The State of the World's Rivers

Date: 
Tuesday, August 26, 2014


The Nam Theun 2 Dam in Laos fragments the Nam Theun River amidst a sea of forest.
The Nam Theun 2 Dam in Laos fragments the Nam Theun River amidst a sea of forest.
International Rivers / Google Earth


International Rivers has launched
The State of the World's Rivers: a first-of-its-kind interactive online database that illustrates the role that dams have played in impoverishing the health of the world's rivers. The database illustrates how decades of dam-building have put many of the world's major river basins on life support, degrading biodiversity and water quality.

Use the State of the World's Rivers to understand the health of rivers in your own region, and to advocate for change in how river basins are managed. By reducing fragmentation and improving water quality as a result of dam-building, we can improve the health of the world's river ecosystems.

Major Findings

The basins that combine to rank the highest in fragmentation and lowest in water quality are the Hai Ho, Tigris-Euphrates, Wisla, Dnepr, Yellow, Danube, Godavari, Mississippi, Indus, and Volta.

          

The basins that combined to rank the highest in biodiversity, the highest in water quality, and the lowest in fragmentation are the AmazonTocantinsAyeyarwaddy, São Francisco, Orinoco, ParanáCongoZambeziYangtze, and Mekong.  

        

River basins fragmented by dams and polluted by mercury accumulation are public health emergencies that impoverish people’s quality of life and livelihoods. Yet, institutions such as the World Bank are investing with a renewed vigor in damming the world's rivers. International Rivers questions these investments when the data show the negative effects on river basin health that dams have created.

Recommendations

  1. The evidence of planetary-scale impacts from river change is strong enough to warrant a major international focus on understanding the thresholds for “river change” in the world’s major basins, and for the planet as a whole system. An appropriately resourced inter-governmental panel should be convened to assess the State of the World’s Rivers, develop metrics and thresholds regarding river health and the impacts of changes to river systems on key life processes on Earth and human society.

  2. In the meantime, dams should become an option of last resort for managing water and generating electricity. Governments and other actors should adopt state-of-the-art River Basin Planning and Integrated Resource Planning processes and follow highest social and environmental standards for their water and energy sector projects.
     
  3. No more dams should be built on the mainstem of rivers, which play a crucial role for the sustainability of freshwater ecosystems.

  4. Local communities have been the guardians of freshwater ecosystems for generations. Their voices need to be heard and respected in the protection and management of rivers. River basin projects need to be based on demonstrable public acceptance, including the free, prior informed consent of indigenous peoples for projects on their lands.

How the State of the World's Rivers Works

Created in Google Earth, the State of the World's Rivers maps nearly 6,000 dams in the world's 50 major river basins, and ranks their ecological health according to indicators of river fragmentation, water quality and biodiversity. The dams mapped are a small percentage of the more than 50,000 large dams that clog the arteries of our planet.

Dam-building threatens the Amazon, Orinoco, and Paraná basins in South America, which have the highest numbers of freshwater species in the world.
Dam-building threatens the Amazon, Orinoco, and Paraná basins in South America, which have the highest numbers of freshwater species in the world.
International Rivers

On the site, you can see how each individual basin ranks in fragmentation, biodiversity, and water quality, and explore ten of the most significant river basins in more depth. Each focus basin describes the threats from dam-building, and shows the locations of dams near Ramsar Sites of Wetlands of International Importance and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Use the State of the World's Rivers to understand the health of rivers in your own region, and to advocate for change in how river basins are managed. By reducing fragmentation and improving water quality as a result of dam-building, we can improve the health of the world's river ecosystems.

Watch a video on how to use the State of the World's Rivers: