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Anthropogenic activities have severely degraded the ecological integrity of global freshwater systems. Migratory freshwater fishes are especially threatened by the cumulative effects of multiple stressors and fragmentation, particularly those that impede access to critical habitats. To stimulate the conservation and protection of these species, we propose a “Global Swimways” program to identify rivers that support the migration routes of biologically and/or socioeconomically important freshwater fishes. We test the utility of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List data to support the identification of Global Swimways and present case study regions containing rivers with either high species richness (west‐central Africa and Southeast Asia), high numbers of threatened species (Eastern Europe and Central Asia), or multiple endemic species (the Rift Valley lakes in East Africa). We hope the Global Swimways program will provide metrics that can be used to identify rivers requiring increased protection or restoration, track trends, and stimulate the greater inclusion of migratory freshwater fishes in global policy mechanisms. Front Ecol Environ 2022

Freshwater biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate. Freshwater conservationists and environmental managers have enough evidence to demonstrate that action must not be delayed but have insufficient evidence to identify those actions that will be most effective in reversing the current trend.\ud Here, the focus is on identifying essential research topics that, if addressed, will contribute directly to restoring freshwater biodiversity through supporting ‘bending the curve’ actions (i.e. those actions leading to the recovery of freshwater biodiversity, not simply deceleration of the current downward trend).\ud The global freshwater research and management community was asked to identify unanswered research questions that could address knowledge gaps and barriers associated with ‘bending the curve’ actions. The resulting list was refined into six themes and 25 questions.\ud Although context-dependent and potentially limited in global reach, six overarching themes were identified: (i) learning from successes and failures; (ii) improving current practices; (iii) balancing resource needs; (iv) rethinking built environments; (v) reforming policy and investments; and (vi) enabling transformative change.\ud Bold, efficient, science-based actions are necessary to reverse biodiversity loss. We believe that conservation actions will be most effective when supported by sound evidence, and that research and action must complement one another. These questions are intended to guide global freshwater researchers and conservation practitioners, identify key projects and signal research needs to funders and governments. Our questions can act as springboards for multidisciplinary and multisectoral collaborations that will improve the management and restoration of freshwater biodiversity.

Global environmental goals mandate the expansion of the protected area network to halt biodiversity loss. The European Union’s Natura 2000 network covers 27.3% of the terrestrial area of Greece, one of the highest percentages in Europe. However, the extent to which this network protects Europe’s biodiversity, especially in a biodiverse country like Greece, is unknown. Here, we overlap the country’s Natura 2000 network with the ranges of the 424 species assessed as threatened on the IUCN Red List and present in Greece. Natura 2000 overlaps on average 47.6% of the mapped range of threatened species; this overlap far exceeds that expected by random networks (21.4%). Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation (non-exclusive subsets of Natura 2000 sites) overlap 33.4% and 38.1% respectively. Crete and Peloponnese are the two regions with the highest percentage of threatened species, with Natura 2000 sites overlapping on average 62.3% with the threatened species’ ranges for the former, but only 30.6% for the latter. The Greek ranges of all 62 threatened species listed in Annexes 1 and II to the Birds and Habitats Directives are at least partially overlapped by the network (52.0%), and 18.0% of these are fully overlapped. However, the ranges of 27 threatened species, all of which are endemic to Greece, are not overlapped at all. These results can inform national policies for the protection of biodiversity beyond current Natura 2000 sites.

Global biodiversity targets require us to identify species at risk of extinction and quantify status and trends of biodiversity. The Red List Index (RLI) tracks trends in the conservation status of entire species groups over time by monitoring changes in categories assigned to species. Here, we calculate this index for the world’s fishes in 2010, using a sampled approach to the RLI based on a randomly selected sample of 1,500 species, and also present RLI splits for freshwater and marine systems separately. We further compare specific traits of a worldwide fish list to our sample to assess its representativeness. Overall, 15.1% of species in the sample were estimated to be threatened with extinction, resulting in an sampled RLI of 0.914 for all species, 0.972 in marine and 0.860 in freshwater ecosystems. Our sample showed fishing as the principal threat for marine species, and pollution by agricultural and foresty effluents for freshwater fishes. The sampled list provides a robust representation for tracking trends in the conservation status of the world’s fishes, including disaggregated sampled indices for marine and freshwater fish. Reassessment and backcasting of this index is urgent to check the achievement of the commitments proposed in global biodiversity targets.

1. Global pressures on freshwater ecosystems are high and rising. Viewed primarily as a resource for humans, current practices of water use have led to catastrophic declines in freshwater species and the degradation of freshwater ecosystems, including their genetic and functional diversity. Approximately three-quarters of the world's inland wetlands have been lost, one-third of the 28 000 freshwater species assessed for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List are threatened with extinction, and freshwater vertebrate populations are undergoing declines that are more rapid than those of terrestrial and marine species. This global loss continues unchecked, despite the importance of freshwater ecosystems as a source of clean water, food, livelihoods, recreation, and inspiration. 2. The causes of these declines include hydrological alterations, habitat degradation and loss, overexploitation, invasive species, pollution, and the multiple impacts of climate change. Although there are policy initiatives that aim to protect freshwater life, these are rarely implemented with sufficient conviction and enforcement. Policies that focus on the development and management of fresh waters as a resource for people almost universally neglect the biodiversity that they contain. 3. Here we introduce the Alliance for Freshwater Life, a global initiative, uniting specialists in research, data synthesis, conservation, education and outreach, and policymaking. This expert network aims to provide the critical mass required for the effective representation of freshwater biodiversity at policy meetings, to develop solutions balancing the needs of development and conservation, and to better convey the important role freshwater ecosystems play in human well-being. Through this united effort we hope to reverse this tide of loss and decline in freshwater biodiversity. We introduce several short- and medium-term actions as examples for making positive change, and invite individuals, organizations, authorities, and governments to join the Alliance for Freshwater Life.

