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Day 2: Options and Opportunities • Theme: Meeting Global Needs

Conservation of freshwater ecosystems: towards sustainable management for future generations

Caroline Sullivan, Southern Cross University, Australia; Anuradha Bhat, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, India; Ian Harrison, Conservation International, USA; Nilesh Heda, Samvardhan (NGO), India; Anne-Hélène Prieur-Richard, DIVERSITAS, France

Session content:
Human populations are placing increasing stress on freshwater resources. According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment report, land-use change, invasive species, nutrient loading and water extraction are projected to be major drivers of freshwater ecosystems change. Scientists, conservation practitioners, and freshwater resource managers must work more effectively at sustaining freshwater services that are essential for human well-being, while also ensuring that global freshwater conservation priorities are addressed. A current challenge is the lack of a complete or consistent understanding of the complex relationships between ecosystem structure (e.g., species present, biophysical characteristics of freshwater habitats), function (e.g., ecological and physical processes sustaining freshwater ecosystems), and services (range of provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural services supporting human livelihoods and freshwaters). Consequently, the ecological and economic value of freshwater ecosystems is often underestimated.

This session will bring together scientists, private development organizations, conservation agencies, decision makers and stakeholders to assess the status of freshwater ecosystems, and discuss options for the future with a particular focus on developing proactive (anticipatory) management plans ensuring sustainable use of resources while maintaining freshwaters' resilience . It will also include discussion on how management practices are defined regionally by politics, culture, education and socio-economics. One focus of the session will be on freshwaters in developing countries, where programmes such as peoples' participatory conservation efforts can help address challenges to ecosystem management and conservation. The target audience includes scientists, freshwater managers, and policymakers who are interested in finding solutions to sustainable management of freshwater ecosystems and provision of freshwater services.