20 Mar 2007 - Gland, Switzerland
– Rivers on every continent are drying out,
threatening severe water shortages, according
to a new WWF report.
The report, World's Top Rivers at Risk,
released ahead of World Water Day (22 March),
lists the top ten rivers that are fast dying
as a result of climate change, pollution
and dams.
“All the rivers in the report symbolize
the current freshwater crisis, which we
have been signalling for years," says
WWF Global Freshwater Programme Director
Jamie Pittock.
"Poor planning and inadequate protection
of natural areas mean we can no longer assume
that water will flow forever. Like the climate
change crisis, which now has the attention
of business and government, we want leaders
to take notice of the emergency facing freshwater
now not later.”
Five of the ten rivers listed in the report
are in Asia alone. They are the Yangtze,
Mekong, Salween, Ganges and Indus. Europe’s
Danube, the Americas’ La Plata and Rio Grande/Rio
Bravo, Africa’s Nile-Lake Victoria and Australia’s
Murray-Darling also make the list.
Dams along the Danube River — one of the
longest flowing rivers in Europe — have
already destroyed 80 per cent of the river
basin’s wetlands and floodplains. Even without
warmer temperatures threatening to melt
Himalayan glaciers, the Indus River faces
scarcity due to over-extraction for agriculture.
Fish populations, the main source of protein
and overall life support systems for hundreds
of thousands of communities worldwide, are
also being threatened.
The report calls on governments to better
protect river flows and water allocations
in order to safeguard habitats and people’s
livelihoods.
“Conservation of rivers and wetlands must
be seen as part and parcel of national security,
health and economic success,” Pittock adds.
“Emphasis must be given to exploring ways
of using water for crops and products that
do not use more water than necessary.”
In addition, cooperative agreements for
managing shared resources, such as the UN
Watercourses Convention, must be ratified
and given the resources to make them work,
says WWF.
“The freshwater crisis is bigger than the
ten rivers listed in this report but it
mirrors the extent to which unabated development
is jeopardizing nature’s ability to meet
our growing demands,” says Pittock. “We
must change our mindset now or pay the price
in the not so distant future.”
Lisa Hadeed, Communications Manager
WWF Global Freshwater Programme
Brian Thomson, Press Officer
WWF International