A critical requirement in assessing progress towards global biodiversity targets is improving our capacity to measure changes in biodiversity. Global biodiversity declined between 2000 and 2010, and there are indications that the decline was greater in freshwater than in terrestrial or marine systems. However, the data, tools and methods available during that decade were inadequate to reliably quantify this decline. Recent advances in freshwater monitoring make a global assessment now close to becoming feasible. Here we identify priorities for freshwater biodiversity assessment for 2020 and 2030, based on the Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBV) framework. We identify 22 priority activities for 2020 under three of the EBV classes (species populations, community composition, and ecosystem structure), which include: a globally systematic approach to collecting and assessing species data, collating existing and new data within global platforms, coordinated effort towards mapping wetland extent at high spatial resolution, linking in-situ data to modelling across regions, and mobilising citizen science for the collection and verification of data. Accomplishing these will allow the state of global biodiversity to be assessed according to a Red List Index with expanded geographic and taxonomic cover, an improved freshwater Living Planet Index with a greater number and phylogenetic range of species, measures of alpha and beta diversity, and globally-consistent estimates of wetland extent. To assess variables in the other EBV classes (genetic composition, species traits, and ecosystem function) we identify 15 priorities, which include development of environmental DNA methods, species-traits databases, eco-informatics and modelling over the next 15 years.

Conserving freshwater habitats and their biodiversity in the Amazon Basin is a growing challenge in the face of rapid anthropogenic changes. We used the most comprehensive fish-occurrence database available (2355 valid species; 21,248 sampling points) and 3 ecological criteria (irreplaceability, representativeness, and vulnerability) to identify biodiversity hotspots based on 6 conservation templates (3 proactive, 1 reactive, 1 representative, and 1 balanced) to provide a set of alternative planning solutions for freshwater fish protection in the Amazon Basin. We identified empirically for each template the 17% of sub-basins that should be conserved and performed a prioritization analysis by identifying current and future (2050) threats (i.e., degree of deforestation and habitat fragmentation by dams). Two of our 3 proactive templates had around 65% of their surface covered by protected areas; high levels of irreplaceability (60% of endemics) and representativeness (71% of the Amazonian fish fauna); and low current and future vulnerability. These 2 templates, then, seemed more robust for conservation prioritization. The future of the selected sub-basins in these 2 proactive templates is not immediately threatened by human activities, and these sub-basins host the largest part of Amazonian biodiversity. They could easily be conserved if no additional threats occur between now and 2050.Puntos Calientes de Diversidad de Peces de Agua Dulce para las Prioridades de Conservación en la Cuenca del Amazonas Resumen Cada día, la conservación de los hábitats de agua dulce y su biodiversidad en la cuenca del Amazonas es un reto creciente de cara a los rápidos cambios antropogénicos. Usamos la base de datos de presencia de peces más completa que existe (2,355 especies válidas; 21,248 puntos de muestreo) y tres criterios ecológicos (carácter irremplazable, representatividad y vulnerabilidad) para identificar los puntos calientes de biodiversidad con base en seis patrones de conservación (tres proactivos, uno reactivo, uno representativo y uno balanceado) y así proporcionar un conjunto de soluciones alternativas para la planeación de la protección de peces de agua dulce en la cuenca del Amazonas. Identificamos para cada patrón de manera empírica el 17% de las subcuencas que deberían conservarse y realizamos un análisis de priorización identificando amenazas actuales y a futuro (2050) (es decir, grado de deforestación y fragmentación del hábitat causado por presas). Dos de nuestros tres patrones proactivos tuvieron alrededor del 65% de su superficie cubierta por áreas protegidas; niveles altos de carácter irremplazable (60% de especies endémicas) y de representatividad (71% de la fauna ictiológica del Amazonas); y una vulnerabilidad baja actual y a futuro. Entonces, estos dos patrones parecen estar más completos para la priorización de la conservación. El futuro de las subcuencas en estos dos patrones proactivos no está amenazado por las actividades humanas a corto plazo. Además, estas subcuencas albergan la mayor parte de la biodiversidad amazónica. Se podrían conservar fácilmente si ninguna amenaza adicional sucede entre ahora y el 2050.

Dam construction comes with severe social, economic and ecological impacts. From an ecological point of view, habitat types are altered and biodiversity is lost. Thus, to identify areas that deserve major attention for conservation, existing and planned locations for (hydropower) dams were overlapped, at global extent, with the contemporary distribution of freshwater megafauna species with consideration of their respective threat status. Hydropower development will disproportionately impact areas of high freshwater megafauna richness in South America, South and East Asia, and the Balkan region. Sub-catchments with a high share of threatened species are considered to be most vulnerable; these are located in Central America, Southeast Asia and in the regions of the Black and Caspian Sea. Based on this approach, planned dam locations are classified according to their potential impact on freshwater megafauna species at different spatial scales, attention to potential conflicts between climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation are highlighted, and priorities for freshwater management are recommended.

