Rivers at risk

The World Wildlife Fund has just released a report on the top ten rivers at risk worldwide (press release, Full report). Here's the list of river basins and threats:

The watersheds were identified based on three criteria:

1. That they “[a]re in or contain regions of high ecological importance, as identified in WWF's Global 200 ecoregion analysis, based on the literature on freshwater fish species richness and endemism, endangered charismatic species, and migratory bird areas.”

2. That they “[f]ace a high degree of threat from (and are depended on by) large human populations.”

3. That they &ldquo[p]rovide continental representation, and depict the nuances of these threats to ecosystems.

The report is not exhaustive (because of insufficient data), but it effectively highlights the factors that threaten major watersheds. Mitigating these threats will require coordinated efforts by many people, and the needs are enormous.