate of wetland losses has de- Because of its high resolution and sensitivity to water, radar
clined substantially in the last 50 years. The estimate of aver- data reveal a much finer wetland texture, particularly in areas
age annual loss from the time of settlement to 1954 is 329,000 of flooded forests, than other remotely sensed data. Consequently
to 359,000 hectares. This dropped to 185,000 hectares per year radar data show much larger wetland areas than existing esti-
from 1954 to 1974. From 1974 to 1982 the rate dropped again, mates, which is consistent with the conclusions of the IGBP
to 117,000 hectares yearly, and then to 32,000 hectares yearly assessment that the global extent of wetlands has been signifi-
from 1982 to 1992 (Heimlich et al. 1998:20). cantly underestimated (Darras et al. 1999:39). Seasonally
In Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean basin, wetland flooded wetlands provide highly productive croplands and graz-
loss is even more severe. Estimates show, for example, that Spain ing, essential for food security and income generation, as well
has lost more than 60 percent of all inland freshwater wetlands as providing important habitat for migratory birds and other
since 1970 (EEA 1995:207); Lithuania has lost 70 percent of terrestrial and aquatic species. Information on the extent, loca-
its wetlands in the last 30 years (EEA 1999:291); and the open tion, and change in wetland areas is, thus, crucial to assessing
plains of the southwestern part of Sweden have lost 67 percent the condition of freshwater ecosystems.
of their wetlands and ponds to drainage in the last 50 years The launch of Landsat 7 in April 1999 opened a new era in
(EEA 1995:185). Overall, draining and conversion to agricul- civilian remote sensing, thanks to a higher quality sensor, a
ture alone has reduced wetlands area in Europe by some 60 comprehensive data acquisition strategy, and a liberal data
percent (EEA 1998:291). policy. The sensor includes a 15-meter resolution panchromatic
Wetland loss data for other regions of the world, as well as band, in addition to five 30-meter resolution optical and infra-
data on more gradual modifications of wetlands hydrological red bands, which can be used to resolve more detailed land-
regime are even harder to obtain. For example, because wet- cover features. Landsat 7 also has much greater onboard stor-
land ecosystems depend on a saturated water table and are gen- age capacity than previous Landsat generations which, coupled
erally very sensitive to changes in water levels, groundwater with an acquisition strategy based on cloud climatology, is in-
overabstraction can cause substantial damage to wetlands by tended to provide complete global coverage four times a year.

Finally, in an attempt to maximize use of these data, the price Maps 6 and 7 show contrasting patterns of modified land
per image has been reduced from US$4,200 to US$600. Higher use. Map 6 shows that intensively cropped land is concentrated
quality data, available on a regular basis and at modest cost, in five areas: Europe, India, eastern China, Southeast Asia, and
should allow complete and accurate mapping of the extent of the midwestern United States, with smaller concentrations in
both seasonal and permanent wetlands (USGS Landsat 7 Argentina, Australia, and Central America. Africa is striking in
Website: http://landsat7.usgs.gov/). its lack of intensively cropped land, with the exception of small
patches along the Mediterranean coast and in South Africa. This
reflects the minimal use of chemical inputs and the low level of
W a t e r sh e d M o d i f i ca t i o n agricultural productivity in most African countries.
Freshwater systems are influenced not only by modifying riv- Map 7 shows a much more concentrated pattern of urban
ers, lakes, and wetlands directly, but also by changing land-use and industrial development. Highly urbanized watersheds are
patterns in the whole watershed. The pattern and extent of cit- concentrated along the east coast of the United States, Western
ies, roads, agricultural land, and natural areas within a water- Europe, and Japan, with lesser concentrations in coastal China,
shed influences infiltration properties, transpiration rates, and India, Central America, most of the United States, Western Eu-
runoff patterns, which in turn impact water quantity and qual- rope, and the Persian Gulf.
ity. For example, expanding impervious areas increases the vol- These maps show the average amount of intensively culti-
ume and rate of runoff of receiving streams and impacts the vated land or urban and industrial area for each large river ba-
water quality and biodiversity of freshwater systems (Jones et sin. However, they do not allow for the assessment of land use
al. 1997:51). within watersheds and, therefore, fail to show potentially im-
At the global level, we used two indicators representing ag- portant within-basin differences. We, therefore, used a higher
ricultural and urban areas to show the extent to which water- resolution river basin database to calculate the concentration
sheds have been modified in ways likely to affect the condition of intensively cultivated land within individual subbasins (EDC
of freshwater ecosystems. First, we examined the distribution of 1999). Map 8a shows the results for Europe (west of the Ural
watersheds containing intensive agriculture because watersheds Mountains) and the Middle East; and Map 8b shows the results
with intensive agricultural development are likely to experi- for insular Southeast Asia. There are 4,033 subbasins in Eu-
ence water quality degradation from pesticide and nutrient run- rope and 4,077 in insular Southeast Asia.
offs and increased sediment loads (see Map 6). Agricultural ar- In Europe, the most intensively cultivated land area forms
eas were extracted from the IGBP version of a global one-kilo- an arc extending from northern France to the Ukraine. Crop
meter resolution land-cover characteristics database (GLCCD intensity is higher in basins in northern France, the Nether-
1998). These cropland areas exclude those with more balanced lands, and southern England, and in the subbasins of the Oder,
mosaics of cropland and natural vegetation. Second, we exam- Vistula, Dnieper, and Don rivers in Eastern Europe. There are
ined the distribution of urban areas as judged by satellite im- also intensively cropped areas in parts of the Danube basin and
ages of nighttime lights for 1994–95. Because more urbanized subbasins close to the Black Sea, particularly around the Sea of
watersheds tend to have greater impervious areas as well as Azov.
higher quantities of urban and industrial pollution, this map Insular Southeast Asia presents a gradient of agricultural
also shows greater pressure on freshwater systems (see Map 7). use from more populated areas, such as Java and the Philip-
Urban areas came from a five-kilometer resolution stable-lights pines, where intensively cultivated areas are predominant in
database (NOAA-NGDC 1998). The stable-lights database mea- most basins, to a low level of cropland area in Borneo, and the
sures emitted nighttime visible and near-infrared radiation from Celebes.
cities, towns, and industrial sites. The data better represent ur-
ban areas with highly developed economies indicated by ex-
tensive electricity networks, street lighting, and industrial ac-
M o d i f i ca t i o n o f Fr e sh w a t e r Sy st e m s:
tivities, such as refineries. They underestimate urban areas
within countries with less developed economies. I n f o r m a t i o n St a t u s a n d N e e d s
These two indicators show the degree of human modifica- The previous section demonstrates the influence of humans on
tion of original natural vegetation in a watershed. They are also the hydrological cycle. This influence is global and the degree
proxy indicators for water quality impacts, indicating the po- of modification is significant. As the river fragmentation and
tential of pesticide and nitrogen runoffs, increased sediment sediment retention indicators show, there are very few large,
loads, and increased potential for urban and industrial pollut- free-flowing river systems in the world. While dam construc-
ants. All indicators were aggregated by large river basins to tion has greatly slowed in most developed countries, it contin-
produce global maps. ues apace in China, Japan, India, Iran, Turkey, and several coun-
tries in South America. Our understanding of the environmen- correct hydrological unit and assess their impact on the fresh-
tal and social impacts of such projects is constrained by the water systems (Vörösmarty and Sahagian 2000:14).
limited availability and patchy quality of information. Several Another key data set needed to assess freshwater ecosystem
information gaps need to be filled to get a more accurate as- conditions is complete global information on wetland distribu-
sessment of the condition of freshwater systems around the world. tion and change. There is sufficient demand by international
One of the key databases needed to assess the condition of conventions (such as Ramsar and the Convention on Biological
freshwater systems is a complete global database on dams. The Diversity) and scientists working on global environmental is-
information used to develop the indicators in this analysis was sues to improve global data on wetlands. The recent review of
restricted to large dams, and it came mostly from ICOLD’s World wetland resources, commissioned by the Ramsar Convention
Register of Dams (ICOLD 1998). The registry contains infor- (Finlayson and Davidson 1999), made two important recom-
mation only for dams that are 15 meters in height or greater, mendations:
except for China, Japan, India, Spain, and the United States ? Focus first on producing basic data on the location and size
where entries are only for dams 30 meters in height or greater of wetlands, especially for Asia, Africa, South America, the
(ICOLD 1998:7). The largest data gaps are for Russia, which Pacific Islands, and Australia, using remotely sensed data
reports only hydropower dams, and China, where the majority and surveys. The data need to include major biophysical
of the world’s large dams have been built and for which infor- features, including information on the variation of wetland
mation is exceedingly difficult to acquire. areas and the timing of floods.
The dams used in this study represent only a portion of the ? In a second step, compile data on wetland threats, land ten-
global water impoundment and are missing basic attributes about ure, management, and uses and initiate studies on wetland
dam operations and biophysical characteristics of the reservoirs benefits and values.
(Vörösmarty et al. 1997a:218). For example, data on downstream These recommendations were echoed at a March 1999 plan-
discharges are lacking for many reservoirs, however, these data ning meeting of the IGBP, which emphasized that the produc-
are needed to assess more fully the interannual variations in tion of a global wetland inventory was a high priority (Darras et
river flow brought about by engineering. Current research is, al. 1999:3).
therefore, limited to statements based on mean annual condi- Finally, global data on the exploitation and condition of
tions, which miss important dry season variations (Vörösmarty groundwater resources are also urgently needed. Many coun-
and Sahagian 2000:13). This information is sometimes avail- tries that depend on groundwater resources have inventoried
able for individual reservoirs, but there is a lack of basic docu- the location of aquifers and their use. On the continental and
mentation at continental or global scales. global levels, however, such information is inconsistent and not
The existing global register of dams is also limited by a lack readily available. Data on groundwater quality is extremely lim-
of data about dam locations. The ICOLD database, for example, ited and available only for some countries. Countries that share
provides the river and closest town for each entry, but no latitu- major aquifers should coordinate information on the resource.
dinal and longitudinal coordinates, which makes the process of Information on groundwater exploitation should also be collected
geo-referencing dams very tedious and adds to location errors. in coordination with data collection efforts on the effects of these
The provision of latitude and longitude for each dam would extractions on other regional water resources, such as wetlands,
highly improve our ability to locate these structures within the lagoons, and river basins.

W AT E R Q U A N T I T Y
Ov e r v i e w
Water, used by households, agriculture, and industry, is clearly unevenly around the globe, with some areas containing abun-
the most important good provided by freshwater systems. Hu- dant water and others a much more limited supply. For example,
mans now withdraw about 4,000 km3 of water a year, or about arid and semiarid regions receive only 2 percent of the world’s
20 percent of the world’s rivers’ base flow (the dry-weather flow runoff, even though they occupy roughly 40 percent of the ter-
or the amount of available water in rivers most of the time) restrial area (WMO 1997:7). In water basins with high water
(Shiklomanov 1997:14, 69). Between 1900 and 1995, withdraw- demand relative to the available runoff, water scarcity is a grow-
als increased by a factor of more than six, which is greater than ing problem.
twice the rate of population growth (WMO 1997:9). According to the U.N. Comprehensive Assessment of the
Scientists estimate that the average amount of global runoff Freshwater Resources of the World, there are close to 460 mil-
(the amount of water that is available for human use after evapo- lion people in the world currently suffering from serious water
ration and infiltration takes place) is between 39,500 km3 and shortages and an additional 25 percent of the world’s popula-
42,700 km3 a year (Fekete et al. 1999:31; Shiklomanov tion may become water-stressed if current consumption levels
1997:13). However, not all of this water is available to humans. continue (WMO 1997:9). Many experts, governments, and in-
Much of the runoff occurs in flood events or is inaccessible to ternational organizations around the world are predicting that
people because of its remote location. In addition, part of the water availability will be one of the major challenges facing
runoff needs to remain in waterways so that aquatic ecosystems human society in the 21st century and that the lack of water
continue to function. In fact, only around 9,000 km3 is readily will be one of the key factors limiting development (WMO
accessible to humans, and an additional 3,500 km3 is stored in 1997:5).
reservoirs (WMO 1997:7). Water is not only becoming scarce in many regions of the
In any case, such global averages fail to portray the details world because of increased demand by industries and munici-
of the world’s water situation. Water supplies are distributed palities, but with an expected population reaching about 7.8
billion by 2025— the U.N medium projection (UNPD 1999:2) global water problem, the PAGE study developed two indica-
—food production will have to increase, meaning more water tors that measure the capacity of freshwater systems to provide
resources will be needed for irrigation. water for human consumption. These indicators are the follow-
At present, irrigated agriculture accounts for 40 percent of ing:
global food production even though it represents just 17 per- ? Per capita water supply by river basin;
cent of global cropland (WMO 1997:9). Agriculture is society’s ? Dry season flow by river basin.
major user of water, withdrawing 70 percent of all water (WMO
1997:8). Most irrigation systems are relatively inefficient. Glo- PER CA PI TA W ATER SUPPLY BY RI V ER BA SI N
bal estimates of irrigation efficiency are around 40 percent To calculate water supply, the PAGE study undertook a new
(Postel 1993:56; Seckler et al. 1998:25). Even though irriga- analysis of water scarcity using a somewhat different methodol-
tion for food production is an increasingly important service, it ogy than the 1997 U.N. assessment mentioned previously. Be-
is not analyzed in detail in this report because it has been ex- cause country-level estimates of water availability may hide sig-
amined separately under the agroecosystem component of PAGE nificant within-basin differences, the PAGE study calculated
(Wood et al. 2000). water supply for individual river basins, rather than at a na-
At the same time that water demand is increasing, pollution tional or state level, with the object of identifying those areas
from industry, urban centers, and agricultural runoff is limiting where water supply per person fell below 1,700 m3/year.
the amount of water available for domestic use and food pro- Water experts define areas where per capita water supply
duction. In developing countries, an estimated 90 percent of drops below 1,700 m3/year as experiencing “water stress”—a
wastewater is discharged directly to rivers and streams without situation in which disruptive water shortages can frequently
any waste processing treatment (WMO 1997:11). In many parts occur (Falkenmark and Widstrand 1992:1–33; Hinrichsen et
of the world, rivers and lakes have been so polluted that their al. 1998:4). In areas where annual water supplies drop below
water is unfit even for industrial uses (WMO 1997:11). Threats 1,000 m3 per person per year, the consequences can be more
of water quality degradation are most severe in areas where water severe and lead to problems with food production and economic
is scarce because the dilution effect is inversely related to the development unless the region is wealthy enough to apply new
amount of water in circulation. The loss of ecological services is technologies for water use, conservation, or reuse.
considerable, but difficult to assess. According to the PAGE analysis, some 41 percent of the
The Aral Sea represents one of the most extreme cases in world’s population, or 2.3 billion people, live in river basins
environmental degradation of an aquatic system. Large-scale under water stress, with per capita water supply below 1,700
upstream diversions of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya river flow m3/year (see Map 9 and Table 3). Of these, some 1.7 billion
for irrigation of about seven million hectares of land, has re- people reside in highly stressed river basins where water sup-
duced inflow to the extent that the volume of water in the Aral ply falls below 1,000 m3/year. By 2025, the PAGE analysis
basin has been reduced by 75 percent since 1960 (UNESCO projects that, assuming current consumption patterns continue,
2000:35; Postel 1999:94). This loss of water, together with ex- at least 3.5 billion people— or 48 percent of the world’s pro-
cessive chemicals from agricultural runoff, has caused a col- jected population —will live in water-stressed river basins (see
lapse in the Aral Sea fishing industry, a loss of biodiversity and Map 10 and Table 3). Of these, 2.4 billion will live under high
wildlife habitat, particularly the rich wetlands and deltas, and water stress conditions. This per capita water supply calcula-
an increase in human pulmonary and other diseases in the area tion, however, does not take into account the coping capabili-
resulting from the high toxicity of the salt concentrations in the ties of different countries to deal with water shortages. For ex-
exposed seabed (Postel 1999:94; WMO 1997:10). ample, high-income countries that are water scarce may be able
to cope to some degree with water shortages by investing in
desalination or reclaimed wastewater. The study also discounts
Co n d i t i o n I n d i ca t o r s o f W a t e r Qu a n t i t y the use of fossil water sources because such use is unsustain-
Given humanity’s dependence on water, one would expect that able in the long term.
an assessment of the capacity of freshwater systems to provide The 2025 estimates are considered conservative because they
this basic good would be easy to carry out. However, research- are based on the United Nations’ low-range projections for popu-
ers looking into freshwater ecosystems at the global level face lation growth, which has population peaking at 7.2 billion in
two major data gaps: water use and water supply at the water- 2025 (UNPD 1999:3). In addition, a slight mismatch between
shed level. For some countries, reliable information on water the water runoff and population data sets leaves 4 percent of
supply and use is not even available at a national level. the global population unaccounted for in this analysis.
To get a better understanding of the balance of water de- Map 9 was developed by combining a global population da-
mand and supply and to better estimate the dimensions of the tabase for 1995 that uses census data for over 120,000 admin-