Summary The conservation of freshwater ecosystems has lagged behind that of marine and terrestrial ecosystems and often requires the integration of large-scale approaches and transboundary considerations. This study aims to set the foundations of a spatial conservation strategy by identifying the most important catchments for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity in Europe. Using data on 1296 species of fish, mollusc, odonate and aquatic plant, and the key biodiversity area criteria (species Red List status, range restriction and uniqueness of species assemblages), we identified a network of Critical Catchments for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity. Applying spatial prioritisation, we show how the prioritised network differs from the ideal case of protecting all Critical Catchments and how it changes when protected areas are included, and we also identify gaps between the prioritised network and existing protected areas. Critical Catchments (n = 8423) covered 45% of the area of Europe, with 766 qualifying (‘trigger’) species located primarily in southern Europe. The prioritised network, limited to 17% of the area of Europe, comprised 3492 catchments mostly in southern and eastern Europe and species targets were met for at least 96% of the trigger species. We found the majority of Critical Catchments to be inadequately covered by protected areas. However, our prioritised network presents a possible solution to augment protected areas to meet policy targets while also achieving good species coverage. Policy implications. While Critical Catchments cover almost half of Europe, priority catchments are mostly in southern and eastern Europe where the current level of protection is not sufficient. This study presents a foundation for a Europe-wide systematic conservation plan to ensure the persistence of freshwater biodiversity. Our study provides a powerful new tool for optimising investment on the conservation of freshwater biodiversity and for meeting targets set forth in international biodiversity policies, conventions and strategies.

Despite a long-standing debate about the utility of species-centered conservation approaches (Roberge & Angelstam 2004), surrogate species remain popular by providing useful—or even necessary—“shortcuts” for successful conservation programs (Caro 2010). Flagship species, as one prime example of surrogates, are primarily intended to promote public awareness and to raise funds for conservation (Verissimo et al. 2011). In contrast, the protection of umbrella species is expected to benefit a wide range of co-occurring species (Roberge & Angelstam 2004; Caro 2010). Accordingly, the main criteria for selecting flagships should be based on socio-cultural considerations, whereas umbrellas are principally chosen based on ecological criteria (Caro 2010; Verissimo et al. 2011; see Table 1). Since these two concepts are often confused or mistakenly used interchangeably, Caro (2010, p. 248) coined the term "flagship umbrellas" for those species that explicitly integrate both functions. Indeed, Li and Pimm (2016) recently demonstrated that the classic flagship species, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), can simultaneously act as an umbrella species, as its protection benefits many co-occurring endemic mammals, birds and amphibians. This challenges the often held views that: (i) the umbrella concept has to be abandoned as it is not efficiently working at local scales (Caro 2015); (ii) most flagship species are weak predictors for efficient reserve planning (Caro 2010); and (iii) ecosystem- or landscape-based conservation approaches should consequentially be favored over species-based approaches whenever feasible (Roberge & Angelstam 2004; Caro 2010). Further commotion in the discussion is the increasingly demanded paradigm shift in conservation strategies to specifically target hidden or neglected biodiversity for its intrinsic value and its contribution to ecosystem processes (Dougherty et al. 2016). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity (2011–2020), adopted at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, sets 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets to be met by 2020 to address biodiversity loss and ensure its sustainable and equitable use. Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 describes what an improved conservation network would look like for marine, terrestrial and inland water areas, including freshwater ecosystems. To date, there is no comprehensive assessment of what needs to be achieved to meet Target 11 for freshwater biodiversity. Reports on implementation often fail to consider explicitly freshwater ecosystem processes and habitats, the pressures upon them, and therefore the full range of requirements and actions needed to sustain them. Here the current progress and key gaps for meeting Aichi Target 11 are assessed by exploring the implications of each of its clauses for freshwater biodiversity. Concerted action on Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 for freshwater biodiversity by 2020 is required in a number of areas: a robust baseline is needed for each of the clauses described here at national and global scales; designation of new protected areas or expansion of existing protected areas to cover known areas of importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, and a representative sample of biodiversity; use of Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in places where designating a protected area is not appropriate; and promoting and implementing better management strategies for fresh water in protected areas that consider its inherent connectivity, contextual vulnerability, and required human and technical capacity. Considering the specific requirements of freshwater systems through Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 has long-term value to the Sustainable Development Goals discussions and global conservation policy agenda into the coming decades. Copyright

Freshwater biodiversity is highly threatened and is decreasing more rapidly than its terrestrial or marine counterparts; however, freshwaters receive less attention and conservation investment than other ecosystems do. The diverse group of freshwater megafauna, including iconic species such as sturgeons, river dolphins, and turtles, could, if promoted, provide a valuable tool to raise awareness and funding for conservation. We found that freshwater megafauna inhabit every continent except Antarctica, with South America, Central Africa, and South and Southeast Asia being particularly species rich. Freshwater megafauna co-occur with up to 93% of mapped overall freshwater biodiversity. Fifty-eight percent of the 132 megafauna species included in the study are threatened, with 84% of their collective range falling outside of protected areas. Of all threatened freshwater species, 83% are found within the megafauna range, revealing the megafauna's capacity as flagship and umbrella species for fostering freshwater conservation.

