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World Maritime Day 2020

24 September 2020, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Water Resources Commission: Coronavirus, Water And Climate Change

As the world's largest natural resource, water plays a central part in sustaining ecosystems and life on earth. Climate change impacts water resources and affects many sectors of the economy in many nations.

Statement by Ms. Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of World Water Day, 22 March 2020

Martha Rojas Urrego: Why wetlands are key to the battle against catastrophe

Restoring such areas as bogs and mangroves can prevent species extinction and have all sorts of other beneficial effects.

New insights into how global change is impacting freshwater environments

A new global study sheds light on how interactions between specific characteristics of catchments, such as carbon and pollution, affect aquatic plant diversity and function in freshwater environments.

Fiji values conservation of wetlands for preservation of biodiversity

Conservation of wetland ecosystems is essential for sustainable fresh water supply, flood mitigation and preserving biodiversity for plants, animals and humans, said a Fijian minister on Monday.

“Wetlands and Biodiversity” is the theme for World Wetlands Day 2020

Wetlands are vital for humans, for other ecosystems and for our climate, providing essential ecosystem services such as water regulation, including flood control and water purification. Wetland biodiversity matters for our health, our food supply, for tourism and for jobs. Wetlands also absorb c ...

New Zealand launches plan to revive the health of lakes and rivers

New Zealand’s government released a plan to reverse the decline of iconic lakes and rivers this week. It proposes higher standards for water quality, interim controls on land intensification and a higher bar on ecosystem health.

Beaver reintroduction key to solving freshwater biodiversity crisis

Reintroducing beavers to their native habitat is an important step towards solving the freshwater biodiversity crisis, according to experts.

88 percent decline of big freshwater animals

Scientists have now quantified the global decline of big freshwater animals: From 1970 to 2012, global populations of freshwater megafauna declined by 88 percent - twice the loss of vertebrate populations on land or in the ocean.

Opportunities to provide inputs to the work of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Reference: SCBD/OES/DC/AC/88272 (2019-067)
To: CBD National Focal Points, Cartagena Protocol National Focal Points, ABS National Focal Points, indigenous peoples and local communities, relevant organizations

Mekong River at its lowest in 100 years, threatening food supply

A SEVERE DROUGHT that has caused water levels in Southeast Asia’s Mekong River to drop to their lowest in more than 100 years could have devastating consequences for fish, as well as the tens of millions of people living and working along the river, experts warn.

Better river basins network to protect biodiversity in Spain

Reservial Project: a pioneering initiative

Sturgeon population makes comeback after near extinction

After thriving for 200 million years, sturgeon were pushed near extinction by dams, pollution, and overfishing. Now they're rebounding around the U.S

Bangladesh declares its rivers 'legal persons'

Bangladesh's high court has granted the country's rivers the rights and status of "living entities" in a bid to save them from encroachment, a lawyer said Tuesday.

Rivers are the world’s heritage. Time to treat them as such (commentary)

This July represents a critical opportunity to protect rivers and the World Heritage sites that depend on them.

Researchers lay out plan for managing rivers for climate change

New strategies for river management are needed to maintain water supplies and avoid big crashes in populations of aquatic life, researchers argue in a perspective piece published today in Nature.

Preserving the Yangtze River Basin's biodiversity

The Yangtze River Basin has unique biodiversity due to its distinctive geological history, topography and geographical location.

As planet warms, Arctic lakes, rivers will lose their biodiversity

May 22 (UPI) -- As Earth's temperatures continue to rise, freshwater ecosystems in the Arctic are becoming unusually warm -- too warm for many native species.

No fishing for 500 miles: the river that runs clean through India

No fishing for 500 miles: the river that runs clean through India While the Ganges is sacred but heavily polluted, the Chambal’s ‘cursed’ but pristine waters have proved a blessing for locals

A river that flows free connects up in 4D

Humans have altered the natural flow of rivers, adversely affecting biodiversity and the services that these watercourses provide.

Two-thirds of the longest rivers no longer flow freely—and it's harming us

A new study warns that many of the benefits rivers provide, from water to food to flood control, are increasingly at risk thanks to dams and diversions.

Hippos poop a lot of silica, and that’s critical for Africa’s rivers and lakes

In the East African savanna landscape, hippos and their poop play a critical role.

Lake Tanganyika rescue plan on cards

FISHING has been a main source of livelihood for thousands of natives around Lake Tanganyika in Mpulungu district of Northern Province for many years.