Table 3
Global Annual Renewable Water Supply Per Person in 1995 and Projections for 2025
Water 1995 1995 2025 2025
Supply Population Percent of Population Percent of
3
(m /person/year) (millions) Total (millions) Total
<500 1,077 19.0 1,783 24.5
500–1,000 587 10.4 624 8.6
1,000–1,700 669 11.8 1,077 14.8
>1,700 3,091 54.6 3,494 48.0
Unallocated 241 4.2 296 4.0
Total 5,665 100 7,274 100
Source: WRI.
istrative units (CIESIN et al. 2000) and a global runoff data- will live in areas experiencing severe water stress (Alcamo et
base developed by the University of New Hampshire and the al. 2000:3). The business as usual scenario assumes that “cur-
WMO/Global Runoff Data Centre (Fekete et al. 1999). The runoff rent trends in population, economy, technology, and human
database combines observed discharge data from monitoring behavior continue up to 2025” (Alcamo et al. 2000:25). Ac-
stations with a water balance model driven by climate variables cording to the model’s results, increased scarcity will be espe-
such as temperature, precipitation, land cover, and soil infor- cially marked in South and Southeast Asia and southern and
mation. For those regions where discharged data were avail- western Africa.
able, the modeled runoff was adjusted to match the observed Although the estimates of percent population experiencing
values; for regions with no observed data the modeled estimates scarcity are similar, these results are not directly comparable
of runoff were used (Fekete et al. 1999). with the PAGE analysis because the modeling approaches are
This runoff model provides a slightly lower estimate of glo- very different. The PAGE model assumes constant water sup-
bal runoff than previous analyses—39,500 km3/year (Fekete et ply, with human population growth as the main cause of rising
al. 1999:31) instead of 42,700 km3/year (Shiklomanov 1997:13) water demands. It also uses benchmarks of per capita available
or 47,000 km3/year (Seckler et al. 1998:3). Based on these data, water to determine which watersheds will experience shortages
the percentage of the population that is estimated to be living in (Falkenmark and Lindh 1993). These estimates of per capita
conditions of water stress in 1995 is higher than previous esti- water demand are conservative; they assume that as much as
mates. This is due in part to the slightly lower estimate of global 30 to 50 percent of the freshwater runoff can be mobilized for
runoff and a more current subnational population data set for human consumption. These benchmarks also base their agri-
1995 (CIESIN et al. 2000). Finally by using a river basin ap- cultural water demand on a “nutritious, low-meat diet” (FAO in
proach instead of a national level analysis, many within-coun- Postel 1997), and twothirds of crop water being supplied by
try differences in water supply can be highlighted. rainwater.
The results of this analysis also show that of those basins WaterGAP uses a very different approach that integrates cli-
where the projected population is expected to be higher than mate and land cover changes into future water supply, and also
10 million by 2025, 6 basins will go from having more than factors economic growth and technological advances, as well as
1,700 m3 to less than 1,700 m3 of water per capita per year. population growth, into water demand projections. WaterGAP
These basins are the Volta, Farah, Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, uses a higher population projection for 2025 (8 billion people)
Narmada, and the Colorado River basin in the United States and sets population and income level as the main drivers be-
(see Maps 9 and 10). Another 29 basins will descend further hind increases in domestic water demand. However, the largest
into scarcity by 2025, including the Jubba, Godavari, Indus, increase in water consumption in its model comes from indus-
Tapti, Syr Darya, Orange, Limpopo, Huang He, Seine, Balsas, try.
and the Rio Grande (see Maps 9 and 10). Global concerns about water scarcity include not only sur-
Other water availability projections suggest similar trends face water sources but groundwater sources as well. More than
of increasing scarcity. For example, the WaterGAP model de- 1 billion people in Asian cities and 150 million in Latin Ameri-
veloped by the University of Kassel in Germany estimates that can cities rely on groundwater (Foster et al. 1998:xi). In addi-
under a “business as usual” scenario four billion people in 2025 tion, although there are no complete figures on groundwater
W a t e r Q u a n t i t y
use by the rural population, many countries are increasingly ern Africa, the Hai Ho and Hong in China, the Chao Phraya in
dependent on this resource for both domestic and agricultural Southeast Asia, and the Brahmani, Damodar, Godavari, Krishna,
use (Foster et al. 2000:1). Currently humans withdraw approxi- Mahi, Narmada, Ponnaiyar, Rabarmarti, and Tapti in India. Here,
mately 600–700 km3 per year—about 20 percent of global wa- low dry season flows have exacerbated water supply and qual-
ter withdrawals (Shiklomanov 1997:53–54). Some of this water ity problems.
is fossil water that comes from deep sources that are isolated
from the normal runoff cycle, but much groundwater comes from
shallower aquifers that draw from the same global runoff that Ca p a ci t y o f Fr e sh w a t e r Sy st e m s t o
feeds freshwater ecosystems. Indeed, overdrafting of ground- Pr o v i d e W a t e r
water sources can rob streams and rivers of a significant frac- Humans withdraw about one fifth of the normal (nonflood) flow
tion of their flow. In the same way, pollution of aquifers by ni- of the world’s rivers, but in river basins in arid or populous
trates, pesticides, and industrial chemicals often affects water regions the proportion can be much higher. This has implica-
quality in adjacent freshwater ecosystems. Although overdrafting tions for the species living in or dependent on these systems, as
and contamination of groundwater aquifers are known to be well as for future human water supplies. Currently, more than
widespread and growing problems (UNEP 1996:4–5), compre- 40 percent of the world’s population lives in water-scarce river
hensive data on groundwater resources and pollution trends are basins. With growing populations, water scarcity is projected to
not available at the global level. increase significantly in the next decades, affecting half of the
world’s people by 2025. Widespread depletion and pollution of
D RY SEA SON FLOW BY RI V ER BA SI N
groundwater sources, which account for about 20 percent of
These basinwide estimates mask the effect of seasonal runoff global water withdrawals, also is a growing problem for fresh-
patterns, which reduce that amount of water that is available for water ecosystems because groundwater aquifers are often linked
human use. In many parts of the tropics, rainfall is highly con- to surface water sources.
centrated in time. For example, it has been estimated that all of
India’s rainfall falls in 100 hours during the monsoon months
(Seckler, personal communication, 1999). Most runs off into
W a t e r Qu a n t i t y I n f o r m a t i o n St a t u s a n d
the sea before it can be captured for human use.
In almost every continent, river modification has affected Needs
the natural flow of the rivers to a point where, during the dry The single greatest barrier to better analyses of how the hydro-
season, the outflow to the sea is nonexistent. For example, such logical cycle is being impacted by engineering works and land-
rivers as the Colorado, Huang-He, Ganges, Nile, Syr Darya, use change is the poor quality of the hydrological data. The
and Amu Darya, all run dry at the mouth during the dry season reliability and availability of hydrological data has deteriorated
(Postel 1995:10). The Amu Darya and the Syr Darya used to sharply since the mid-1980s when international support of na-
contribute 55 billion cubic meters of water annually to the Aral tional monitoring programs was reduced, particularly from U.N.
Sea prior to 1960, but this volume has been reduced to an aver- agencies. The number of functioning hydrological stations has
age of 7 billion m3, or 6 percent of the total annual flow for the fallen significantly since 1985 (Fekete et al. 1999:8). In many
period 1981–90 (Postel 1995:14, 15). Most of the water is di- parts of the developing world we know less about hydrological
verted for irrigation (Postel 1995:14). conditions than we did 20 years ago. As a result, major projects
To assess runoff seasonally, and its implications for water are being designed and in some cases implemented without the
availability, base flow as a percent of total flow per person was basic hydrological data needed to assess the financial—let alone
calculated for every river basin. Base flow, the volume of runoff environmental—impacts of these projects.
available during the dry season (Foster et al. 1998:10), is de- In addition, currently available statistics on water withdrawal
fined here hydrologically as the four consecutive months with and consumption are fraught with uncertainty because of the
the lowest cumulative runoff. Map 11 highlights basins that are highly decentralized nature of water use. Our knowledge of the
either water stressed (less than 1,700m3/year per person) or have extent and nature of irrigated land at the continental and global
just adequate supplies of water (between 1,700 and 4,000 m3/ levels is poor, for example, even though the agriculture sector
year per person) with a pronounced dry season. Basins with a is responsible for 93 percent of water consumption and 70 per-
pronounced dry season are those where less than 2 percent of cent of withdrawals (WMO 1997:8). The irrigated area data-
the total annual runoff occurs in the 4 driest months of the year. base developed by the University of Kassel and used in the
Twenty-seven of these basins had more than ten million people PAGE agroecosystems report (Wood et al. 2000) is the only glo-
in 1995 (outlined in black in Map 11). They include the Balsas bally complete and consistent coverage that estimates area
and Grande de Santiago basins in Mexico, the Limpopo in South- “equipped” for irrigation. However, the coarse resolution (50

kilometers) and lack of information about crop types, opera- As mentioned in previous sections, comprehensive statis-
tions of irrigation systems, and other variables precluded its tics on supply and use of groundwater resources are also lack-
use for more detailed analyses. Even when higher resolution ing for domestic and urban use, as well as irrigation (Foster et
data are used, huge differences have been observed between al. 1998:xi; Foster et al. 2000:2). In order to improve our ability
remotely sensed estimates and field-based estimates. These to monitor the condition of freshwater systems to provide water
differences are partly attributable to different definitions of ir- for humans and ecosystems, better statistics on water availabil-
rigated land (for example, the area equipped for irrigation, the ity and use are urgently needed—preferably at the watershed
area actually irrigated, or the irrigated area multiplied by the level.
number of crops) and underreporting by farmers (Frolking et al.
1999: 407–416).
W AT E R Q U A L I T Y
Ov e r v i e w
The definition of water quality is not objective, but is socially estuaries around the world. As much as 3.3 billion people still
defined depending on the desired use of water. Different uses lack access to adequate sanitation and more than a billion people
require different standards of water quality. Water used for hy- lack access to safe drinking water, leading to millions of deaths
dropower generation, industrial purposes, and transportation and illnesses each year, mostly in the developing world (Cosgrove
does not require high standards of purity. Such uses as recre- and Rijsberman 2000:9 and WHO 1996).
ation, fishing, drinking, and habitat for aquatic organisms rely Most water quality monitoring was originally conducted at
on higher levels of water quality (UN/ECE 1995:5, 6). For that known sources of pollution, but this approach failed to detect
reason, water quality should be taken to mean the “physical, the many diffuse nonpoint sources of water pollution. To over-
chemical, and biological characteristics of water necessary to come this deficiency, water quality monitoring has evolved along
sustain desired water uses” (UN/ECE 1995:5). two different lines. One is a river basin approach. In the United
Monitoring the quality of water is important because clean States, this approach is used by the Environmental Protection
water is necessary for human health and the integrity of aquatic Agency (EPA) in its Index of Watershed Indicators (IWI), and
ecosystems. Ecosystems filter and cleanse water. For instance, by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with the National Water-
wetlands provide a very important service because they filter Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The IWI is briefly de-
water by intercepting surface runoff, trapping sediments, and scribed in Box 2. The NAWQA program provides data on nutri-
removing nitrogen and minerals from the water. This water fil- ents, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds for surface and
tering service has been estimated to be worth US$3 million a groundwater in 60 important river basins and aquifers across
year for just a 5.5-kilometer stretch of the Alchovy River in the the country. These programs generally examine only the physi-
State of Georgia in the United States (Lerner and Poole 1999:41). cal and chemical qualities and quantities of water. One poten-
This ability to filter and purify water, however, is being impaired tial problem with river basin-level approaches is that such ba-
by pollution and habitat degradation in many rivers, lakes, and sins often cross state and national boundaries, necessitating the
W a t e r Q u a l i t y
Box 2
Index of Wat ershed Indicat ors f rom t he U.S. 6. Watersheds with more serious water quality problems
Environm ent al Prot ect ion Agency and higher vulnerability to stressors;
7. Watersheds with insufficient data to be assessed for
To better communicate water pollution problems and address water quality and vulnerability.
water quality issues in the United States, the Environmental There has to be a minimum of 10 of the indicators in
Protection Agency (EPA) has developed an Index of Water- order for a watershed to get an “IWI score.” Otherwise
shed Indicators (IWI) for 2,262 watersheds. It integrates 15 the watershed is characterized as having “insufficient
indicators of watershed condition and vulnerability. The con- data.”
dition indicators are based on a range of variables, including The following table presents the results for 1999:
the number of fish consumption alerts by watershed, data on
contaminated sediments from sampling stations, recent and Number of
historical loss of wetlands, and water quality reports mea- IWI Watersheds
sured against state and tribal water quality standards desig- Better Water Quality–Low Vulnerability 310
nated for that particular water body. Better Water Quality–High Vulnerability 29
In addition, the EPA uses another eight indicators to de- Less Serious Water Quality Problems–
scribe watershed vulnerability. These vulnerability indicators Low Vulnerability 736
represent pressures on freshwater systems that are linked to Less Serious Water Quality Problems–
water degradation and habitat quality in watersheds. They High Vulnerability 58
include the number of aquatic or wetland species at risk, the More Serious Water Quality Problems–
discharged loads of pollutants, and the potential impact of Low Vulnerability 496
urban and agricultural runoff. More Serious Water Quality Problems–
The EPA uses different weighting schemes to aggregate High Vulnerability 38
indicators of watershed condition and vulnerability into the Insufficient Data 595
IWI, assigning scores for each watershed assessed. Based on
these scores, watersheds are classified into seven categories: Overall 32 percent of those watersheds with sufficient
data to be scored are classified as having serious water
1. Watersheds with better water quality and lower vulnerabil- quality problems and 48 percent are classified as having
ity to stressors, such as pollutant loadings;
less serious water quality problems. It is also important to
2. Watersheds with better water quality and higher vulnerabil- note that even in the United States, where data collec-
ity to stressors;
tion on water quality is more systematic than in many
3. Watersheds with less serious water quality problems and other countries, regulators lack the information to assess
lower vulnerability to stressors;
26 percent of the watersheds selected for this index.
4. Watersheds with less serious water quality problems and
higher vulnerability to stressors;
5. Watersheds with more serious water quality problems and
lower vulnerability to stressors; Source: EPA 1999.
need for a high level of governmental or intergovernmental co- This section will examine different measures of surface and
ordination of monitoring activities. groundwater quality in use around the world, and will briefly
Another approach to water quality monitoring is an integra- examine trends in the water quality of rivers and streams. It will
tion of chemical and biological parameters to measure condi- focus on Europe and the United States because trend data for
tion. Whereas biological measures of water quality do not elimi- other regions of the world are not as readily available
nate the need for chemical water monitoring, they are often less (Shiklomanov 1997:27).
expensive than chemical analyses and can provide a useful in- The quality of surface waters in industrialized countries has
dex of potential chemical pollution problems (UN/ECE 1995:9, generally been improving with respect to some pollutants over
10). Biological monitoring programs are used to measure water the last 20 years, but new chemicals are increasingly becoming
quality standards in the United States, the United Kingdom, a problem. For example, in most developed countries waste treat-
and Australia, and have been applied in a number of other coun- ment plants have considerably reduced fecal contamination of
tries around the world. surface waters. However, in developing countries sewage treat-