The inland waters of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean islands hotspot support a high diversity of aquatic species with high levels of endemism. The information presented in this report will help support implementation of multilateral Environmental Agreements in Madagascar, such as the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity, guiding conservation planning and priority setting at national level. In addition, this new information will help efforts to achieve targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Elsewhere, Stephen Darwall has argued for a mutual accountability framework of law and gestured toward a mutual accountability framework of punishment. Little was said, however, regarding what the latter conception of punishment would require, structurally and functionally. Here Stephen and William Darwall address these matters in the specific context of contemporary American policing and penal institutions. From historical and empirical work on the American carceral regime, they argue, first, that its institutions fail to meet accountability conditions necessary for their legitimacy. Second, they argue that these institutions are responsible for producing social dynamics that undermine the possibility of mutual accountability in general. They conclude that American carceral institutions lack the authority they purport to have to make and enforce the criminal law, and thus that any effort, theoretical or practical, to realize justice in the domain of criminal process, requires an abolitionist framework.

Charismatic megafauna species may act as both flagship and umbrella species. They influence local environments and biotas, determine related ecosystem processes and functions, and are associated with high levels of biodiversity. However, the intrinsic characteristics of megafauna species including long lifespan, large body size, sparseness and/or rarity, late maturity, and low fecundity, as well as high market value, make them very prone to extinction. Up to now, scientific interest and conservation efforts have mainly focused on terrestrial and marine megafauna, while freshwater species have received comparatively little attention, despite evidence suggesting that freshwaters are losing species faster than marine or terrestrial realms. The high susceptibility of freshwater megafauna to multiple threats, coupled with immense human pressure on freshwater ecosystems, places freshwater megafauna amongst the most threatened species globally. The main threats include overexploitation, dam construction, habitat degradation, pollution, and species invasion. These threats increase mortality, decrease productivity, and reduce fitness, causing the decline of populations and the extinction of freshwater megafauna species. Given the essential ecological and biological roles of freshwater megafauna, further research should focus on their distribution patterns, extinction risks, and population dynamics, thereby improving the knowledge base for conservation planning. Finally, freshwater megafauna-based conservation strategies may raise public awareness for freshwater conservation and therefore benefit a broader range of freshwater species and functions. WIREs Water 2017, 4:e1208. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1208 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Aim To assess the future climatic suitability of European catchments for freshwater species and the future utility of the current network of protected areas. Location Europe. Methods Using recently updated catchment-scale species data and climate projections from multiple climate models, we assessed the climate change threat by the 2050s for 1648 European freshwater plants, fishes, molluscs, odonates, amphibians, crayfish and turtles for two dispersal scenarios and identified hotspots of change at three spatial scales: major river basins, countries and freshwater ecoregions. We considered both common species and the often overlooked rare species. To set our findings within the context of current and future conservation networks, we evaluated the coverage of freshwater biodiversity by Europe's protected area network. Results Six per cent of common and 77% of rare species are predicted to lose more than 90% of their current range. Eight fish species and nine mollusc species are predicted to experience 100% range loss under climate change. As the most species-rich group, molluscs are particularly vulnerable due to the high proportion of rare species and their relatively limited ability to disperse. Furthermore, around 50% of molluscs and fish species will have no protected area coverage given their projected distributions. Main conclusions We identified the species most at threat due to projected changes in both catchment suitability and representation within the European protected area network. Our findings suggest an urgent need for freshwater management plans to facilitate adaptation to climate change.

