The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has presented alarming findings from the most comprehensive freshwater biodiversity assessment ever undertaken in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
The study aims at raising the current low profile of freshwater biodiversity conservation in this region, promoting integrated water resource management practices, and providing reliable and up-to-date data for decision makers.
Launched on 2 February, World Wetlands Day, the study assessed the conservation status of 1,236 species (fishes, molluscs, dragonflies and damselflies, plants, birds, amphibians, mammals and decapods) of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Just under a third of the species are found nowhere else on the planet.
The study finds that almost one in five (19%) of these species, and over half (58%) of those endemic to the region, are threatened with extinction. Six species, all fishes, are considered to have become globally Extinct (EX), and 18 species (seven fishes and 11 molluscs) are assessed as Critically Endangered Possibly Extinct - field surveys are urgently required to confirm whether these species still survive.
The major threat to these species is a reduction and alteration in water flows and loss of wetlands across the region, driven by a water management approach that is largely focussed on water extraction (primarily for irrigation) and power generation. In many places, this is compounded by climate change and pollution from agricultural and urban areas.
Engin Yilmaz, Director General of Turkish grassroots organisation, Doğa Derneği commented:
“This assessment highlights the great pressures upon the region’s freshwater habitats. If we want to protect the species they support, and the values that they provide which are vital for the future needs of our societies, economies and environment, we need to take urgent action to restore and protect our wetlands.”
The outcomes provide important new information to guide regional development and conservation planning and the potential future designation of Ramsar sites (Internationally Important Wetlands).
It will also help countries track progress towards meeting their obligations for the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity under regional and international agreements.
“By using the Red List data to identify Key Biodiversity Areas, we are effectively putting freshwater biodiversity on the map in a region of the world where pressures on inland wetlands are rapidly driving species to the edge of extinction – a number have already been lost. The next crucial step is to build widespread awareness of these important sites and to stimulate targeted conservation on the ground," said Will Darwall, Head of the IUCN Global Species Programme's Freshwater Biodiversity Unit.
The initiative has resulted in two keynote publications on the issue:
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