ment is still not the norm, with 90 percent being discharged genation of waterways, with negative effects for aquatic life.
directly into rivers, lakes, and coastal areas without any treat- The process also releases ammonium, which when converted
ment (WRI 1996:21). Consequently, water-related diseases, such to ammonia by natural chemical processes, is poisonous to
as cholera, amoebic dysentery, schistosomiasis, malaria, and fish. The primary sources of organic matter in lakes and riv-
trypanosomiasis among others, claim 5 million lives annually ers are wastewater from industrial plants and domestic sew-
age.
worldwide and cause illness in perhaps half of the population
of the developing world each year (WHO 1996). New pollution ? Nutrients. Increased nutrient concentrations in freshwater,
such as phosphorus and nitrates, can also cause eutrophica-
problems from agricultural and industrial sources have emerged
tion in lakes and rivers by decreasing the amount of oxygen
in both industrialized and developing countries, and have be-
available to aquatic life. This kills fish and other aquatic
come one of the biggest challenges facing water resources in organisms. High levels of nitrates, when ingested in drink-
many parts of the world (Shiklomanov 1997:36). ing water, restrict oxygen transport in the human bloodstream
Fortunately methods for monitoring change have improved and can lead to illness.
as well. Many states and countries have moved beyond the con- ? Heavy metals. These can be a severe problem because they
ventional monitoring methods toward biological indicators of accumulate in the tissues of fish and shellfish and are highly
water quality. These are discussed in greater detail later. Ground- toxic. They also persist for long periods of time in freshwater
water resources are also important. Because groundwater is hid- ecosystems. Heavy metal pollution tends to be localized
den from view, many pollution and contamination problems that around industrial and mining centers.
affect supplies have been more difficult to detect and have only ? Microbial contamination. The contamination of water by
recently been discovered. bacteria, protists, and amoebae also pose threats to human
health though the spread of infectious diseases. Fecal con-
tamination from untreated sewage, for instance, leads to out-
Co n d i t i o n I n d i ca t o r s o f t h e Qu a l i t y o f breaks of diseases that claim millions of lives each year.
? Toxic organic compounds. These include oil, petroleum prod-
Su r f a ce W a t e r s ucts, pesticides, plastics, and industrial chemicals. All these
Information about water quality at the global level is poor and are toxic to aquatic fauna and humans.
difficult to obtain for a number of reasons. Water quality prob- ? Salinization. Increasing levels of salinity from overirrigation
lems are often local and natural water quality is highly variable and groundwater overabstraction renders freshwater supplies
depending on the location, season, or even time of day. Global undrinkable and kills crops.
criteria for water quality are, therefore, difficult to construct ? Acidification. Decreasing pH levels in rivers and lakes be-
(Shiklomanov 1997:27). cause of sulfuric deposition created by industrial activity
However, there are many trends in the contamination of wa- kills fish and also leaches trace metals from soils, which has
ter supplies worldwide, and these have changed greatly over negative effects on human health.
time. The main contamination problems 100 years ago were ? Suspended particles. These can be from either inorganic or
fecal and organic pollution from untreated human wastewater. organic matter. They degrade habitats of aquatic organisms
The fecal contamination of water has been largely eliminated in and reduce water quality for drinking and recreational uses.
most industrialized countries; however, organic matter pollu- ? Temperature: The thermal characteristics of water are cru-
tion is still a problem in much of the world, especially in rap- cial for aquatic life. Temperature determines the rate of
idly expanding cities in developing countries (Shiklomanov chemical and biological processes, such as algal growth and
decomposition of organic matter. Fragmentation of rivers by
1997:28). New pollution problems, particularly from agricul-
dams and reservoirs, as well as industrial uses such as hy-
tural runoff and industrial effluents, are increasing in both in-
dropower and cooling plants, impact water temperatures.
dustrialized and developing countries. In rapidly industrializ-
ing countries, such as China, India, Mexico, and Brazil, un- CHEM I CA L M ETHOD S OF W A TER QUA LI TY M ON I TORI N G
treated sewage and industrial wastes create substantial pres- The amount of organic matter in freshwater systems around the
sures on water quality that are much greater than the problems world can be gauged by the global distribution of biochemical
of the past (Shiklomanov 1997:27; UNEP/GEMS 1995:6). oxygen demand (BOD) measurements, seen in Figure 3. BOD
A number of chemical, physical, and microbial factors nega- increases with the amount of organic matter in water and gives
tively affect water quality (Taylor and Smith 1997; Shiklomanov an indication for the potential of algal growth and eutrophica-
1997; UNEP/GEMS 1995). These include the following: tion (see following note on the definitions of BOD and chemical
? Organic pollutants. Organic matter is a problem because it oxygen demand, or COD). The BOD concentration of clean fresh-
easily decomposes in water, consuming dissolved oxygen in water is normally around 2 mg/l, whereas values exceeding 5
the process. This often leads to the eutrophication and deoxy- mg/l usually indicate pollution (EEA 1994:45). The values in
Figure 3
St at ist ical Dist ribut ion of BOD by Cont inent , 1976–90
Source: UNEP/GEMS 1995.

Note: In Figure 3, the median value is represented by a horizontal line inside each of the gray boxes. The gray boxes represent the 25th and 75th
percentiles, respectively. The two horizontal lines outside each gray box represent the 10th and 90th percentiles, respectively. Biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) are two methods widely used to measure the amount of organic pollution in wastewater and
streams. BOD-5 is the amount of oxygen consumed by micro-organisms in a water sample over 5 days at 20 degrees Celsius. COD is the amount of
oxygen consumed under specific conditions in the oxidation of organic and oxidizable inorganic matter contained in water. It is an indirect measure
of the amount of oxygen used by inorganic and organic matter in water. In undisturbed rivers, BOD is typically less than 2 mg O2/L and COD is less
than 20 mg O2/L. COD is a laboratory test based on a chemical oxidant and, therefore, does not necessarily correlate with biochemical oxygen
demand (EEA 1994 and EEA 1998).
Figure 3 are based on the U.N.’s Global Environment Monitor- plies for numerous communities along the river, forcing them to
ing System (GEMS/WATER) that measured water quality from use costly alternative supplies (SEAC 1996:7.49–50). In this
1976 to 1990 at approximately 175 stations in 82 major river case BOD figures alone cannot adequately measure water qual-
basins around the world (UNEP/GEMS 1995). ity because increased phosphorous concentrations are also a
Although the BOD figures vary greatly, it can be seen that factor in noxious algal blooms.
the highest organic matter concentrations were found in North These global data should be interpreted with caution, be-
American waterways. Values for Europe and Africa were also cause the numbers of sampling points per basin vary in time
above the global median of 2 mg/l. Africa had a very wide range and space. Continents are not represented equally by sampling
of values, which might represent greater amounts of pollution points and the sample values cover a 15-year period with sig-
in the Nile; however more information is needed to give these nificant changes in human activities and management.
figures greater clarity. But even in regions where organic matter A more recent assessment of the water quality in 1,000 Eu-
concentrations are relatively low, such as Oceania and South ropean rivers shows that, in the mid-1990s, 35 percent of rivers
America, eutrophication can be an issue. For example, the prob- had BOD levels below 2mg/l while 11 percent were heavily
lems associated with eutrophication became apparent in Aus- polluted with levels of BOD greater than 5 mg/l. Of these heavily
tralia when the world’s largest algal bloom spread along a 1,000- polluted rivers, 25 percent were in southern and eastern Eu-
kilometer stretch of the Darling River in 1991 (SEAC rope (EEA 1999:172). Because there is no single standardized
1996:7.49–50). This bloom caused the closure of water sup- system of water monitoring and assessment in Europe for sur-

face waters, comparisons between data from different countries Colombia than in the less densely populated watersheds of the
are somewhat difficult (EEA 1998). Amazon basin (UNEP/GEMS 1995:33–35). The nitrate concen-
Improved treatment of wastewater from households and in- trations in South America correspond to lower fertilizer appli-
dustry has brought about reductions in organic matter concen- cation rates, compared to Europe. These low fertilizer applica-
trations across Europe in the last 20 years. The largest reduction rates match an analysis of nutrient balances carried out for
tions have been found in Western Europe, where the percent- the PAGE agroecosystem study (Wood et al. 2000).
age of heavily polluted rivers has fallen from 24 percent in the In Europe, for which more detailed and recent data are avail-
late 1970s to 6 percent in the 1990s (EEA 1999:172). In south- able, the concentrations of nitrates and phosphorous in rivers
ern Europe, BOD concentrations have started to improve slightly show distinct regional trends. Nitrogen loadings are the highest
over the last 15 years, but in eastern Europe they have decreased in areas with intensive livestock and crop production, espe-
from a high of 40 percent in the early 1980s to less than 28 cially in the northern parts of western Europe. Nitrogen con-
percent in the mid-1990s (EEA 1999:173). Nordic countries centrations are the lowest in Finland, Norway, and Sweden.
have seen no major change in BOD concentrations since the Overall nitrate concentrations in the monitored European riv-
late 1970s, and the number of river stations above natural lev- ers have not changed significantly since 1980, despite lower
els is still below 5 percent (EEA 1999:172–173). nitrogen fertilizer application rates since the 1990s (EEA
The level of nutrients in freshwater systems is an increasing 1998:194–197; EEA 1999:176–177). Similarly, rivers in Fin-
problem worldwide (Shiklomanov 1997:34–36). Natural waters land, Norway, and Sweden have the lowest phosphorous con-
have very small concentrations of nitrates and phosphorous. But centrations, whereas areas from southern England across cen-
these nutrients increase with runoff from agricultural lands (es- tral and western Europe show the highest levels (EEA 1999:174).
pecially intensively cultivated lands with large inputs of syn- Even though phosphorous concentrations have decreased sig-
thetic fertilizers) and urban and industrial wastewater, creating nificantly since 1985, mostly because of wastewater treatment
eutrophication and human health hazards. GEMS/WATER has and the reduced use of phosphorous in detergents, it remains a
collected the only global data on phosphorous and nitrate con- problem in most regions of Europe (EEA 1999:174). Despite
centrations. They include data for major watersheds covering some positive trends, the overall state of many European rivers
the period from 1976 to 1990, which carry the same data limi- remains poor (EEA 1998:194–196).
tations mentioned for the GEMS/WATER BOD measurements. Table 4 shows water quality data for the United States for the
Of these globally monitored watersheds, the highest nutrient 1980s. Although data on stream water quality are continuously
concentrations can be seen for sampling stations in Europe. monitored, these are the latest aggregated figures published for
Nitrate concentrations are higher in watersheds that have been all monitoring stations.
intensively used and modified by human activity, such as the For the 1980–89 period, nitrate concentrations remained
Weser, Seine, Rhine, Elbe, and Senegal. In South America, ni- relatively stable, with nearly the same number of stations dem-
trate concentrations in the monitored watersheds are relatively onstrating upward trends as downward trends. This probably
low and follow human land use. The highest nitrate concentra- reflects the fact that nitrogen fertilizer use in the United States
tions are found in the Uruguay watershed, where some of the leveled off after steady increases in the 1970s. Fertilizer appli-
most intensive agriculture on the continent is found. Nitrate cation rates increased for the period 1974–1981, and nitrate
concentrations are also greater in the Magdalena watershed of concentrations increased as well during that period. Average
Table 4
Trends in U.S. Stream Water Quality, 1980–89
Upward Downward No
Trend in Trend in Concentration
Water NASQAN Concentration Concentration Trend
Quality Stations
Indicator Analyzed Number of Stations
Dissolved Solids 340 28 46 266
Nitrate 344 22 27 295
Total Phosphorous 410 19 92 299
Suspended Sediments 324 5 37 282
Dissolved Oxygen 424 38 26 360
Fecal Coliform 313 10 40 263
Source: Data are from the USGS National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN), quoted in CEQ 1995.
nitrate concentrations were greater in agricultural and urban toring goes beyond the conventional measures of water quality
areas than in forested areas (Smith et al. 1994: 122). to address questions of ecosystem function and integrity.
Trends in phosphorous concentrations in the United States Early attempts to apply biological criteria to water quality
showed greater improvement, with five times more states show- monitoring were largely qualitative, narrative descriptions based
ing downward trends than upward trends. Decreases were more on a single-dimension metric, such as general species richness
likely to be found in the East, Midwest, and the Great Lakes (Yoder and Rankin 1998). These single-variable measures did
regions, while the majority of increases occurred in the South- not give an adequate understanding of the complex biological
east (Smith et al. 1994: 124). interactions in aquatic ecosystems. To address these problems,
The decreased concentrations of phosphorous in streams and the biologist James Karr developed the Index of Biotic Integrity
rivers in the United States is attributable to reduced phospho- (IBI) for freshwater habitats in 1981 (Karr and Chu 1999:2).
rous in laundry detergents and improved controls in wastewater The goal of the IBI is the integration of data about fish species,
treatment plants. The increased number of sewage treatment populations, and assemblages into a single comparative numeric
plants has also reduced the amount of nitrogen in the form of indicator. Karr’s IBI used 12 quantitative metrics based on 3
ammonium, which is toxic to fish. However, the sewage treat- categories: species richness and composition, trophic composi-
ment process converts ammonium to nitrates that are still re- tion, and fish abundance and condition. It was first applied to
leased into waterways. Thus, the total amount of nitrogen flow- streams and rivers of the midwestern United States.
ing into waterways has not necessarily decreased with a greater A number of states in the United States have modified and
number of sewage treatment facilities (Mueller and Helsel 1996). adjusted the IBI, with Ohio having one of the most comprehen-
Water quality programs in most OECD countries have been sive programs for the assessment of freshwater biological integ-
effective in reducing many kinds of chemical pollution in their rity. After seven years of developing its IBI, Ohio formally
waterways. The biggest reductions have been from point source adopted the index in 1990 and now uses biological monitoring
pollutants. For example, in the United States from 1972 to 1992 as an established part of its water quality assessment programs
the amount of sewage treated at wastewater treatment plants (Yoder and Rankin 1995). Ohio’s IBI modified some of the origi-
increased by 30 percent, yet BOD measurements of waters near nal 12 metrics and adjusted them to the state’s natural land-
these plants declined by 36 percent (CEQ 1995: 229). How- scape variability (Yoder and Rankin 1995). Whereas the stan-
ever, national programs have not been effective in reducing dard IBI concentrates on fish diversity, abundance, and com-
nonpoint source nutrients, sediments, and toxics that come from munity structure, Ohio has a separate index for invertebrate
agriculture, urban and suburban stormwater runoff, mining, and species, called the Invertebrate Community Index (ICI), which
oil and gas operations (NRC 1992:47;EEA 1999:178). detects additional trends and ecosystem conditions (DeShon
Similarly the existing data tell us little about the biological 1995).
characteristics of inland waters because historically, water qual- Less comprehensive but still effective indices have been
ity monitoring has focused on the measurement of chemical developed in other states to measure biotic integrity. The Florida
parameters. Although such information has provided important Department of Environmental Protection created the Stream
and predictive tools for evaluating water quality, the monitoring Condition Index (SCI) to measure the effects of nonpoint source
of biological indicators to assess the health of freshwater eco- pollution on biological integrity in the state, using macro-inver-
systems is now also recognized as an important component of tebrates as indicator species. The SCI metrics include the total
water quality monitoring programs. Beginning in the 1980s and number of taxa, the total number of insect taxa (mayflies,
increasingly in the last 10 years, a greater number of states in stoneflies, and caddisflies), the number of midge larvae taxa,
the United States and other countries are including biological the percent of dominant taxon, the percent of diptera, the per-
monitoring as an important part of their overall water quality cent of filterers, and the weighted sum of tolerant and intolerant
monitoring programs. species. With increasing disturbance, species tolerance and rich-
ness are expected to decrease, while species composition will
BI OLOGI CA L M ETHOD S OF W ATER QUA LI TY M ON I TORI N G change differentially depending on the species. As with other
Measurements of water quality based exclusively on chemical IBIs, the Florida SCI scores reflect these potential changes. State
or physical properties are often used as surrogate measures of officials continue to modify the SCI (Barbour et al. 1996).
biological quality. But a reliance on these measures alone risks The IBI used in Ohio requires data collection and analysis
missing many important biological characteristics, such as habi- from hundreds of sites each year, which means that time and
tat alteration and species composition. Furthermore, improve- money must be spent to obtain IBI scores and recalibrate refer-
ments in chemical parameters in many cases will not lead to ence site values. Indices that use macro-invertebrates alone are
increases in biological integrity by themselves. Biological moni- less expensive because the costs of data collection are not as
high for invertebrates as for fish. However, using more than one

taxa increases the amount of information available to resource The IBI has also been applied outside the United States. For
managers. Ohio officials have found, however, that biological sur- example, an IBI has been developed for the Seine River basin
veying is cost-competitive with water chemistry surveys and bio- in France (Oberdorff and Hughes 1992). Analysis of these data
assays (Yoder 1991:101–102). Chemical assessments, for ex- showed that IBI scores decreased through time, reflecting in-
ample, have lower unit costs per sample but many more of them creasing amounts of pollution and habitat disturbance since the
are needed. For a single stream in Ohio, chemical assessment 1960s. IBI values varied longitudinally as well, decreasing in
in the late 1980s cost up to US$32,400 for 90 samples, com- all years in a downstream direction because of an increasing
pared with US$22,000 for 12 biological surveys. Nine bioas- amount of disturbance, a trend that became more marked after
says cost between US$16,000 and US$28,000 (Yoder 1991:101). 1967.
Both chemical and biological criteria serve as important com- Another application of the IBI was also used to assess the
ponents in assessing water quality. Ohio compared biological biological integrity of rivers in India (Ganasan and Hughes 1998)
and chemical assessments in 625 water body segments through- and Mexico (Lyons et al. 1995). The study in India, for example,
out the state in 1990. In 49.8 percent of the samples, biological examined two rivers that had large quantities of untreated waste
impairment was detected with either an IBI or ICI in which no and toxic heavy metals (Ganasan and Hughes 1998:367). The
chemical impairment was measured. Both biological and chemi- IBI scores, based on 1986, 1989, and 1991 data, increased
cal impairment were found in 47.4 percent of the samples, downstream from cities and towns, reflecting a gradual recov-
whereas only 2.8 percent of the samples found chemical im- ery of biotic integrity with increasing distance from pollution
pairment without any corresponding measured biological deg- sources. Nonnative fish species comprised between 4 and 55
radation. This comparison demonstrated the importance of us- percent of individuals at sites where water flow was restricted
ing biological criteria in addition to chemical indicators of wa- by an impoundment, compared with 1 to 2 percent of individu-
ter quality. In a majority of cases in which only biological im- als at the least disturbed sites. One of the main conclusions of
pairment was measured, the reasons for decreased biological this study was that the original IBI format could be adapted to
integrity (increased organic matter, habitat modification, silt- Indian rivers, despite an overlap of only two families and no
ation) could not be measured using chemical criteria alone species between the midwestern United States and the Indian
(Yoder 1991:98). study site. However, further evaluations of this trial study need
A similar approach to evaluating ecosystem conditions that to be undertaken before the Indian IBI can be widely used in
uses whole-watershed metrics rather than site-specific variables an effective and cost-efficient manner (Ganasan and Hughes
within freshwater systems alone is the Watershed Index of Bi- 1998:378–379).
otic Integrity (W-IBI). This index was developed to evaluate An alternative to the IBI for making biological assessments
100 watersheds in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California of water quality is multivariate statistical analysis of aquatic
(Moyle and Randall 1998:1320). The W-IBI uses such vari- communities to make predictions of species composition in dif-
ables as the number of dams, reservoirs, and water diversions, ferent sites. Multivariate models have been developed that pre-
along with the percentage of the area with roads in each water- dict the number of macro-invertebrate freshwater fauna expected
shed to assess condition. Data on native and introduced fish to occur at a given site in the absence of environmental stress.
species— as well as on other taxa, such as native frogs, which The observed invertebrate fauna is then compared to the ex-
are highly sensitive to disturbance and have completely disap- pected fauna based on statistical methods, and the ratio of ob-
peared from many watersheds— were also used as indicators. served to expected fauna is used to classify the health of a site.
Indices were scored on a scale of 20 to 100, with 80 to 100 Unstressed sites should have observed/expected ratios that are
being excellent. Only 7 out of 100 watersheds were ranked in close to one, whereas stressed sites will have lower ratios.
the excellent category. Watersheds that scored poorly were those Examples of freshwater biological monitoring programs that
at lower elevations where stream channels had been highly use multivariate statistical methods can be found in the United
modified by dams, diversions, agriculture, or urbanization, and Kingdom (Wright 1995), Australia (Marchant et al. 1997), and
high-elevation streams where native frogs had declined and the state of Maine in the United States (Davies et al. 1995). In
introduced predatory fish were present in formerly fishless ar- most cases the sampling strategies used to assess biological
eas. The W-IBI gives a good watershed-level estimation of bi- communities are the same as those used in IBIs, and the two
otic integrity and health, but sacrifices some local-level infor- methods generally produce similar results. Multivariate meth-
mation in the process. For example, within a poorly ranked ods of analysis have the potential to produce accurate predic-
watershed, there can be streams that have very high biotic in- tions of species compositions at unsampled sites based on the
tegrity, but this will not show up in the W-IBI classification correlation between reference site data and measured environ-
(Moyle and Randall 1998:1323–1325). mental variables of water quality (Marchant et al. 1997:664).
But more data must be collected than with the IBI to achieve (Zhang et al. 1996: 224). This area had over 20 billion cubic
better results. meters of groundwater withdrawals in 1980, mostly for irriga-
tion but with large amounts used for drinking water supplies as
well (UN 1997:29). Over one half of the sampled areas had ni-
Co n d i t i o n I n d i ca t o r s o f Gr o u n d w a t e r
trate concentrations that were above the allowable limit for ni-
Qu a l i t y trate in drinking water. The majority of these were smaller towns
The major sources of groundwater pollution are leaching of pol- and cities (10,000 to 100,000 in population) that were sur-
lutants from agriculture, industry, and untreated sewage, salt- rounded by agricultural areas with high fertilizer application
water intrusion caused by overabstraction of groundwater (which rates and that depended on groundwater for the majority of their
was discussed in a previous section), and natural drinking water supplies (Zhang et al. 1996:227). Pollution of
hydrogeochemical pollution. Because of the relative inaccessi- groundwater supplies from synthetic fertilizer application is also
bility and slow movement of the resource, polluted groundwa- a problem in parts of India. Groundwater samples in the states
ter is very difficult to purify (UNEP 1996:22). Once pollutants of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Punjab were found to have be-
enter a groundwater aquifer, the environmental damage can be tween 5 and 16 times the prescribed safe amount of nitrate,
severe and long lasting, partly because of the very long time with one site in Haryana almost 30 times the prescribed limit.
needed to flush pollutants out of the aquifer (UNEP 1996:14). Groundwater in these areas is also being progressively depleted
Because it is primarily used for drinking water, groundwater because of overabstraction for irrigation (TERI 1998: 214–215).
pollution from untreated sewage, intensive agricultural, solid Nitrate pollution of groundwater supplies is also a problem
waste disposal, and industry can cause serious human health in industrialized countries, as can be seen from a recent Euro-
problems (Shiklomanov 1997:42). Global data on the quality of pean assessment of groundwater resources (Scheidleder et al.
groundwater resources is lacking. Even where available, data 1999). Twenty-two countries reported regional-level data on
usually are not comparable because of the different measures nitrate pollution. The number of sampling sites varied widely
and standards used, which vary by country (Shiklomanov from one region to another. In 50 of the reported regions, nitrate
1997:42; Scheidleder et al. 1999:11; Foster, personal commu- levels exceeded 25 mg/l in at least a quarter of the total samples.
nication, 2000). However, there is evidence that groundwater The levels exceeded 25 mg/l in half of the samples in an addi-
contamination from fertilizers, pesticides, industrial effluents, tional 13 regions. In some regions of France, the Netherlands,
sewage, and hydrocarbons is occurring in many parts of the and Slovenia, nitrate concentrations exceeded 50 mg/l in 67
world. percent of sampling sites. In Poland and Moldova, groundwater
Because the source of groundwater pollution is determined wells with nitrate concentrations in excess of 45 mg/l could be
by local conditions, and these vary widely, we have selected found across all parts of both countries (Scheidleder et al.
particular cases to illustrate pollution problems affecting ground- 1999:54).
water resources around the world. The selection of cases is based In general, the risk of nitrate pollution for groundwater sup-
mostly on data availability. This overview of groundwater qual- plies is directly related to the amount of fertilizers or other ni-
ity is by no means comprehensive and portrays trends for only trogen inputs to the land, and the permeability of the soils
some pollutants and certain regions of the world. through which nitrogen is leached. In the United States, ground-
water provides drinking water for more than onehalf of the
N I TRA TE POLLUTI ON nation’s population (UNEP 1996:12). Data collected by the
Nitrate pollution of groundwater sources is a problem in both USGS NAWQA program demonstrate that nitrate concentrations
industrialized and industrializing countries (UNEP 1996:28). in groundwater exceeding the recommended level of 10 mg/l
Nitrate pollution can come from agricultural, urban, or indus- are significantly greater in aquifers that have high nitrogen in-
trial sources; untreated sewage is a major source of nitrate pol- puts and are most vulnerable to leaching (Nolan et al. 1998).
lution in many parts of the world (UNEP 1996:22). Natural ni- Nevertheless, little information exists about groundwater sup-
trate levels in groundwater are low, usually around 10 mg/l of plies at the national level in the United States, and data are
nitrate (Scheidleder et al. 1999:19). Nitrate moves slowly in especially poor for ammonium and phosphorous concentrations.
soil and groundwater, so there is typically a time lag of 1 to 20 The USGS has begun a more comprehensive program of
years from the time of pollution until its detection. groundwater quality monitoring, but several more years of sam-
In China, nitrogen fertilizer consumption increased sharply pling will be needed before enough data will be collected to
in the 1980s and now equals application rates in western Eu- analyze national trends (Mueller and Helsel 1996). A prelimi-
rope. Fourteen cities and counties in northern China, covering nary analysis of nitrate in U.S. groundwater, however, shows
an area of 140,000 square kilometers, were sampled to assess that high concentrations in shallow groundwater are widespread
the extent of nitrate contamination of groundwater supplies and closely correlated with agricultural areas, yet no regional

patterns could be discerned (USGS 1999:41). The application cation of nitrogen fertilizer were estimated to be US$13 million
rates of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer can be used as a general (Emteryd et al. 1998:443).
indicator of groundwater quality because increasing levels of
agricultural intensification usually mean overapplication of fer-
tilizers and subsequent leaching into groundwater supplies W a t e r Qu a l i t y I n f o r m a t i o n St a t u s a n d
(Scheidleder et al. 1999:21). Needs
Because the quality of water is one of the most critical factors
N A TURA L ( HY D ROGEOCHEM I CA L) POLLUTI ON
affecting the quality of life on Earth, monitoring water quality is
Natural groundwater contamination in the Indian state of West
an urgent and important task. Unfortunately, there have been
Bengal and in Bangladesh currently threatens the lives of mil-
few sustained programs for the global monitoring of the quality
lions of people. In West Bengal, 7 districts covering an area of of water, with the result that information is highly localized and
over 37,000 square kilometers are contaminated with arsenic,
far from complete.
with an estimated 1.1 million people drinking from contami-
One of the only global attempts at water quality monitoring
nated wells. A survey found that 200,000 people were suffering
has been the UNEP GEMS/WATER program that examined data
from arsenic-related diseases, but the numbers could poten-
from 82 major river basins worldwide over a period of a decade
tially be much higher because the total population of the af-
and a half. This program gathered data on a variety of water
fected area is over 9.5 million people (Mandal et al. 1996:976). quality issues, including nutrients, oxygen balance, suspended
Naturally occurring arsenic also affects wells across Bangladesh;
sediments, salinization, microbial pollution, and acidification.
as many as one million wells in Bangladesh and west Bengal
Yet, the number of monitored watersheds were too sparse and
might be contaminated. Ironically, many of these wells were
the frequency and type of measurements were too inconsistent
drilled to provide a safe drinking water alternative to heavily
to paint a comprehensive picture of global water quality trends.
polluted surface water supplies. (Nickson et al. 1998: 338).
Further studies of this kind need more comprehensive and sys-
tematic data collection, and monitoring should be carried out
indefinitely so that long-term trends can be analyzed. Data needs
Ca p a ci t y o f Fr e sh w a t e r Sy st e m s t o
are especially critical for developing countries, which often do
Pr o v i d e Cl e a n W a t e r not have strong national monitoring programs, yet, face serious
Surface water quality has improved in most OECD countries water quality problems.
during the past 20 years, but nitrate and pesticide contamina- Surface water monitoring programs are relatively well de-
tion remain persistent problems. Data on water quality in other veloped in most OECD countries, where many different physi-
regions of the world are sparse, but water quality appears to be cal and chemical measures are monitored. Data for groundwa-
degraded in almost all regions with intensive agriculture and ter are less reliable in most cases, and much more information
rapid urbanization. Unfortunately, little information is available needs to be gathered in all countries on groundwater quality.
to evaluate the extent to which chemical contamination has Even in the United States, efforts by the USGS to monitor ground-
impaired freshwater biological functions. However, incidents water quality have begun only in recent years, and current moni-
of algal blooms and eutrophication are widespread in freshwa- toring covers only a portion of the country’s land area.
ter systems all over the world—an indicator that these systems In developing countries, the situation is much worse. There
are profoundly affected by water pollution. In addition, the are a few localized studies of groundwater quality for many de-
massive loss of wetlands at a global level has greatly impaired veloping countries, but no country has a comprehensive pro-
the capacity of freshwater systems to filter and purify water. gram for groundwater monitoring. A global program for address-
Nitrate pollution of groundwater supplies in northern China ing groundwater quality issues could be built around a few in-
and India is likely to remain a serious problem for years to come. dicator variables that are most likely to adversely affect human
Increasing populations mean that agricultural productivity has health (such as nitrates, salts, and toxic chemicals), with fre-
to increase to meet growing needs, yet in China the amount of quent monitoring carried out in areas of heavy dependence on
arable land is slowly decreasing due to urbanization. It is esti- groundwater use.
mated that application rates for nitrogen fertilizer will double One of the most important issues that must be addressed in
or triple in the next 30 years (Zhang et al. 1996: 223). Not only any global program of water quality monitoring is the need for
are there negative health effects associated with nitrate pollu- more biological monitoring. It has been shown that chemical
tion of groundwater, but overapplication has serious economic monitoring alone fails to identify many instances in which fresh-
costs as well. For one 115,000-hectare region in the northern water ecosystems are stressed or threatened by nonchemical
province of Shaanxi, economic losses because of excessive appli- factors. Declines of biological integrity can have adverse ef-
fects on human welfare as well, through declining fish and shell- useful. Unlike conventional chemical measures of water qual-
fish stocks. Biological monitoring is needed to give greater in- ity, biological indices are difficult to construct even at the na-
formation about overall ecosystem health and integrity. tional level, depending on the size of the country. In the United
However, unlike programs for the monitoring of chemical States, where several nationwide programs for measuring chemi-
and physical parameters, biological monitoring cannot easily cal aspects of water quality are underway, biological monitor-
be carried out on a global scale. This is because the information ing is conducted at the state level, and it probably will never be
needed to conduct useful indicators of biological integrity can- coordinated at a higher level of administration.
not be found in single-measure indices. Information about fresh- One of the biggest challenges in future global water monitor-
water biotic integrity is highly dependent on local circumstances, ing programs is the integration of chemical and biological mea-
such as the numbers and types of organisms and the ways in sures of water quality. Although the former can be carried out at
which freshwater biological communities are structured. No national and even continental scales, the latter must be ap-
single IBI-type measure could be constructed for the entire world proached at the local and regional level. Yet, both have impor-
because IBIs require locally calibrated reference sites to be tant messages to tell us about water quality and ecosystem health.

FOOD—INLAND FISHERIES
St a t u s a n d Tr e n d s i n I n l a n d Fi sh e r i e s
Fish are a major source of protein and micronutrients for a large 24 percent of the world total (see Figure 5) (FAO 1999a:7).
part of the world’s population, particularly the poor (Bräutigam According to the FAO, most inland capture fisheries that
1999:5). Inland fisheries in rivers, lakes, and wetlands are an depend on natural production are being exploited at or above
important source of this protein because almost the entire catch their maximum sustainable yields (FAO 1999a:25). Globally,
gets consumed directly by people—there is practically no inland fisheries landings increased at 2 percent per year from
bycatch or “trash” fish in inland fisheries (FAO 1999a:1). The 1984 to 1997, although in Asia the rate has been much higher—
population of Cambodia, for example, obtains roughly 60 per- 7 percent per year since 1992. This increase has occurred par-
cent of its total animal protein from the fishery resources of the tially as a result of efforts to raise production above natural
Tonle Sap alone (MRC 1997:19). In some landlocked countries, levels through fisheries enhancements and to eutrophication of
this percentage is even higher. Inland fisheries in Malawi pro- inland waters from agriculture runoff and certain types of in-
vide about 70–75 percent of the total animal protein for both dustrial effluents (FAO 1999a:6–7; Kapetsky, personal com-
urban and rural low-income families (FAO 1996: 3). munication, 1999). Asia, in particular China, which is the lead-
The catch from inland fisheries totaled 7.7 million metric ing country in inland fish production, produces 64 percent of
tons in 1997, or nearly 12 percent of all fish directly consumed all the inland fish catch –much more than would be expected
by humans from all inland and marine capture fisheries (FAO given the available freshwater area if compared with other re-
1999b:7). Inland fisheries landings are comprised mostly of gions of the world. This, plus the large number of reservoirs in
freshwater fish, although molluscs, crustaceans, and some China, points to the strong use of fishery enhancements, such
aquatic reptiles also are caught and are of regional and local as stocking, to increase yields (FAO 1999a:7). These enhance-
importance (FAO 1999b:9). The catch from inland fisheries is ments, however, can seriously affect the condition and long-
believed to be greatly underreported—by a factor of two or three term functioning of freshwater ecosystems (see Biodiversity sec-
(FAO 1999a:4). Asia and Africa are the two leading regions in tion).
inland capture fish production (see Figure 4). Freshwater aquaculture is now more important than inland
In fact, 5 of the top 10 producing countries are in Asia. China capture fisheries, with total production estimated to be 17.7
is the most important inland capture fisheries producer, with million metric tons in 1997 (FAO 1999a:6). In freshwater sys-
F o o d — I n l a n d F i s h e r i e s
Figure 4
Inland Capt ure Fisheries by Cont inent , 1984–97
700,000 5,000,000
4,500,000
600,000
Landings for the Americas, Europe,
Former Soviet Union and Oceania
4,000,000
Former Soviet Union
Landings for Asia and Africa

500,000 3,500,000
South America
(Metric Tons)
3,000,000 North America
(Metric Tons)
400,000
2,500,000 Europe
300,000
2,000,000 Oceania
1,500,000 Asia
200,000
1,000,000 Africa
100,000
500,000
0 0
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Year
Source: FAO 1998.
tems, finfish aquaculture represents 99 percent of production countries, but has also been taking place in many developing
(FAO 1999b:12) and it has been increasing rapidly for the last countries.
15 years, with an average annual rate of increase of 11.8 per- Recreational and food fisheries in many countries are main-
cent since 1984 (FAO 1999b:81). (See Figure 6).Both, marine tained by fishery enhancements, particularly species introduc-
and freshwater aquaculture have become a critical source of tions and stocking (FAO 1999a:26). Enhancements to increase
food for the world’s population, providing 30 percent of the fish recreational fisheries are more prevalent in North America,
for human consumption in 1997 (FAO 1999b:7). Excluding the Europe, and Oceania, while enhancements to increase food pro-
production of aquatic plants, more than 60 percent of aquacul- duction are more prevalent in Asia, Africa, and South America
ture production is freshwater fish or fish that migrate between (FAO 1999a:28–32). Because of the enhancements, inland fish-
fresh and saltwater (FAO 1998). Asia, and China in particular, eries have become an important factor in food security and in-
dominate aquaculture production in terms of volume. A large come generation in many regions of the world (FAO 1999a:26).
part of their production is carp (FAO 1999a:10). It should be mentioned that some types of aquaculture, par-
In more developed regions such as Europe and North ticularly the farming of such carnivorous species as salmon,
America, freshwater fish consumption has decreased over time depend in part on marine capture fisheries because fish meal,
and recreational fishing is replacing inland food fisheries (FAO usually from small pelagic fish, contribute to many compound
1999a:8). Recreational fishing contributes a significant amount feeds used in aquaculture (Naylor et al. 2000:1017). Aquacul-
of revenue to the economies of some countries. For instance, ture operations, depending on their design and management,
anglers in Canada spend 2.9 billion Canadian dollars a year in can also contribute to habitat degradation, pollution, introduc-
goods and services directly related to fishing (McAllister et al. tion of exotic species, and the spread of diseases through the
1997:12) and in 1996, anglers in the United States spent US$447 introduction of pathogens (Naylor et al. 2000:1017).
million just on fishing licenses alone (FAO 1999a:42). Recre-
ational fishing also contributes to the food supply in the same
way that subsistence fishing does because anglers usually con- Pr e ssu r e s o n I n l a n d Fi sh e r y Re so u r ce s
sume what they catch, although there has been a trend recently The principal factor threatening inland capture fisheries is the
to release fish after they are caught (Kapetsky, personal com- loss of fish habitat and environmental degradation (FAO
munication, 1999). Currently recreational catch is estimated at 1999a:19). Most of the world’s freshwater systems have been
about 2 million metric tons per year (FAO 1999a:42). This posi- modified to a certain degree. Rivers have been physically al-
tive trend in recreational fishing is not limited to developed tered by dams and reservoirs, or channeled and constrained to
prevent and control floods, with the consequent loss of riparian

Figure 5
Top Ten Producing Count ries, 1997
2,000,000
1,800,000
Inland Capture Fisheries Landings
1,600,000
1,400,000
(Metric Tons)
1,200,000
1,000,000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
China India Bangladesh Indonesia Tanzania, Thailand Egypt Russian Uganda Brazil
United Rep. Federation
Source: FAO 1998.
habitat. Wetlands, some of the most productive ecosystems in ational and aesthetic purposes, are making restoration and in-
terms of fish production, have been and continue to be drained tegrated multiple-use projects more prevalent in Europe and
throughout most of the world. In such areas as the Mekong River North America (FAO 1999a:20).
basin and other parts of Asia, overfishing and destructive fish- In South America and Africa, dams and reservoirs have also
ing practices also contribute to the decline in inland fisheries significantly modified rivers, especially in the larger basins.
production (FAO 1999a:19). In addition, nonnative species in- Pollution, particularly sewage contamination, is increasing close
troduced into lakes, rivers, and reservoirs, either accidentally to urban centers and heavy chemical pollution is found in min-
or for food production or recreational fishing, affect the compo- ing and other industrial areas. Siltation from deforestation and
sition of the native aquatic communities. The effect is to some- resulting eutrophication is also increasing in many lakes, par-
times increase levels of production and sometimes decrease ticularly in Africa. Localized overexploitation from uncontrolled
them. Introduced species often are predators or competitors, fisheries and a change in species composition from native to
and they may spread new diseases to the native fauna, some- introduced species are becoming increasing problems in many
times with severe consequences, as seen in the case of Lake lakes in Africa (Arthington and Welcomme 1995:59, 60; FAO
Victoria (discussed in the prologue). 1995b:7–16, 18–22).
When different stresses affect an aquatic system over time, Asia depends heavily on inland fisheries for food produc-
the species composition changes considerably. This change in tion. In China, most rivers have been extremely altered and
species assemblages has been observed in many rivers in de- polluted, whereas in Southeast Asia rivers are less modified
veloped regions of the world. These changes in wild stocks serve and still retain their natural flooding patterns. These flooding
as an indicator of the changes of the environmental quality of regimes and the associated flood plains are at risk of being lost
the system. In Europe and North America, dams, channels, and to development activities, such as expanded agriculture or dam
interbasin transfers have dramatically altered most rivers. Riv- construction, which are being driven by an increase in popula-
ers and lakes have been heavily polluted from sewage, indus- tion and the consequent growing demand for food, water, and
trial sources, and agricultural runoff. There have also been nu- electric power. Losing these resources, which are self-sustain-
merous species introductions in the rivers, lakes, and reser- ing fish production systems, could have a drastic impact on
voirs of these two regions. Fish assemblages have, therefore, food security for the rural population in the region (FAO
changed dramatically and many species have become threat- 1995b:26–27).
ened, rare, or extinct (Arthington and Welcomme 1995:57, 58). As environmental degradation increases, and the demand
The recent awareness of environmental issues, and a growing for inland fish continues to grow, the only way to maintain in-
appreciation of the importance of freshwater systems for recre- land fisheries production is through fisheries enhancements or
Figure 6
Global Inland Capt ure and Freshw at er Aquacult ure Grow t h, 1984–97
18,000 Aquaculture
16,000 Inland catch
Thousand Metric Tons
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997
Year
Source: FAO 1998.
the restoration of rivers and aquatic habitats. Restoration and ing pressures in combination with other stresses make the fo-
rehabilitation of rivers is usually a costly process and is only cus of the fishery change regularly and, therefore, catch statis-
practiced where there is public support and available finances tics of the present quality are of limited value to assess the con-
(FAO 1999a:43). In contrast, fisheries enhancements are prac- dition of the system.
ticed in almost every country with inland fisheries resources Nevertheless, harvest and trend information exists for cer-
(FAO 1999a:26). The enhancements include various techniques, tain well-studied fisheries. This study looked at two indicators
such as the introduction of new species, stocking, and fertiliza- of the condition of inland fishery resources. One indicator com-
tion. In most cases, they are meant to increase food or recre- prises historical trends in catch statistics and changes in fish
ational fish production or to control pests, but often they put fauna composition for selected well-studied rivers, lakes, and
added stress on freshwater species communities. Many of the inland seas. The second is the recent trends in catch statistics
enhancements pose some threats to the condition of the ecosys- from the FAO database on inland fisheries (1984–97).
tem, mostly through loss of species and genetic diversity, and
changes in species assemblages (see Biodiversity section for HI STORI CA L CHA N GE I N FI SH CA TCH A N D SPECI ES
additional discussion of these issues). COM POSI TI ON
An indicator of the condition of freshwater systems is the num-
ber and diversity of fish species that they support, especially
Co n d i t i o n I n d i ca t o r s o f Fi sh Pr o d u ct i o n compared with historical data. Because fisheries and species
Assessing the actual condition of inland fisheries, rather than assemblages are influenced by many stressors, and because the
overall threats to the fisheries at the global or regional level, is impacts from these stressors are not immediately felt, it is nec-
difficult partly because of the paucity of reliable and compre- essary to examine the change in fish catch and species compo-
hensive data on fish landings. The FAO has collected data on sition over a long period of time in order to assess the condition
inland capture fisheries since 1984. However, the data collec- of a freshwater system. Unfortunately, historical fish harvest data
tion and reporting have several important weaknesses that make have not been systematically collected for many rivers and lakes
it difficult to assess the state of the resource (see the following around the world. Therefore, this study relied on available com-
section on Information Status and Needs for more detailed dis- mercial fisheries data and species composition for specific wa-
cussion on the limitations of inland fisheries statistics). ter bodies. Table 5 shows the changes in freshwater fish species
Fish communities also change considerably over time be- and commercial fisheries since the early or mid-1900s for se-
cause of the combination of stresses. In general, during the first lected rivers, lakes, and inland seas. Without exception, each
phase of exploitation of a fishery, fishers start by targeting those of these major fisheries has experienced dramatic declines dur-
large and most valuable species. As these species are overfished, ing the 20th century.
they are replaced by smaller fish, which in turn become the For some rivers in which fisheries have been tracked more
target of the fishery (Arthington and Welcomme 1995:53). Fish- systematically, catch statistics help assess the capacity of the

Table 5
Changes in Fish Species Composition and Fisheries for Selected Rivers, Lakes, and Inland Seas
Change in Fish Species Major Causes Main Goods and
River and Fishery of Decline Services Lost
Colorado River Historically native fish included 36 species, 20 genera, Dams, river diversions, canals, and Loss of fisheries and
(United States) and 9 families. Of these, 64% were endemics. loss of riparian habitat. biodiversity.
Current status of species under the Endangered Species
Act: 2 extinct, 15 threatened or endangered, 18 proposed
for listing or under review.
Danube River Danube River fisheries have changed dramatically since Dams, creation of channels, Loss of fisheries, loss of
the early 1900s. Danube sturgeon fishery has almost pollution, loss of floodplain areas, biodiversity, and change in
disappeared, and current fisheries are maintained through water pumping, sand and gravel species composition.
aquaculture and introduction of nonnative species. extraction, and nonnative species
introductions.
Aral Sea Of 24 fish species, 20 have disappeared. The commercial Water diversion for irrigation, Loss of important fishery, loss
fishery that used to have a catch of 40,000 tons and pollution from fertilizers and of biodiversity. Associated
support 60,000 jobs is now gone. pesticides. health effects caused by toxic
salts from the exposed lakebed.
Rhine River Forty-four species have become rare or disappeared Dams, creation of channels, heavy Loss of important fishery, loss
between 1890 and 1975. Salmon and sturgeon fisheries pollution, and nonnative species of biodiversity.
are gone, and the yield from the eel fisheries has declined, introductions.
even though it is maintained by stocking.
Missouri River Commercial fisheries declined by 83% since 1947. Dams, creation of channels, and Loss of fishery and
pollution from agriculture runoff. biodiversity.
Great Lakes Change in species composition, loss of native salmonid Pollution from agriculture and Loss of fishery, biodiversity,
fishery. Four of the native fish have become extinct, industry, nonnative species and recreation. Contamination
seven others are threatened. introductions. of fish leading to fish
advisories and human health
problems.
Illinois River Commercial fisheries declined by 98 percent in the 1950s. Siltation from soil erosion, Loss of fishery and
pollution, and eutrophication. biodiversity.
Lake Victoria Mass extinction of native cichlid fish. Changes in species Eutrophication, siltation from Loss of biodiversity and local
composition and disappearance of the small-scale deforestation, overfishing, and artisanal fishery.
subsistence fishery on which many local communities nonnative species introductions.
depended.
Pearl River In the 1980s the yields in commercial fisheries had Overfishing, destructive fishing Loss of fishery.
(Xi Jiang) dropped to only 37 percent of the yield levels of the practices, pollution, and dams.
1950s.
Sources: Carlson and Muth 1989; Bacalbaça-Dobrovici 1989; Postel 1995; Lelek 1989; Hughes and Noss 1992; Sparks 1992; Kauffman 1992;
Missouri River Coalition 1995; and Liao et al. 1989.
Figure 7
Com m ercial Landings of Salm on and St eelhead f rom t he Colum bia River, 1866–1998
25
20
Thousand Metric Tons
1935 Fishwheels prohibited
15
1988 Last sockeye season
10
1977 Last spring season
5
1950 Seines, traps, set nets prohibited
1965 Last summer season