The 15 750 valid described species of freshwater fishes comprise around 25% of living vertebrate species diversity, and are a key economic and nutritional resource for people globally. However, information on the conservation status and distribution of freshwater fishes in The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ (Red List) has been extremely limited until recently. Over the last 10 years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Global Species Programme Freshwater Biodiversity Unit has made significant progress to fill this information gap. From a base of only 660 freshwater-fish species assessed on the Red List in 2002, a further 5125 species assessments have now been completed. As of 2011, 60 freshwater-fish species are thought to be Extinct, eight are Extinct in the Wild and 1679 are threatened with extinction. This information, combined with new work to identify important sites for freshwater fishes, will help the world's zoos and aquariums identify potential targets (species or areas) for in situ and ex situ conservation programmes.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T15:30:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2016-08-16 MAVA foundation Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) National Science Foundation's Dimensions of Biodiversity program Rufford Foundation Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) Partnership Knowledge products comprise assessments of authoritative information supported by standards, governance, quality control, data, tools, and capacity building mechanisms. Considerable resources are dedicated to developing and maintaining knowledge products for biodiversity conservation, and they are widely used to inform policy and advise decision makers and practitioners. However, the financial cost of delivering this information is largely undocumented. We evaluated the costs and funding sources for developing and maintaining four global biodiversity and conservation knowledge products: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, Protected Planet, and the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. These are secondary data sets, built on primary data collected by extensive networks of expert contributors worldwide. We estimate that US$160 million (range: US$116-204 million), plus 293 person-years of volunteer time (range: 278308 person-years) valued at US$14 million (range US$12-16 million), were invested in these four knowledge products between 1979 and 2013. More than half of this financing was provided through philanthropy, and nearly three-quarters was spent on personnel costs. The estimated annual cost of maintaining data and platforms for three of these knowledge products (excluding the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems for which annual costs were not possible to estimate for 2013) is US$6.5 million in total (range: US$6.2-6.7 million). We estimated that an additional US$114 million will be needed to reach pre-defined baselines of data coverage for all the four knowledge products, and that once achieved, annual maintenance costs will be approximately US$12 million. These costs are much lower than those to maintain many other, similarly important, global knowledge products. Ensuring that biodiversity and conservation knowledge products are sufficiently up to date, comprehensive and accurate is fundamental to inform decision-making for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Thus, the development and implementation of plans for sustainable long-term financing for them is critical. UNESP WCMC, United Nations Environm Programme, 219 Huntingdon Rd, Cambridge CB3 0DL, England IUCN, 28 Rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland Univ Philippines Banos, World Agroforestry Ctr ICRAF, Laguna 4031, Philippines Univ Tasmania, Inst Marine & Antarct Studies, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia BirdLife Int, David Attenborough Bldg,Pembroke St, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, England Univ Cambridge, Dept Zool, Downing St, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, England IUCN Global Species Programme, David Attenborough Bldg,Pembroke St, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, England IUCN, Nature Based Solut Grp, 28 Rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland IUCN Species Survival Commiss, Amphibian Specialist Grp, Toronto, ON M8W 1R2, Canada Royal Bot Gardens, Richmond TW9 3AB, Surrey, England Zool Soc London, Inst Zool, Regents Pk, London NW1 4RY, England Nat Hist Museum, Dept Life Sci, London SW7 5BD, England Old Domin Univ, IUCN Marine Biodivers Unit, Global Species Programme Biol Sci, Norfolk, VA USA Conservat Int, IUCN Global Species Programme, IUCN CI Biodivers Assessment, 2011 Crystal Dr,Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22202 USA Univ Queensland, Ctr Biodivers & Conservat Sci, ARC Ctr Excellence Environm Decis, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia Univ Queensland, Sch Geog Planning & Environm Management, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia WWF Int, Luc Hoffmann Inst, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland Univ New S Wales, Ctr Ecosyst Sci, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia Arizona State Univ, Sch Life Sci, POB 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA IUCN Global Ecosyst Management Programme, David Attenborough Bldg,Pembroke St, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, England Provita, Apdo 47552, Caracas 1041A, Venezuela Inst Venezolano Invest Cient, Ctr Ecol, Apdo 20632, Caracas 1020A, Venezuela Sapienza Univ Rome, Dept Biol & Biotechnol, Global Mammal Assessment Program, Viale Univ 32, I-00185 Rome, Italy IUCN, Biodivers Conservat Grp, 28 Rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland Crit Ecosyst Partnership Fund, 2011 Crystal Dr,Suite 500, Arlington, VA 22202 USA World Commiss Protected Areas IUCN, 64 Juniper Rd, Chelsea, PQ J9B 1T3, Canada NatureServe, 4600 N Fairfax Dr, Arlington, VA 22203 USA Amer Bird Conservancy, 1731 Connecticut Ave, Washington, DC 20009 USA New South Wales Off Environm & Heritage, Hurstville, NSW 2220, Australia UNESP WCMC, United Nations Environm Programme, 219 Huntingdon Rd, Cambridge CB3 0DL, England National Science Foundation's Dimensions of Biodiversity program: 1136586

Freshwater ecosystems represent one of the most threatened broad habitat types globally. Despite containing around a third of all vertebrates, area-based approaches to conservation planning rarely include freshwater species as an explicit target for conservation. Here we describe and apply a globally applicable methodology comparable to those for other groups (i.e. Important Bird Areas) to identify river and lake catchments that represent, or contain, freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas. We discuss the rationale behind the methodology and propose appropriate definitions and quantitative threshold values for the selection criteria. Thresholds are developed through spatial analysis of species information for four comprehensively assessed freshwater taxonomic groups in continental Africa, comprising 4203 species, as recently assessed for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. To illustrate application of the methodology freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas are identified across continental Africa, and conservation planning software used to prioritise a network of catchments that captures 99% of the total species complement within catchments covering ca. 20% of the total land area. Within these prioritised catchments only 19% of river length falls within existing Protected Areas suggesting that, given the high connectivity within freshwater ecosystems and their dependence upon catchment management for effective conservation, modification or expansion of the protected area network is required to increase effective conservation of freshwater species. By applying this methodology, gaps in the coverage of freshwater species by existing Protected Areas can be identified and used to inform conservation policy and investment to ensure it is inclusive of, and effective for, freshwater biodiversity.

3 This is the first continent-wide overview of insect diversity and status sufficiently fine-scaled to be used in con- servation planning. We analyze patterns of richness and the conservation status of African dragonflies and dam- selflies (Insecta: Odonata), commonly referred to as dragonflies, to determine threats to species and freshwater habitats, location of diversity hotspots, necessary conservation actions, and research gaps. Major centers of drag- onfly diversity in Africa are tropical forest areas that include highlands. Most threatened species - as classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature global Red List - are concentrated in highlands from Kenya to South Africa (together with the Cape Floristic Region), western Africa (including mountains on the Cameroon-Nigeria border), and Ethiopia. Currently available knowledge can be applied throughout Africa's freshwater systems to help minimize or mitigate the impact of future development actions, allowing dragonflies to act as "guardians of the watershed". The private sector can be advised to safeguard sensitive habitats and species when selecting sites for development. Key sites and species for monitoring can be identified by checking the distribution of threatened species at www.iucnredlist.org.

Human population growth and economic development threaten the integrity of freshwater ecosystems globally, reducing their ability to support biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. However, our knowledge of freshwater biodiversity is fragmented due to bias in conservation research toward primarily terrestrial or charismatic taxonomic groups. Here, we utilize the most comprehensive assessment of freshwater biodiversity for an entire continent to examine the implications of this shortfall. Results indicate that groups that have been the focus of most conservation research are poor surrogates for patterns of both richness and threat for many freshwater groups, and that the existing protected area network underrepresents freshwater species. Areas of highest species richness and threat are congruent with areas where reliance on ecosystem services by humans and pressures placed on freshwater ecosystems are high. These results have implications for targets to reduce biodiversity loss and safeguard associated ecosystem services on which millions of people depend globally.