World Maritime Day 2018

28 September 2018, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Another mass fish kill hits Indonesia’s largest lake

Millions of fish in floating cages died suddenly this week in Lake Toba, the biggest lake in Indonesia.

Murky lakes now surpass clear, blue lakes in US

New research reveals that many lakes in the continental United States are becoming "murkier, with potentially negative consequences for water quality and aquatic life.

A freshwater, saltwater tug-of-war is eating away at the Everglades

Scientists wrestle with how to fight the effects of sea level rise and years of redirecting freshwater flow.

Western science, traditional knowledge combine in N.W.T. fish monitoring project

Community and researchers team up to study Great Slave Lake fish ecosystems

Renaissance Dam water conflict will pass down generations

[CAIRO] After months of arduous negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan about the Renaissance Dam — mainly on keeping water quotas the same as pre-dam levels, and ensuring minimum annual water flow through the dam — it was a real surprise to see an announcement by the Egyptian government ...

Black carbon is global carbon cycle's missing piece

July 10 (UPI) -- When wildfires and factories burn trees and fuel, only a portion of the carbon is released into the atmosphere. Combustion leaves behind a residue called black carbon.

Fisherwomen of Lake Chad show optimism in face of multiple challenges

In her nets she has perhaps fifty fish, a good enough catch, given she started fishing just five hours earlier. But, it is not sufficient to feed her eleven children.

Most of Europe's rivers and lakes fail water quality tests – report

The vast majority of Europe’s rivers, lakes and estuaries have failed to meet minimum ecological standards for habitat degradation and pollution, according to a damning new report.

River dolphins are declining steeply in the Amazon basin

Populations of freshwater dolphins in the Amazon basin are in steep decline, dropping by half about every decade at current rates, according to a new study.

Disparition aquatique silencieuse

Un pan important de la biodiversité des lacs et des rivières s’éteint sans qu’on s’en rende compte, révèlent des chercheurs britanniques qui ont scruté les cours d’eau du Pays de Galles pendant 30 ans et qui lancent un cri d’alarme mondial : une véritable « tragédie se cache sous la surface de l ...

Lake Victoria species under threat: report

Three quarters of freshwater species endemic to East Africa’s Lake Victoria basin face the threat of extinction, conservationists said on Monday, warning the biodiversity there was being “decimated”.

Green dams 'hit' West Balkans biodiversity, locals' water supply

Small-scale hydropower projects are soaring in number across the Balkans — but they’re also destroying the region’s wild rivers and threatening one of Europe’s most biodiverse areas, according to environmental groups.

Many of the solutions to our global water challenges can be found in nature.

World Water Day 2018: "Nature for Water" (http://www.un.org/en/events/waterday/)

22 March 2018, New York, United States of America

Message of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Cristiana Paşca Palmer, on the occasion of World Water Day 22 March 2018

Slash-and-Burn Agriculture must Stop

By burning peatlands to make way for palm oil plantations and vegetable plots, therefore, locals risk destroying these swamps’ ecosystems while simultaneously releasing vast amounts of CO2 back into the atmosphere, thereby exacerbating the effects of climate change. To stop that from happening, ...

Science shows riparian plantings are keeping streams clean

We bet you're thinking that keeping stock out of water, along with grass filters or native plantings along waterways are the equivalent of plastering over the nation's water quality cracks. Looks good, doesn't fix the problem – right? Well this might surprise you then, but no.

Experts: Declare protected areas ‘off-limits’ to mining

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu last Monday vowed to uphold at least one policy pronouncement made by his predecessor, Regina Paz L. Lopez—declaring watersheds “off-limits” to mining operations. Watersheds are home to a diverse species of plants and animals, including those that are conside ...

Message of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Cristiana Paşca Palmer, on the occasion of World Water Day 22 March 2017 “Why waste water?”

This year’s World Water Day theme, “Why waste water?”, highlights the importance of reducing and reusing wastewater.

World Wetlands Day 2017: Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction

2 February 2017, New York, United States of America

Message of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, on the occasion of World Wetlands Day

All around the world, wetlands provide huge benefits, including clean water, ensuring a stable water supply, and providing important habitat to a wide variety of species.

Message of the CBD Executive Secretary, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, on the occasion of the World Water Day, 22 March 2016

Fundamental to human well-being, water resources can help create paid and decent jobs. But water is a finite and irreplaceable resource. It is only renewable if well managed. All freshwater ultimately depends on the continued healthy functioning of ecosystems, and recognizing the water cycle as a biophysical process is essential to achieving sustainable water management.