0
1866 1876 1886 1896 1906 1916 1926 1936 1946 1956 1966 1976 1986 1996
Year
Source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife 1999.
systems to provide a particular good—for example, salmon and the last 14 years. By analyzing catch statistics, the FAO found
steelhead production from the Columbia River (see Figure 7). positive trends in inland capture fisheries in South and South-
Commercial landings of salmon and steelhead have been fall- east Asia, Central America, and parts of Africa and South
ing since the 1930s, with commercial fishing being prohibited America, whereas trends were negative in the United States,
for particular seasons after 1965, 1977, and 1988 (Washington Canada, parts of Africa, eastern Europe, Spain, Australia, and
Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Fish the former Soviet Union (see Map 12) (FAO 1999a:9–18; 51–
and Wildlife 1999). 53). Depending on the region, growth in harvests may stem from
Because fish are good indicators of the condition of the the exploitation of an underutilized resource, overexploitation
aquatic system, the condition of the fishery serves also as an of a fishery that will soon collapse, or enhancement of fisheries
indirect measure of the condition of the system as a whole. As by stocking or introducing more productive species. The FAO
can be seen in Table 5 and Figure 7, there has been consider- found that, in every region, the major threat to fisheries is envi-
able decline in landings of commercial fisheries as well as ronmental degradation of freshwater habitat (FAO 1999a:19)
changes in species composition and biodiversity loss for these (see Box 3).
selected cases. In all instances, the cause for these declines is
a combination of multiple stresses. Even though this is a small
sample of cases, it illustrates what is occurring in other aquatic Ca p a ci t y o f Fr e sh w a t e r Sy st e m s t o
systems around the world. As ichthyologists Harrison and Pr o v i d e Fo o d
Stiassny put it, “although the precise degree of freshwater im-
Freshwater fish are extremely important in some regions for
poverishment remains to be fully documented, there can be little
human nutrition and for local economies. At the global level,
doubt that the losses are already great” (Harrison and Stiassny
inland fisheries landings have been increasing since 1984. Most
1999:271). of this increase has occurred in Asia, Africa, and to a lesser
degree in Latin America. In North America, Europe, Australia,
RECEN T TREN D S I N CA TCH STATI STI CS
and the former Soviet Union, landings have declined, whereas
A somewhat different picture of the condition of inland fisher- in parts of Oceania they have remained stable. Production of
ies is provided by data from the FAO, which has been used as a aquaculture has increased rapidly in the last decade, as has the
diagnostic for the changes in inland fisheries production over yield of inland capture fisheries from introduced species or

enhanced by stocking practices. However, successful stocking

and introduction programs require functioning freshwater sys- Box 3
tems, which are being threatened by degradation (FAO Threat s and Issues Facing Inland
1999a:44). Fisheries by Cont inent
In almost all regions of the world, the capacity of freshwater
systems to support wild fish stocks is highly threatened because Threats and issues in North America:
of habitat degradation and loss of fishery habitat (FAO ? Highly fragmented rivers (caused by dams, canals, and
1999a:43). Overfishing and destructive fishing practices are also other projects).
threatening stocks in parts of Asia and, on a more local level, in ? Non point source pollution.
Africa and Latin America. ? Increasing importance of recreational fisheries.

? Major fisheries dependent on stock enhancement.
The increasing importance of recreational fishing, as well as
? Increasing attention to river and habitat restoration.
the growing concern about biodiversity, pristine habitat, and
other goods and services, such as clean water, is driving efforts Threats and issues in Central and South America:
in some countries to restore and rehabilitate freshwater sys- ? Water pollution from mining industry discharges and
tems. expanding urban centers.
? Localized overfishing.
? Increasing turbidity and sedimentation from agricul
tural runoff and deforestation.
I n l a n d Fi sh e r i e s I n f o r m a t i o n St a t u s a n d
? Localized threats from dam construction.
Needs
Threats and issues in Europe:
The FAO database on inland fisheries is the most complete data
? Highly fragmented rivers (caused by dams, canals, and
set on fishery resources at the global level and it provides some other projects).
useful insights on what is happening to freshwater fisheries ? Water pollution.
worldwide. However it has several important limitations for as- ? Increasing importance of recreational fisheries.
sessing the capacity of freshwater systems to provide food. ? Some fisheries dependent on stock enhancement.
First, the catch composition is not well known because re- ? Increasing attention to river and habitat restoration.
porting at the species level is very poor in most countries. Over- Threats and issues in Africa:
all, nearly 45 percent of all inland capture fisheries are reported ? Increasing habitat degradation.
as “freshwater fish not elsewhere included (nei)” (FAO 1999a:4). ? Localized water pollution and overfishing.
This makes assessments of inland fisheries particularly diffi- ? Localized problems with species introductions.
cult. Part of this lack of reporting at the species level is because Threats and issues in Asia:
of the limited representation in FAO statistics of the large di- ? Habitat degradation.
versity of freshwater fauna. Although there are 11,500 identi- ? Interference of water flow by construction works.
fied species of freshwater fish, the FAO lists only 100 of these ? Overfishing and destructive fishing practices.
species or species groups in its catch statistics (FAO 1999a:4). ? High dependency on stock enhancement
In Asia, the region with the largest inland fisheries production,
Threats and issues in Oceania:
80 percent of the landings in 1992 were reported as “freshwa- ? Water pollution from pesticide and herbicide runoff.
ter fish nei” (FAO 1995b:22). ? High sediment loads and rising salinity in inland waters.
Second, much of the inland fish catch comes from subsis- ? Increasing importance of recreational fisheries.
tence and recreational fisheries. Even though most of the catch
from these fisheries is for human consumption, these landings Sources: FAO 1999a; Arthington and Welcomme 1995;
are not reflected in the FAO catch statistics. Most national of- Remane 1997; FAO 1995b.
fices do not report on recreational fisheries and, because much
of the subsistence catch is consumed locally, products do not
always enter the market and therefore landings are not recorded
(FAO 1995b:2, 3). This situation is so prevalent in many devel- Finally, inland fisheries are usually dispersed over large ar-
oping countries that recent evaluations carried out by the FAO eas, which makes data collection difficult and very expensive.
show that actual catches are probably twice as large, and in National reporting offices, particularly in developing countries,
some countries, three times as large, as the reported landings are poorly funded and justifying expensive data collection for
(FAO 1999a:4). inland fisheries is becoming increasingly difficult, adding to
the underreporting problem (FAO 1999a:4).
To improve our capacity to assess the condition of aquatic better insight into the relationship between upstream activities
systems, catch statistics and trend analyses can be supplemented and downstream effects, and these could be incorporated into
with national-level information on market demand, land-use management plans.
change, and climatic factors. The FAO did this in its 1995 re- Because the major threat to inland fisheries is environmen-
view, The State of Inland Capture Fisheries, and its fishery coun- tal degradation, information on land-use change, water quality,
try profiles, which provide a more in-depth analysis of the ca- water withdrawals, and species introductions is critical for as-
pacity of freshwater systems in each region to sustain inland sessing the condition and potential of a particular fishery. At
capture fish production. present, these data are not collected at the watershed level, which
There is an urgent need to improve the quality of the data on makes their inclusion in analysis of fisheries resources diffi-
inland capture fisheries and those environmental and socio- cult.
economic factors that affect their sustainability. Reporting should Finally, data collection on recreational fisheries and fishery
be at the species level, and ideally catch data should be col- enhancements, especially stocking and introduction programs,
lected and reported at the watershed or basin level (FAO have to be incorporated in a systematic way into fisheries sta-
1999a:4). National-level statistics do not provide the necessary tistics. The consequences of enhancement practices should also
information to assess the condition of a particular body of wa- be assessed more closely to ensure that the integrity of the eco-
ter. This is especially true when a river or lake crosses interna- system and its capacity to provide other goods and services is
tional borders. Reporting at the watershed level could provide maintained.

BIODIVERSITY
Ov e r v i e w
One fundamental service provided by freshwater systems is such as primary productivity, water purification, nutrient recy-
habitat for a wide range of species. An estimated 12 percent of cling, and waste assimilation.
all animal species live in fresh water (Abramovitz 1996:7). Many Physical alteration, habitat loss and degradation, water with-
others, including humans, depend on fresh water for their sur- drawal, overexploitation, pollution, and the introduction of non-
vival. In Europe, for example, 25 percent of birds and 11 per- native species all contribute directly or indirectly to declines in
cent of mammals use freshwater wetlands as their main breed- freshwater species. These varied stresses affecting aquatic sys-
ing and feeding areas (EEA 1995:90). Although freshwater eco- tems occur all over the world, although the particular effects of
systems have fewer species than marine and terrestrial habi- these stresses vary from watershed to watershed. In a recent
tats, species richness is very high when habitat extent is taken study of freshwater fish by Harrison and Stiassny (1999), habi-
into account (see Table 6). There are 44,000 described aquatic tat alteration and the introduction of nonnative species were
species, which represent 2.4 percent of all known species, ac- found to be the major causes driving the extinction of species.
cording to estimates from Reaka-Kudla (1997:90). Yet freshwa- They study attributed 71 percent of extinctions to habitat alter-
ter systems occupy only 0.8 percent of the Earth’s surface ation, 54 percent to the introduction of nonnative species, 29
(McAllister et al. 1997:5). In addition, scientists estimate that percent to overfishing, 26 percent to pollution, and the rest to
the number of known freshwater species is only a portion of the either hybridization, parasites and diseases, and intentional
actual number of freshwater species. In fact, in the last 18 years, eradication (some extinctions may have had several causing
about 309 new freshwater species have been described each factors, therefore, percentages do not add up to 100) (Harrison
year (Nelson 1976, 1984, 1994). and Stiassny 1999:298–299).
Humans use these animals and plants for food, crops, skins, Perhaps the best measure of the actual condition of freshwa-
medicinal products, ornamental products (such as aquarium ter biodiversity is the extent to which species are threatened
fish), biological control of insects and weeds, and increasingly with extinction. Globally, scientists estimate that more than 20
for recreational purposes. In addition, freshwater biodiversity percent of the world’s 10,000 described freshwater fish species
helps maintain ecosystem functions and ecosystem services, have become extinct, threatened, or endangered in recent de-
B i o d i v e r s i t y
Table 6 only preliminary analyses based on expert opinion or regional

Species Richness by Ecosystem analyses for those areas for which there is more data.
Percent Relative To assess the value of freshwater systems in terms of biologi-
Habitat Known Species cal importance, we selected the following two indicators:
Ecosystem Extent Species* Richness**
? Species richness and endemism at the global level.
Freshwater 0.8% 2.4% 3
Terrestrial 28.4% 77.5% 2.7 ? Biological distinctiveness at the regional level: the case of
Marine 70.8% 14.7% 0.2 North America.
*
Sum does not add to 100 percent because 5.3 percent of known
symbiotic species are excluded. SPECI ES RI CHN ESS A N D EN D EM I SM A T THE GLOBA L
**
Calculated as the ratio between the percent species known and LEV EL
the percent area occupied by the ecosystem.
In an attempt to prioritize conservation areas for freshwater
Source: McAllister et al. 1997.
biodiversity, the World Wildlife Fund-US (WWF-US) and the
World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) have carried
cades (Moyle and Leidy 1992:140). This number, however, is out analyses to identify some of the most significant freshwater
considered to be a major underestimate (Bräutigam 1999:4). biodiversity areas of the world. WCMC produced a preliminary
According to the 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals, map of important areas for freshwater fish, crustacean, and
734 species of fish are classified as threatened, of which 84 mollusc diversity. These areas of high diversity focus on five
percent are freshwater species (IUCN 1996:intro p. 37; groups of species: freshwater fish, molluscs, crabs, crayfish, and
McAllister et al. 1997:38). For some countries and regions, there fairy shrimp, and were identified through expert opinion
is more detailed information on threatened status of aquatic (Groombridge and Jenkins 1998). WCMC identified 136 areas
species. In Europe, 42 percent of freshwater fish are threat- of high freshwater biodiversity, 32 in Africa, 14 in Oceania, 45
ened or endangered, in Iran, 22 percent, and in South Africa, in Eurasia, 18 in North America, and 27 in South America (see
63 percent (Moyle and Leidy 1992:138). In the United States, Map 13).
which has comparatively detailed data on freshwater species, WWF-US has also identified areas of global importance for
37 percent of freshwater fish species, 67 percent of mussels, 51 freshwater biodiversity based on species richness, species en-
percent of crayfish, and 40 percent of amphibians are threat- demism, unique higher taxa (such as genera and families), un-
ened or have become extinct (Master et al.1998:6). usual ecological or evolutionary phenomena, and global rarity
Assessing the condition of aquatic species is of critical im- of major habitat types (Olson and Dinerstein 1999). This analy-
portance if we are going to try and preserve the integrity of these sis identified 53 freshwater ecoregions as outstanding areas for
ecosystems and the goods and services we derive from them. freshwater biodiversity. It is important to note that this
Unfortunately, data on freshwater species are not readily avail- ecoregional analysis, known as the Global 200, has also identi-
able for many countries and for most taxa. Given the limitation fied important terrestrial areas, such as grasslands and forests.
of the available data on freshwater biodiversity, we have at- Many of these selected forest and grasslands areas can also be
tempted to provide indicators of biological importance (value) considered “freshwater ecosystems” because they are season-
as well as indicators of condition of freshwater biodiversity. ally flooded and represent important areas for freshwater as well
However, further research and data collection are urgently as terrestrial biodiversity. Map 13 draws on these two efforts
needed in this area. and presents a global view of important areas for freshwater
biodiversity.
The 53 freshwater ecoregions highlighted by the Global 200
I n d i ca t o r s o f Bi o l o g i ca l V a l u e are classified into major habitat types that fall within one of the
Freshwater species distributions are not well documented in following systems: large rivers, larger river deltas, large river
many countries, particularly in developing regions of the world. headwaters, small rivers, large lakes, small lakes, and xeric
Even in developed nations, data on freshwater biodiversity is basins. These ecoregions vary in size and species composition.
available usually for the higher vertebrate species, but not for To illustrate the range of important freshwater ecoregions, we
lower taxa. For instance, there is considerable information on have selected two examples of these outstanding areas: the
fish, crustaceans, and molluscs for U.S. rivers and lakes, but Amazon River with the surrounding flooded forests in Brazil,
much of the aquatic fauna and flora in Latin America is still Peru, and Colombia, and the Chihuahuan basin in Mexico and
unknown. Fish are the most studied group of freshwater species the United States. The large ecoregion of the Amazon River and
and, therefore, allow for a more in-depth analysis. For other the surrounding flooded forests has an especially large concen-
groups, such as crustaceans or molluscs, it is possible to do tration of freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity. The Amazon