Ecosystem-focused models have, for the first time, become available for the combined demersal and pelagic components of a large tropical lake ecosystem, Lake Malawi. These provide the opportunity to explore continuing controversies over the production efficiencies and ecological functioning of large tropical lakes. In Lake Malawi these models can provide important insight to the effect of fishing on fish composition, and the potential competition that the lakefly Chaoborus edulis may have with fisheries production. A mass-balanced trophic model developed for the demersal fish community of the southern and western areas of Lake Malawi was integrated with an existing trophic model developed for the open-water pelagic. Input parameters for the demersal model were obtained from a survey of fish distributions, fish food consumption studies, and from additional published quantitative and qualitative information on the various biotic components of the community. The model was constructed using the Ecopath approach and software. The graphically presented demersal food web spanned four trophic levels and was based primarily on consumption of detritus, zooplankton and sedimented diatoms. Zooplankton was imported into the system at trophic levels three and four through fish predation on carnivorous and herbivorous copepods and Chaoborus larvae. It is proposed that the primary consumption of copepods was by fish migrating into the pelagic zone. Chaoborus larvae in the demersal were probably consumed near the lakebed as they conducted a daily migration from the pelagic to seek refuge in the sediments. This evidence for strong benthic–pelagic coupling provided the opportunity for linking the demersal model to the existing model for the pelagic community so producing the first model for the complete ecosystem. Energy fluxes through the resulting combined model demonstrated that the primary import of biomass to the demersal system was detritus of pelagic origin (72.1%) and pelagic zooplankton (10.6%). Only 15.8% of the biomass consumed within the demersal system was of demersal origin. Lakefly production is efficiently utilised by the lake fish community, and any attempt to improve fishery production through introduction of a non-native plantivorous fish species would have a negative impact on the stability and productivity of the lake ecosystem.

The status and trends of global biodiversity are often measured with a bias towards datasets limited to terrestrial vertebrates. The first global assessment of an insect order (Odonata) provides new context to the ongoing discussion of current biodiversity loss. A randomly selected sample of 1500 (26.4%) of the 5680 described dragonflies and damselflies was assessed using IUCN’s Red List criteria. Distribution maps for each species were created and species were assigned to habitat types. These data were analysed in respect to threat level for regions and habitat types. We have found that one in 10 species of dragonflies and damselflies is threatened with extinction. This threat level is among the lowest of groups that have been assessed to date, suggesting that previous estimates of extinction risk for insects might be misleading. However, Odonata only comprise a small invertebrate order, with above-average dispersal ability and relatively wide distribution ranges. For conservation science and policy to be truly representative of global biodiversity a representative cross-section of invertebrates needs to be included. Fil: Clausnitzer, Viola. Philipps-University of Marburg; Alemania Fil: Kalkman, Vincent J.. National Museum of Natural History; Países Bajos Fil: Ram, Mala. Zoological Society of London. Institute of Zoology; Reino Unido Fil: Collen, Ben. The Zoological Society Of London; Reino Unido Fil: Baillie, Jonathan E.M.. The Zoological Society Of London; Reino Unido Fil: Bedjanič, Matjaž. No especifica; Fil: Darwall, William R.T.. Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza; Reino Unido Fil: Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B.. National Museum of Natural History; Países Bajos Fil: Dow, Rory. No especifica; Fil: Hawking, John. Latrobe University; Australia Fil: Karube, Haruki. Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural ; Japón Fil: Malikova, Elena. Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University; Rusia Fil: Paulson, Dennis. University of Puget Sound; Estados Unidos Fil: Schütte, Kai. Universitat Hamburg; Alemania Fil: Suhling, Frank. Universität Braunschweig; Alemania Fil: Villanueva, Reagan J.. Ateneo de Davao University,; Filipinas Fil: Von Ellenrieder, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Museo de Ciencias Naturales. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina Fil: Wilson, Keith. No especifica

Freshwater ecosystems in the tropics host a diverse endemic fauna including freshwater crabs, but the rapid loss and deterioration of habitat means that many species are now under imminent threat. Studies on freshwater fish and amphibians suggest a third to half of the species in some tropical freshwaters is either extinct or endangered, but the status of the freshwater crabs is not known. Freshwater crabs, with 1280 species, represent one-fifth of all the World’s brachyurans. We therefore undertook a comprehensive IUCN Red List assessment of the freshwater crabs, which was the first time that such a study had been attempted on a global scale for any group of freshwater invertebrates. The conservation status of all known species from the Americas, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australasia revealed unexpectedly high threat levels. Here we show that about one-sixth of all freshwater crab species have an elevated risk of extinction, only one-third are not at-risk, and although none are actually extinct, almost half are too poorly known to assess. Out of 122 countries that have populations of freshwater crabs, 43 have species in need of protection. The majority of threatened species are restricted-range semi-terrestrial endemics living in habitats subjected to deforestation, alteration of drainage patterns, and pollution. This is illustrated with a case study of one such species found in Singapore. This underlines the need to prioritize and develop conservation measures before species decline to levels from which they cannot recover. The proportion of freshwater crabs threatened with extinction is equal to that of reef-building corals, and exceeds that of all other groups that have been assessed except for amphibians. These results represent a baseline that can be used to design strategies to save the World’s threatened freshwater crab species.

