Abstract
The world’s big rivers and their floodplains were central to development of civilization and are now home to c. 2.7 billion people. They are economically vital whilst also constituting some of the most diverse habitats on Earth. However, a number of anthropogenic stressors, including large-scale damming, hydrological change, pollution, introduction of non-native species and sediment mining, challenge their integrity and future, as never before. The rapidity and extent of such change is so great that large-scale, and potentially irreparable, transformations may ensue in periods of years to decades, with ecosystem collapse being possible in some big rivers. Prioritizing the fate of the world’s great river corridors on an international political stage is imperative. Future sustainable management, and establishment of environmental flow requirements for the world’s big rivers, must be supported through co-ordinated international funding, and trans-continental political agreement to monitor these rivers, finance their continual upkeep and help ameliorate increasing anthropogenic pressures. To have any effect, all of these must be set within an inclusive governance framework across scales, organizations and local populace.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 7-21 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Nature Geoscience |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2019 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
Cite this
Anthropogenic stresses on the world’s big rivers. / Best, James Leonard.
In: Nature Geoscience, Vol. 12, No. 1, 01.01.2019, p. 7-21.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Anthropogenic stresses on the world’s big rivers
AU - Best, James Leonard
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - The world’s big rivers and their floodplains were central to development of civilization and are now home to c. 2.7 billion people. They are economically vital whilst also constituting some of the most diverse habitats on Earth. However, a number of anthropogenic stressors, including large-scale damming, hydrological change, pollution, introduction of non-native species and sediment mining, challenge their integrity and future, as never before. The rapidity and extent of such change is so great that large-scale, and potentially irreparable, transformations may ensue in periods of years to decades, with ecosystem collapse being possible in some big rivers. Prioritizing the fate of the world’s great river corridors on an international political stage is imperative. Future sustainable management, and establishment of environmental flow requirements for the world’s big rivers, must be supported through co-ordinated international funding, and trans-continental political agreement to monitor these rivers, finance their continual upkeep and help ameliorate increasing anthropogenic pressures. To have any effect, all of these must be set within an inclusive governance framework across scales, organizations and local populace.
AB - The world’s big rivers and their floodplains were central to development of civilization and are now home to c. 2.7 billion people. They are economically vital whilst also constituting some of the most diverse habitats on Earth. However, a number of anthropogenic stressors, including large-scale damming, hydrological change, pollution, introduction of non-native species and sediment mining, challenge their integrity and future, as never before. The rapidity and extent of such change is so great that large-scale, and potentially irreparable, transformations may ensue in periods of years to decades, with ecosystem collapse being possible in some big rivers. Prioritizing the fate of the world’s great river corridors on an international political stage is imperative. Future sustainable management, and establishment of environmental flow requirements for the world’s big rivers, must be supported through co-ordinated international funding, and trans-continental political agreement to monitor these rivers, finance their continual upkeep and help ameliorate increasing anthropogenic pressures. To have any effect, all of these must be set within an inclusive governance framework across scales, organizations and local populace.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85058865193&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41561-018-0262-x
DO - 10.1038/s41561-018-0262-x
M3 - Review article
VL - 12
SP - 7
EP - 21
JO - Nature Geoscience
JF - Nature Geoscience
SN - 1752-0894
IS - 1
ER -