River alone has more than 3,000 species of fish (Goulding 1985), Table 7 shows the three top ranking basins in terms of num-
with new species being identified at a fast rate. The flooded ber of fish species and endemics by watershed size. Because
forests of this ecoregion are also rich in terrestrial and aquatic there is a correlation between number of species and area, large
species, particularly those species that depend on these sea- watersheds tend to have more fish species than smaller ones
sonally flooded forests as spawning and feeding habitat. On the (Oberdorff et al. 1995). To help eliminate bias in size, we clas-
other end of the spectrum with respect to size, the Chihuahuan sified basins into three categories. Large watersheds are those
xeric basin, which is composed of small springs and pools, is an with an area equal to or greater than 1.5 million km2, medium
outstanding center for evolutionary phenomena and endemism. watersheds are those with areas between 400,000 and 1,499,999
More than half of the species found in the Chihuahuan basin km2, and small watersheds have areas smaller than 400,000
are endemic, including 23 species of freshwater molluscs (Olson km2.
and Dinerstein 1999).
As Map 13 shows, the major concentrations of freshwater BI OLOGI CA L D I STI N CTI V EN ESS AT THE REGI ON A L LEV EL:
biodiversity (according to these two analyses) are in the tropi- THE CA SE OF N OR TH A M ERI CA
cal areas of Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, as well At the regional level, WWF-US has also developed an index of
as large parts of Australia, Madagascar, North America, the biological distinctiveness (BDI) for each freshwater ecoregion
Yangtze basin in China, and the Amur basin in Russia. Be- in North America (Abell et al. 2000). The approach used is
cause of the increase in available data for fish species, we have similar to the Global 200 ecoregion analysis, but at a different
gone a step further and analyzed species richness and ende- scale and with more detailed data. The freshwater ecoregions
mism by watershed for selected major watersheds of the world analyzed were delineated based on freshwater species distribu-
(see Map 14). The selected watersheds represent large basins tions; in particular, the distributions of native freshwater fish,
that cross national borders and some smaller watersheds of re- crayfish, and unionid mussels. These ecoregions generally co-
gional significance. In all, these basins cover approximately 55 incide with watershed boundaries.
percent of the world’s land area (excluding Antarctica). The BDI includes measures for species richness, species
Of the 108 watersheds analyzed, 27 have particularly high endemism, uniqueness of higher taxa, rarity of habitat type, and
fish species richness. Of these, 56 percent are in the tropics, rarity of ecological or evolutionary phenomena (such as extraor-
particularly Central Africa, mainland Southeast Asia, and South dinary salmon spawning runs). Species richness and endemism
America, even though only about a third of all watersheds ana- data were from a variety of published and unpublished sources
lyzed are tropical. High fish diversity is also found in central on the distribution of over 2,200 North American species be-
North America and in several basins in China and India. The longing to the following taxonomic groups: freshwater fish, cray-
pattern of unique species, or endemism, shows strong similari- fish, unionid mussels, amphibians, and aquatic and semiaquatic
ties to the pattern of species richness, particularly in Central reptiles. The assessment of habitat type and ecological or evo-
Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. In temperate re- lutionary phenomena was based on expert opinion. Ecoregions
gions, the Colorado, Rio Grande, and Alabama basins in North were then classified into globally outstanding, continentally
America stand out (for their size) as having large numbers of outstanding, bioregionally outstanding, or nationally important
endemic fish. levels.
Table 7
Watersheds with High Fish Species Richness and Endemism
Number of
Number of Fish
Watershed Size Watershed Fish Species Watershed Endemics
Amazon 3,000 Amazon 1,800
Large Congo 700 Congo 500
Watersheds Mississippi 375 Mississippi 107
Rio Negro 600 Xi Jiang (Pearl River) 120
Medium Mekong 400 Orinoco 88
Watersheds Madeira 398 Paraguay 85
Lake Victoria 343 Lake Victoria 309
Small Kapuas 320 Lake Tanganyika 216
Watersheds Lake Tanganyika 240 Salween 46
Source: Revenga et al. 1998.
Figure 8
Globally Out st anding Freshw at er Ecoregions in Nort h Am erica
Source: Abell et al. 2000.
According to the WWF-US analysis, there are 16 globally Threatened species.

outstanding ecoregions in North America, including the bio- ? Imperiled fish and herpetofauna in North American fresh-
logically rich and diverse ecoregions of Tennessee-Cumberland, water ecoregions.
Mobile Bay, and the Mississippi embayment. Globally outstand- ? Birds in Europe and the Middle East.
ing ecoregions also include several freshwater systems in Mexico Presence of nonnative species.
that have high degrees of endemism, such as the Lerma and the ? Introduced fish.
Cuatro Ciénegas ecoregions. Figure 8 shows those globally out- ? Zebra mussel distribution in the United States.
standing ecoregions in the United States and Mexico. ? Global and U.S. distribution of water hyacinth.
SPECI ES POPULA TI ON TREN D S

Co n d i t i o n I n d i ca t o r s o f Bi o d i v e r si t y Population trends represent some of the best indicators for mea-
One of the major challenges when assessing the condition of suring the condition of individual species and groups of spe-
freshwater biodiversity is the lack of data on freshwater species. When species with similar life histories and ecological
cies. Many species remain unknown, particularly in develop- traits are combined into groups and their population trends are
ing countries, and monitoring of species populations is occur- analyzed, they provide additional insights into the overall health
ring only in localized areas, generally in developed countries. and condition of the habitat that they depend on. Continental-
Despite this lack of data, we selected various indicators under or global-level data sets on population trends for extended time
the following categories to illustrate how freshwater systems are periods are not readily available for many freshwater-depen-
doing in terms of biodiversity: dent species. Therefore, we have selected two data sets to illus-
Species population trends. trate the condition of freshwater systems. These data sets are
? Bird population trends in the United States and parts of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) for wetland-
Canada—wetland-dependent species. dependent bird species in the United States and parts of Canada,
? Global amphibian population census. and a global census on amphibian populations.

Bird population trends in the United States and parts Website: http://www.mbr.nbs.gov/bbs). However, the Patuxent
of Canada Environmental Science Center recommends that these trend
In 1966, the U.S. Department of the Interior launched the BBS. estimates be “viewed with considerable caution because wet-
This survey is now being coordinated by the Patuxent Environ- land birds tend to be very poorly represented along most BBS
mental Science Center in Maryland, and it covers the continen- routes.” It points out that the preferred habitat of most of the
tal United States and parts of Canada. The survey is based on wetland birds is not found along the BBS routes and that wet-
observations of breeding birds along more than 3,700 survey land species tend to be “very secretive and poorly censused by
routes, each approximately 40 kilometers in length (BBS the BBS methodology” (BBS Website: http://www.mbr.nbs.gov/
Website: http://www.mbr.nbs.gov/bbs). BBS data are extremely bbs).
useful for monitoring the distribution and trends of particular Some of these species are monitored through other national
species over time, and they provide one of the few such avail- surveys, such as waterfowl and other game species, which are
able continental-level data sets. surveyed by the Office of Migratory Bird Management of the U.
The Patuxent Environmental Science Center has grouped S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Ser-
the more than 420 species of North American breeding birds vice. Other species groups, such as marsh-breeding birds, are
into five breeding habitat groups: grassland, wetland-open wa- poorly represented in the BBS and other existing monitoring
ter, successional-scrub, woodland, and urban species (Sauer et programs because they tend to inhabit areas that are not readily
al. 1997). The wetland-open water group, discussed here, inaccessible. According to the Marshbird Monitoring Program,
cludes 86 species that depend on wetlands and open water, “little is known about the abundance, population trends, or
such as the sandhill crane, northern pintail, canvasback, and management needs of marsh bird species”; however, certain
king rail. In terms of species richness, the BBS data show that species such as the black and yellow rails and American bit-
for the period of 1982 to 1996, the largest numbers of wetland terns are of concern because “they are thought to be rare or
species (more than 60) are found in the Canadian provinces of declining” (Marshbird Monitoring Website: http://www.mp1-
Saskatchewan and Alberta, and in North Dakota and Montana pwrc.usgs.gov/marshbird/).
in the United States. Similar numbers of species also occur lo-
cally in Florida, eastern Texas, southern Louisiana, northern Global amphibian population census
California, and Minnesota. The fewest numbers of wetland spe- Because of their combined terrestrial and aquatic lifecycle, di-
cies (less than five species), as is expected, are found in more verse reproductive modes, and permeable skin, amphibians are
arid areas along the Mexican-U.S. border from Texas to Ari- good indicators of the health of ecosystems (Pelley 1998). They
zona, as well as parts of southern Nevada, California, and Utah. are more susceptible to climate change and pollution and usu-
The population trend, covering the period from 1966 to 1998, ally act as “early warning systems” when changes in the envi-
reflects both increases and declines in the populations of wet- ronment are occurring.
land species across the United States and Canada. Wetland birds Amphibian populations have declined or even become ex-
seem to be increasing from the Rocky Mountain region to the tinct in the past 50 years (DAPTF Website: http://
Pacific Northwest, the Great Lakes region, and in the central www2.open.ac.uk/Ecology/J_Baker/JBtxt.htm). Many of these
United States—especially in Texas— and from Louisiana north declines were due to habitat alteration, such as the drainage of
to Minnesota. Increases also have been recorded in areas of wetlands, or to introduced predators and pollution. But over the
California and Manitoba. Declining trends prevail in eastern past 20 years, scientists throughout the globe have documented
North America from Kentucky and Virginia south to Florida, dramatic declines or “atypical” fluctuations of amphibian popu-
parts of Quebec and Ontario, and the “prairie pothole” region— lations. These declines have occurred even in apparently pris-
especially North Dakota. Significant declines are also noted in tine habitats, such as national parks and nature reserves where
the southwestern states. human activity is very limited (Houlahan et al. 2000:752; Pelley
In the entire survey area, 41 percent of wetland species had 1998; Carey et al. 2000:1). The evidence of these declines is
a significant positive trend, while 15 percent had a significant mostly anecdotal, mainly because of a lack of long-term popu-
negative trend. Among those species with negative population lation data. However, because of the rapid disappearance of
trends, the most significant declines were noted for the rusty amphibians in many parts of the world, IUCN’s Species Sur-
blackbird, mottled duck, common tern, northern pintail, king vival Commission in 1991 launched the Declining Amphib-
rail, horned grebe, little blue heron, and herring gull (BBS ian Populations Task Force (DAPTF). DAPTF is a network
Website: http://www.mbr.nbs.gov/bbs). of more than 3,000 scientists working in 90 countries to
According to the BBS data, nearly 66 percent of wetland “determine the nature, extent and causes of declines of am-
bird species have increasing population trends, the highest per- phibians throughout the world and promote means by which
centage of increasing species of any group of bird species (BBS declines can be halted or reversed” (DAPTF Website: http://
www2.open.ac.uk/Ecology /J_Baker/JBtxt.htm). Map 15 pre- Middle East. The indicator selection was based on data avail-
sents the first results of DAPTF. ability.
These results show that there have been marked declines in
eastern Australia, southeast Brazil, Central America, and at Imperiled fish and herpetofauna for North American
higher altitudes in the United States and Canada. More com- freshwater ecoregions
plete data for Australia show that in the last 20 years, 13 per- Data on imperiled fish and herpetofauna for North America were
cent of the 208 native amphibian species have been classified aggregated into freshwater ecoregions by the WWF-US as part
as threatened or vulnerable—with almost 8 species considered of its North America conservation assessment work on freshwa-
to be probably extinct (Tyler 1997). In Costa Rica, 20 of the 50 ter ecoregions (Abell et al. 2000). Imperiled species are those
amphibian species that were found in a 30 km2 study area of that are considered endangered, threatened, or vulnerable (Abell
the Monteverde Cloud Forests Preserve have not been seen since et al. 2000:75). The original data for the United States and
1990 (Pounds et al. 1997). Canada are from The Nature Conservancy’s Natural Heritage
This global trend in amphibian populations is confirmed by database as of 1997. Additional fish data are from Williams et
another recently published study by Houlahan et al. (2000). al. (1989). The data for Mexico came from the Comisión Nacional
The study analyzed 936 population data sets from 37 countries para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad
and concluded that amphibian populations in North America (CONABIO)(1998) and Gonzales et al. (1995).
and western Europe declined by 15 percent each year for the The analysis of the data in Map 16 show that in the majority
1960–66 period and 2 percent per year for the 1966–97 pe- of the western ecoregions more than 10 percent of fish species
riod. It should be noted that the sample size for the earlier years are imperiled. In 11 ecoregions more than 25 percent of the
is relatively small (Houlahan et al. 2000:753). Because the data fish species are at risk, and in 3 ecoregions— Death Valley,
sets used in this study were mostly for northern latitudes, popu- Vegas-Virgin, and the Rio Verde headwaters —more than 50
lation declines for South America, Africa, and Australia were percent of the fish species are classified as endangered, threat-
not assessed (Houlahan et al. 2000:753). ened, or vulnerable. The Vegas-Virgin ecoregion has the high-
Although there is considerable uncertainty in determining est number of fish species at risk: 11 species, or 64 percent of
whether these phenomena are caused entirely by anthropogenic its fish fauna.
changes in the environment alone, there is a general agreement For herpetofauna, the imperilment level shows a similar pat-
among experts that population declines are caused by a combi- tern as that of fish, with the western United States and Mexican
nation of environmental factors acting synergistically. These ecoregions having more imperiled species (see Map 16). In three
factors include the following: an increased exposure to ultra- ecoregions, Death Valley, Vegas-Virgin, and Rio Lerma, more
violet radiation resulting from the thinning of the stratospheric than 25 percent of the herpetofauna species are at risk. In Rio
ozone layer; chemical pollution from pesticides, fertilizers, and Lerma, 31 of 62 species are imperiled.
herbicides; acid rain; pathogens; introduction of predators; and
global climate change. Because of the wide range of factors that Birds in Europe and the Middle East
are possibly affecting amphibians worldwide, population de- Birds can also be useful indicators for measuring the biological
clines have been interpreted as a symptom of the general envi- value and condition of freshwater systems. In Europe, 20 per-
ronmental degradation (Carey et al. 2000; Lips 1998; Pelley cent of regularly occurring bird species are dependent on in-
1998; DAPTF Website: http://www2.open.ac.uk/Ecology/ land wetlands. Of all bird species with “unfavorable conserva-
J_Baker/JBtxt.htm). tion status” in Europe—those that are categorized as endan-
gered, vulnerable, rare, or declining—30 percent are inland
wetland-dependent species (Tucker and Evans 1997:133). In-
THREATEN ED SPECI ES land wetlands in Europe are also the major habitat for eight
Species threat-status also represents a measure of the condi- globally threatened species of birds, including the slender-billed
tion of a particular ecosystem. For example, if a large percent- curlew—one of the world’s most threatened bird species and
age of species in a particular river basin is highly threatened, it classified as critically endangered by IUCN (Collar et al.
is likely that this risk is correlated to several factors affecting 1994:85). The major threat to these populations throughout
the condition of that particular basin. Information on the status Europe is loss of wetland habitat.
of most freshwater species is not well known for many regions In the Middle East, BirdLife International has identified 391
of the world, but there are some data sets that allow us to look at Important Bird Areas (IBA). IBAs include areas that support
the condition of some of these groups. In particular, we have important concentrations of bird species globally or regionally,
selected the status of fish and herpetofauna in theUnited States areas with important threatened bird species, or sites that rep-
and the status of wetland-dependent birds in Europe and the resent unique restricted habitats of importance to birds (Evans