The world's most biodiverse river basins—the Amazon, Congo, and Mekong—are experiencing an unprecedented boom in construction of hydropower dams. These projects address important energy needs, but advocates often overestimate economic benefits and underestimate far-reaching effects on biodiversity and critically important fisheries. Powerful new analytical tools and high-resolution environmental data can clarify trade-offs between engineering and environmental goals and can enable governments and funding institutions to compare alternative sites for dam building. Current site-specific assessment protocols largely ignore cumulative impacts on hydrology and ecosystem services as ever more dams are constructed within a watershed ( 1 ). To achieve true sustainability, assessments of new projects must go beyond local impacts by accounting for synergies with existing dams, as well as land cover changes and likely climatic shifts ( 2 , 3 ). We call for more sophisticated and holistic hydropower planning, including validation of technologies intended to mitigate environmental impacts. Should anything less be required when tampering with the world's great river ecosystems?

Le hotspot (point chaud) de la biodiversite du bassin mediterraneen est bien connu pour l'importance que sa biodiversite revet a l'echelle mondiale, mais l'importance de la biodiversite d'eau douce n'etait pas reconnue precedemment. Dans le cadre de ce projet, les ZCB d'eau douce ont maintenant ete identifees, cartographiees et validees dans une grande partie du hotspot mediterraneen. a present, il est important de faire prendre conscience de leur statut en tant que ZCB d'eau douce validees, et de mettre en place des programmes d'actions de conservation adaptees sur ces sites.

While the Mediterranean basin biodiversity hotspot is well known for its globally important biodiversity, its freshwater biodiversity has not been as widely recognized for its importance. Through this project, freshwater key biodiversity areas (KBAs) have now been identified, mapped and validated throughout much of the Mediterranean hotspot. It is now important to raise awareness of their status as validated freshwater KBAs and to develop plans for appropriate conservation actions at these sites, as this biodiversity is highly threatened largely due to the conflicting demands upon a diminishing supply of fresh water which is further exacerbated by the increased severity of drought across the region.

The Eastern Mediterranean region supports just over 4.4% of the global human population yet contains only 1.1% of its renewable water resources, which are under constant threat from the impacts of unsustainable water withdrawal, dam development and climate change. This IUCN report and accompanying dataset represents a major advance in the provision of information to help incorporate biodiversity needs into water development planning processes within an Integrated River Basin Management framework. This volume includes species information compiled for each river and lake sub-basin and incorporates information from the assessment conducted by IUCN's Global Species Programme, in collaboration with its partners, of the status and distribution of all described species of freshwater fishes, molluscs, odonates, and plants from across the Eastern Mediterranean with existing information for species of freshwater dependent amphibians, birds, crustaceans, and mammals. This work represents the most comprehensive assessment yet of freshwater biodiversity at the species level for this part of the world.

Globally, fresh water is a limited resource, covering only about 0.8 % of the world’s surface area. With over 126,000 species living in its ecosystems, freshwater harbours a disproportionate share of the planet’s biodiversity; it is essential for life, and central to satisfying human development needs. However, as we enter the Anthropocene, multiple threats are affecting freshwater systems at a global scale. The combined challenges of an increasing need for water from a growing and wealthier human population, and the uncertainty of how to adapt to definite but unpredictable climate change, significantly add to this stress. It is imperative that landscape managers and policy-makers think carefully about strategic adaptive management of freshwater systems in order to both effectively conserve natural ecosystems, and the plants and animals that live within, and continue to supply human populations with the freshwater benefits they need. Maintaining freshwater biodiversity is necessary to ensure the functioning of freshwater ecosystems and thereby secure the benefits they can provide for people. Thus freshwater biodiversity is also an important element of viable economic alternatives for the sustainable use of the freshwater ecosystems natural capital. In order to achieve this we need to do a better job at monitoring our freshwater biodiversity, understanding how the ecosystems function, and evaluating what that means in terms of service delivery.

Trials are described for testing and validating the use of non-specialist volunteer divers for visual censusing of reef fish populations. Volunteers showed significant improvement between two censuses in identifying 56 species in 30 genera. Thus, after 11 additional dives, the loss of precision compared with an experienced ‘control’ diver was reduced from 13% to 0·6%. In the second census there was no loss in consistency caused by the use of groups of divers rather than single divers. Even in the early stages of training the level of precision was sufficient to detect changes in composition at the trophic level. Coloured canvas strips were used as model ‘fish’ for estimating lengths underwater. After three trials divers were able to estimate lengths with an 80% accuracy in relation to the true distribution.

Whereas global patterns and predictors of species diversity are well known for numerous terrestrial taxa, our understanding of freshwater diversity patterns and their predictors is much more limited. Here, we examine spatial concordance in global diversity patterns for five freshwater taxa (i.e. aquatic mammals, aquatic birds, fishes, crayfish and aquatic amphibians) and investigate the environmental factors driving these patterns at the river drainage basin grain. We find that species richness and endemism patterns are significantly correlated among taxa. We also show that cross-taxon congruence patterns are often induced by common responses of taxa to their contemporary and historical environments (i.e. convergent patterns). Apart from some taxa distinctiveness (i.e. fishes), the climate/productivity hypothesis is found to explain the greatest variance in species richness and endemism patterns, followed by factors related to the history/dispersion and area/environmental heterogeneity hypotheses. As aquatic amphibians display the highest levels of congruency with other taxa, this taxon appears to be a good surrogate candidate for developing global freshwater conservation planning at the river drainage basin grain.

Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world’s vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the main drivers of biodiversity loss in these groups: agricultural expansion, logging, overexploitation, and invasive alien species. Fil: Hoffmann, Michael. International Union for Conservation Nature; Suiza Fil: Hilton Taylor, Craig. Species Programme; Reino Unido Fil: Angulo, Ariadne. Species Programme; Reino Unido Fil: Böhm, Monika. The Zoological Society Of London; Reino Unido Fil: Brooks, Thomas M.. University of the Philippines Los Baños; Filipinas Fil: Lavilla, Esteban Orlando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán; Argentina Fil: Tognelli, Marcelo Fabio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; Argentina Fil: Baldi, Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Lavilla, Esteban Orlando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; Argentina Fil: Blanc, Julian J.. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo; Argentina Fil: Lichtenstein, Gabriela. Secretaría de Cultura de la Nación. Dirección Nacional de Cultura y Museos. Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano; Argentina Fil: Valenti, Sara V.. Universidad Nacional del Comahue; Argentina Fil: Williamson, Elizabeth A.. University of Stirling; Reino Unido Fil: Xie, Feng. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China Fil: Young, Bruce E.. Stony Brook University; Estados Unidos Fil: Akçakaya, H. Resit. African Elephant Specialist Group; Kenia Fil: Leon Bemu. Wildlife Conservation Society; Estados Unidos Fil: Blackburn, Tim M.. Global Environment Facility; Estados Unidos Fil: Boitani, Luigi. Federal University of Minas Gerais; Brasil Fil: Dublin, Holly T.. Imperial College London; Reino Unido Fil: Claude Gascon,. IUCN; Suiza Fil: Georgina M. Mace. North of England Zoological Society; Reino Unido Fil: Lacher, Thomas E. Jr.. North of England Zoological Society; Reino Unido Fil: Mainka, Susan A.. Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas; Venezuela Fil: McNeely, Jeffery A.. IUCN; Suiza Fil: Mittermeier, Russell A.. Conservation International; Estados Unidos Fil: McGregor Reid, Gordon. North of England Zoological Society; Reino Unido Fil: Rodriguez, Jon Paul. Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas; Venezuela Fil: Rosenberg, Andrew A.. Conservation International; Estados Unidos Fil: Samways, Michael J.. Stellenbosch University; Sudáfrica Fil: Smart, Jane. IUCN; Suiza Fil: Stein, Bruce A.. National Wildlife Federation; Estados Unidos Fil: Stuart, Simon N.. Wildlife Park & Resort; Emiratos Arabes Unidos

De Silva et al. (2007) present an overview of the distribution and conservation status of the endemic freshwater fish of Asia. Within that review they use data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ (2006) to conduct an analysis of the conservation status of those endemic fish species. Their analysis is incorrect and provides a very misleading impression of the level of threat to Asian freshwater fish and to freshwater fish at the global scale. The errors stem from a misinterpretation of the data presented on the IUCN Red List. The sources of errors are discussed below and the opportunity is taken to clarify what the information on the IUCN Red List represents.

Aim: Freshwater megafauna remain underrepresented in research and conservation, despite a disproportionately high risk of extinction due to multiple human threats. Therefore, our aims are threefold; (i) identify global patterns of freshwater megafauna richness and endemism, (ii) assess the conservation status of freshwater megafauna and (iii) demonstrate spatial and temporal patterns of human pressure throughout their distribution ranges. Location: Global. Methods: We identified 207 extant freshwater megafauna species, based on a 30 kg weight threshold, and mapped their distributions using HydroBASINS subcatchments (level 8). Information on conservation status and population trends for each species was extracted from the IUCN Red List website. We investigated human impacts on freshwater megafauna in space and time by examining spatial congruence between their distributions and human pressures, described by the Incident Biodiversity Threat Index and Temporal Human Pressure Index. Results: Freshwater megafauna occur in 76% of the world s main river basins (level 3 HydroBASINS), with species richness peaking in the Amazon, Congo, Orinoco, Mekong and Ganges-Brahmaputra basins. Freshwater megafauna are more threatened than their smaller counterparts within the specific taxonomic groups (i.e., fishes, mammals, reptiles and amphibians). Out of the 93 freshwater megafauna species with known population trends, 71% are in decline. Meanwhile, IUCN Red List assessments reported insufficient or outdated data for 43% of all freshwater megafauna species. Since the early 1990s, human pressure has increased throughout 63% of their distribution ranges, with particularly intense impacts occurring in the Mekong and Ganges-Brahmaputra basins. Main conclusions: Freshwater megafauna species are threatened globally, with intense and increasing human pressures occurring in many of their biodiversity hotspots. We call for research and conservation actions for freshwater megafauna, as they are highly sensitive to present and future pressures including a massive boom in hydropower dam construction in their biodiversity hotspots. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Grant/Award Number: “GLANCE” project (01 LN1320A); European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme for Research, Technological ?evelopment and demonstration, Grant/Award Number: AQUACROSS (642317); Villum Fonden, Grant/Award Number: VKR023371; Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (Erasmus Mundus Joint ?octorate programme “SMART”); EU Marie Sklodowska-Curie programme, Grant/Award Number: H2020-MSCA-IF-2015-706784, H2020-MSCA-IF-2016-748625; Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg (Junior Professorship Program)