1994:20–27, 31). Wetlands are the main habitat type for the Introduced fish
IBAs in the Middle East. Half of the 391 IBAs are wetlands, a Nonnative fish introductions are common in most parts of the
third of which are coastal wetlands and the rest classified as world, and they are an increasingly important component of
nonmarine wetlands (Evans 1994:31). Even though wetlands aquaculture (FAO 1999a:25–26). Introductions are usually done
are a critical habitat for bird species in this region, 78 percent to enhance food production and recreational fisheries, or to con-
or 153 IBAs with nonmarine wetlands as their principal habitat trol pests such as mosquitoes and aquatic weeds. Introduced
are unprotected and only 6 percent have a high degree of legal fish, for example, account for 96.2 percent of fish production in
protection in the region. Wetland IBAs are also the most threat- South America and 84.7 percent in Oceania (Garibaldi and
ened, with 70 sites classified as moderately to highly threat- Bartley 1998).
ened, 63 sites classified as having low threat, and 24 sites for The introduction of nonnative fish, however, has its ecologi-
which the threat has not been quantified (BirdLife International cal costs. A survey of 31 studies of fish introductions in Eu-
1999). The major threat to these areas is wetland loss or modi- rope, North America, Australia, and New Zealand found that,
fication. in 77 percent of the cases, native fish populations were reduced
In Europe, BirdLife International has identified 3,619 IBAs or eliminated following the introduction of nonnative fish. In 69
in 51 countries that occupy an area of 931,700 km2, of which percent of the cases, the decline followed the introduction of a
69 percent contain wetland habitats. Of these IBAs with wet- single fish species, with salmonids responsible for the decline
lands, 57 percent have standing freshwater habitats, such as of native species in half of these cases (Ross 1991:363). In North
lakes, 44 percent have riparian habitat surrounding rivers and America, there have been recorded extinctions of 27 species
streams, and 36 percent have a combination of fen, mire, bog, and 13 subspecies of fish in the past 100 years. The introduc-
and spring habitats (some IBAs may contain two or more of tion of alien species was found to be a contributing factor in 68
these habitat types) (Heath and Evans 2000:43). Overall, 544 percent of these extinctions, although in almost every case there
IBAs in this region are threatened by drainage, 157 of which were multiple stresses contributing to each extinction, such as
are highly threatened (Heath and Evans 2000:56). habitat alteration, chemical pollution, hybridization, and over-
harvesting (Miller et al. 1989:22).
PRESEN CE OF N ON N A TI V E SPECI ES Accidental introductions can also have devastating effects
The introduction of nonnative species is the second-leading on indigenous fish and the fisheries they support, as happened
cause, after habitat degradation, of species extinction in fresh- with the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) in the Great Lakes
water systems (Hill et al. 1997:1). Exotic species affect native of the United States. This fish first appeared in Lake Ontario in
faunas through predation, competition, disruption of food webs, 1835 and by the 1940s had extended its range into Lake Supe-
and the introduction of diseases. The spread of exotic species is rior. Preying on native freshwater fish, the lamprey has been a
a global phenomenon, one that is increasing with the spread of contributing factor in the decline of several species, including
aquaculture, shipping, and global commerce. Introduced spe- walleye, lake trout, ciscoes, and introduced salmon. Its pres-
cies, both intentional and accidental, include a variety of spe- ence was a factor in the crash of the lake trout fishery in Huron,
cies groups from fish and higher plants (such as water hyacinth) Michigan, and Superior lakes in the 1940s and 1950s. Sea lam-
to invertebrates and microscopic plants (such as, dinoflagel- prey predation, combined with overfishing and hybridization,
lates). Worldwide, twothirds of the freshwater species introduced led to the extinction of three ciscoe species in this century. In
into the tropics and more than 50 percent of those introduced to 1991, efforts to control sea lampreys through chemical and
temperate regions have become established (Welcomme mechanical means cost Canada and the United States US$8
1988:29). million, with an additional US$12 million spent on lake trout
Species introduction can have serious economic and eco- restoration (Fuller et al. 1999:19–21).
logical consequences for freshwater ecosystems. While the ef- There are distinct trade-offs between the value of introduc-
fect of nonnative species is worldwide in scope, the majority of ing fish for human consumption and the negative impact on
the information about them is largely anecdotal or comes from native aquatic ecosystems. Two species of tilapia (Mozambique
studies and data collection on species introduced to developed tilapia and Nile tilapia), the common carp, and two species of
countries, such as the United States. Because comprehensive trout (rainbow and brook trout) have established self-sustain-
data on nonnative species and their effects on biodiversity and ing populations around the world and contribute significantly
ecosystem condition are not available at the global or regional to food production (FAO 1999a:27). In 1997, for example, 2.2
level, we have selected the following cases as indicators of fresh- million metric tons of common carp and 742,000 metric tons of
water ecosystem condition: introduced fish, the zebra mussel, Nile tilapia were produced through aquaculture worldwide (FAO
and the water hyacinth. 1998). Other species that have been introduced worldwide for
mosquito and weed control include the mosquito fish, guppy, Utilities, industrial facilities, and drinking water treatment plants
and grass carp. have been particularly affected. The economic costs of eradi-
Map 17 shows the degree of international introductions by cating the mussels are enormous. Survey data from over 400
country as recorded in the FAO Database on Introductions of facilities in the United States and Canada found that the cost of
Aquatic Species (DIAS). The largest percentage of these intro- zebra mussel eradication from 1989 to 1995 totaled over US$69
ductions—35.5 percent—took place between 1940 and 1979 million, with annual costs rising from US$234,140 in 1989 to
(DIAS Website: http://www.fao.org/fi/statist/fisoft/dias/ US$17,751,000 in 1995 (O’Neill 1996:1, 2). These figures rep-
index.htm). It should be noted that the DIAS database consid- resent gross underestimates of the total costs because they are
ers only species introduced from one country to another and not based on a small sample of the total number of potentially af-
within-country introductions or translocations. fected facilities. An estimated projection of total costs from 1989
Introduced species account for almost 10 percent of global to 1995 is in the range of US$300 million to US$400 million
aquaculture production (DIAS Website: http://www.fao.org/fi/ (O’Neill, personal communication, 1999).
statist/fisoft/dias/index.htm), but they have largely unquantified Introduced zebra mussels also have negative ecological ef-
negative effects on many native species in the systems to which fects. A study of zebra mussels in western Lake Erie found that
they are introduced. By feeding at the bottom of lakes and riv- zebra mussel infestation from 1989 to 1991 caused the deaths
ers, carp, for example, increase siltation and turbidity, causing of almost all native clams at 17 sampling stations, leading to a
decreases in water clarity and negative impacts on native spe- collapse of clam biodiversity and the near-extinction of many
cies (Fuller et al. 1999:69). They have been associated with the native clam species. No living native clam species were found
disappearance of native fish in Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, at the sampling stations by 1991 (Schloesser and Nalepa
Kenya, India, and elsewhere (Welcomme 1988). These fish also 1994:2238–2239). In the St. Croix River, a federally designated
have been introduced into areas where they are not used for wild and scenic river in the upper Mississippi River basin, the
aquaculture, resulting in dramatic changes in fish community only known viable population of the winged mapleleaf clam
structures in many places. In the Salton Sea of California, (Quadrula frugosa) is currently threatened by the advancing
Mozambique tilapia are considered a major factor in the de- zebra mussels (USGS zebra mussel Website: http://
cline of the desert pupfish (Fuller et al. 1999:440). In Austra- nas.er.usgs.gov/zebra.mussel/docs/ sp_account.html#HDR1).
lia, exotic fish species are the leading cause in the decline of
22 species of native fish that are classified as endangered, vul- Global and U.S. distribution of water hyacinth
nerable, or rare (Wager and Jackson 1993). Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is another example of a
widespread exotic species that is causing considerable economic
Zebra mussel distribution in the United States and ecological damage in many parts of the world. This plant,
The invasion and spread of the zebra mussel (Dreissena thought to be indigenous to the upper reaches of the Amazon
polymorpha) in the United States is one of the few long-term basin, was spread throughout much of the planet for use as an
documented cases that can illustrate the cost to biodiversity ornamental beginning in the mid-19th century (Gopal 1987:1).
and to other goods and services derived from rivers and lakes. By 1900 it had spread to every continent except Europe and
Native to eastern Europe, the zebra mussel had spread to all has now achieved pan-tropical distribution. The plant spreads
major European rivers by the early 19th century. The mussel quickly to new rivers and lakes in the tropics, clogging water-
was first discovered in the Great Lakes in 1988, and expanded ways and infrastructure, reducing light and oxygen in freshwa-
its range in North America rapidly in the following decade (USGS ter systems, and causing changes in water chemistry and spe-
zebra mussel website: http://nas.er. usgs.gov/zebra.mussel/docs/ cies assemblages (Hill et al. 1997). These changes can disrupt
sp_account.html#HDR1). The mussels were introduced through the livelihoods of local communities that depend on goods and
the release of ballast water from transatlantic cargo ships. At- services derived from these systems (Hill et al. 1997). For in-
taching themselves to ships, the mussels within a few years stance, in Papua New Guinea, water hyacinth has been con-
spread throughout the Great Lakes and into the Mississippi River firmed in almost 100 locations with the most serious infestation
drainage area (USGS zebra mussel website: http:// reported for the Sepik River, where it has had “devastating ef-
nas.er.usgs.gov/zebra.mussel/docs/sp_account.html#HDR1). fects on socioeconomic structure and on the environment”
Map 18 shows the rapid expansion of the zebra mussel from the (Harley et al. 1997). The spread of hyacinth impairs fishing
Great Lakes to other rivers and lakes in the eastern part of the activities, travel to market to sell and buy produce, and access
United States. to fishing areas. In addition, hyacinth and other aquatic weeds
Zebra mussels are small and attach themselves to many man- act as vectors in the life cycles of insects that transmit diseases,
made underwater structures, such as intake pipes for power such as schistosomiasis and lymphatic filariasis (Bos 1997).
plants, locks, and dams, and other industrial infrastructure. Even in its native range of South America, water hyacinth has

become a pest in Guyana and Surinam and has spread into ad- sures, such as introduction of nonnative species, it is hard to
jacent regions, creating problems in rivers and reservoirs by provide a quantifiable measure of the condition of freshwater
clogging dams and intake valves in Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, biodiversity around the world. However, studies done for North
and Mexico (Harley et al. 1997). American freshwater fauna, for which there are more data, show
Unfortunately, despite the many problems associated with that species are being lost at an “ever-accelerating rate” (Moyle
the water hyacinth, thorough studies quantifying its distribu- and Leidy 1992:163) and suggest that future extinction rates
tion, its impact on biodiversity, and its socioeconomic param- are five times higher for freshwater animal species than for ter-
eters within freshwater systems and rural riparian communities restrial ones (Ricciardi and Rasmussen 1999:1221). Indeed, of
are lacking. The United States has a comparably comprehen- all the ecosystems assessed under PAGE, freshwater ecosys-
sive data set on the distribution of this alien species. In the tems are in by far the worst condition from the standpoint of
United States, the aquatic plant has established populations in their ability to support biological diversity. More than 20 per-
most of Florida, Louisiana, and along the coastal states of the cent of the world’s 10,000 freshwater fish species have become
Gulf of Mexico, and into basins in eastern Texas. The southern extinct, threatened, or endangered in recent decades, and many
coastline of California and the Sacramento River basin have more aquatic-dependent species, such as mussels, birds, and
also been affected by the spread of the hyacinth (USGS inva- plants are also highly threatened. Rising global demand for water
sive species Website: http://nas.er.usgs.gov/plants/maps/ and food will increase the already considerable pressures on
smec.gif). Map 18 shows the distribution of water hyacinth across freshwater ecosystems, putting more of the species and ecosys-
the United States. tem processes at risk.
Water hyacinth has also spread to most rivers and lakes in
the tropics. A 1987 study by B. Gopal found that the plant had
spread to most regions of tropical and subtropical Asia, Africa, Bi o d i v e r si t y I n f o r m a t i o n St a t u s a n d
and Central America (Gopal 1987). This distribution pattern Needs
was confirmed by a more recent review by Harley et al. (1997). Direct measurements of the condition of biodiversity in fresh-
In recent years, water hyacinth has spread very rapidly in Af- water systems are sparse worldwide. As mentioned throughout
rica, from the Nile Delta and the Congo basin to regions in West this section, global data on freshwater biodiversity are lacking
Africa (particularly Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, and Nigeria), the equa- for many developed nations and most of the developing world.
torial zone of East Africa, and to the southern part of the conti- This makes analyzing population trends impossible or limited
nent, specifically Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South to a handful of well-known species.
Africa (Harley et al. 1997). In Australia, water hyacinth has There is excellent trend data for bird populations in the
spread along the entire coast, although its impact is being re- United States and Canada. For other regions of the world, how-
duced by biological control. It has also spread to many Pacific ever, databases on the distribution of Important Bird Areas such
Islands, including New Zealand. In South America, water hya- as those from BirdLife International, are of high quality but
cinth is found in the majority of the Amazon tributaries, as well lack long-term population trends. Information on nonnative
as in Guyana, Surinam, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, the north- species is frequently anecdotal and often limited to records of
ern part of Colombia, Venezuela, and the central rivers in Chile. the presence or absence of a particular species, without docu-
It is also found in most of Central America and the Caribbean mentation of the effects on the native fauna and flora. Regional
islands (Gopal 1987:46–60; Harley et al. 1997). In Asia, it has and local spatial distribution on certain invasive species is avail-
widely spread through the Southeast and India. In Europe, how- able for few species, mostly in the United States and Australia.
ever, it has been reported only in Portugal (Gopal 1987:46–60). Some of these data gaps are being filled through studies that
draw on local experts, museum collections, and field invento-
ries. However, more information on species assemblages, inter-
Ca p a ci t y o f Fr e sh w a t e r Sy st e m s t o
actions, and population trends is urgently needed to assess the
Su st a i n Bi o d i v e r si t y condition of freshwater systems. At the global level, many coun-
Habitat degradation, physical alteration through dams and ca- tries probably cannot mount this data collection effort because
nals, water withdrawals, overharvesting, pollution, and the in- of the high monitoring costs. At a minimum, there should be
troduction of nonnative species have all taken a heavy toll on monitoring of key indicator species, as well as monitoring of the
freshwater biodiversity. As a consequence, the capacity of fresh- presence or introduction of nonnative species and their impacts
water ecosystems to support biodiversity is highly degraded at on native fauna and flora. The development of a simple and
a global level. Because of the lack of data for most freshwater more affordable IBI at the watershed level may be a reasonable
species and the difficulty quantifying the impacts of some pres- approach for many countries.
B i b l i o g r a p h y
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PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

Freshw ater Systems

MAGGIE POWELL AND KATHY DOUCETTE

W ith analytic al c ontributions from:

Charles J. Vörösmarty and Balázs Fekete, Complex Systems Research

Kirsten M. J. Thompson, World Resources Institute (population projection

Published by World Resources Institute

Coast al Ecosyst em s FO REST ECO SY STEM S

INTRODUCTION TO THE PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS ..................................................... Introduction / 1

FRESHWATER SYSTEMS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................... 1

HUMAN MODIFICATION OF FRESHWATER SYSTEMS ................................................................................................... 15

WATER QUANTITY .......................................................................................................................................................... 25

WATER QUALITY ............................................................................................................................................................. 31

FOOD— INLAND FISHERIES ........................................................................................................................................... 41

Introduction to the Pilot Analysis

Freshwater Systems Introduction / 1

CONDITIONS AND T RENDS I NFORMATION S TATUS AND NEEDS

PAGE M EASURES D ATA SOURCES

CONDITIONS AND T RENDS I NFORMATION STATUS AND NEEDS

CONDITIONS I NFORMATION STATUS

CONDITIONS I NFORMATION STATUS

CONDITIONS I NFORMATION STATUS

Co n cl u si o n s to better understand how watershed changes are likely to af-

ing multiple objectives and data, using a basin and ecosystem

Lake Victoria, bounded by Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, is

12 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

Source: DHI Water and Environment 1999.

14 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

Canals 8,750 km 21,250 km – 63,125 km –

Large Dams (>15 m High) – – 5,749 – 41,413

Installed Hydro Capacity (MW) – – < 290,000 542,000 ~660,000

Hydro Capacity Under

16 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

Africa 1,265 5 176 1,000

Total Registered Number 25, 410** — — —

retention can rob the downstream areas of the sediments and Ch a n g e s i n Gr o u n d w a t e r Re so u r ce s

18 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

20 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

22 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

24 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

26 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

28 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

32 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

Source: UNEP/GEMS 1995.

34 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

36 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

38 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

40 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

Landings for Asia and Africa

3,000,000 North America

42 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

Source: FAO 1998.

44 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

1935 Fishwheels prohibited

1988 Last sockeye season

1965 Last summer season

46 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS

enhanced by stocking practices. However, successful stocking

Africa and Latin America. ? Increasing importance of recreational fisheries.

48 PILOT ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL ECOSYSTEMS