Rivers are the world’s lifeblood, enabling people to fish and farm and build whole cities and economies. Societies throughout history have gone to great lengths to maximize the benefits of river resources, seeking to take advantage of every last drop. We build dams, levees, channels, diversions, and otherwise alter natural flows to increase how much land we can irrigate, produce enormous amounts of energy, control floods, bring drinking water across vast distances, transport goods and people, and ensure ample water supply for industrial production.

While such infrastructure has fueled development, it has also fragmented rivers, jeopardizing their ability to provide services people and nature rely upon. In many places, connected, free-flowing rivers are crucial for carrying sediment downstream, balancing nutrients in soils, maintaining floodplains that protect against extreme weather events, and providing recreational opportunities or spiritual fulfillment. Almost everywhere that free-flowing rivers remain, they are home to vulnerable freshwater biodiversity.

Populations of freshwater species have declined by 76% since 1970, much faster than their terrestrial or marine counterparts. Habitat loss and fragmentation are major causes. As the world’s free-flowing rivers disappear, so too does the life in them.

Unfortunately, no road map currently exists to help governments and international institutions balance growth with the protection of free-flowing rivers. In fact, there is no global consensus on the definition of free-flowing rivers, nor any global registry identifying where these rivers remain, making it even more challenging to monitor and ultimately protect these critical ecosystems.

A science-based, globally agreed-upon methodology could produce the tools, guidance, and information needed to make more sustainable decisions about infrastructure that impacts freshwater ecosystems. Together, WWF and our partners are working to deliver this foundational science.

PROJECT GOALS AND A DRAFT DEFINITIONWith diverse representatives from conservation and academic organizations from around the world, WWF is working to

• establish a common definition of a free-flowing river

• develop a universal methodology for the identification of free-flowing rivers

• create an updated global inventory to identify rivers that remain free-flowing

Group discussions have led to the following draft definition:

“A free-flowing river or stretch of river occurs where natural aquatic and riparian ecosystem functions and services are largely unaffected by anthropogenic changes to fluvial connectivity, allowing an unobstructed exchange of material, species, and energy within the river system and beyond. Fluvial connectivity encompasses longitudinal (river channel), lateral (floodplains), vertical (groundwater and atmosphere), and temporal (intermittency) components and can be compromised by infrastructure or impoundments in the river channel, along shorelines, or in adjacent floodplains; hydrological alterations of river flow due to water abstractions or regulation; and changes to water chemistry that lead to ecological barrier effects caused by pollution or alterations in water temperature.”

Free-Flowing RiversKEEPING RIVERS CONNECTED

A GLOBAL INVENTORY

To secure the world’s remaining free-flowing rivers, we must better understand them. WWF convened experts in hydrology, freshwater species and ecosystems, spatial planning, geomorphology, and river basin management and conservation to come to a consensus on what defines a “free-flowing river.” Together, they drafted a foundation for a universally accepted definition upon which all interested parties can build.

Based on the definition they drafted (p. 1 sidebar), the group has leveraged

Floodplain agriculture requires a flowing river to bring nutrients, sediment, and water.

Healthy floodplains help reduce risks from floods and droughts, which are likely to increase as the climate changes.

River flows carry sediment downstream to build up and maintain deltas. Without them, deltas will succumb to rising sea levels.

In places around the world, free- flowing rivers hold cultural and spiritual importance for people.

Free-flowing rivers offer recreational and business opportunities, including rafting, fly-fishing, and wildlife watching.

Rivers with high connectivity are among the most ecologically important freshwater habitats, places where vulnerable species—including a myriad of migratory fish and river dolphins—can thrive.

Tens of millions of people depend on freshwater fish populations, which require certain natural conditions—such as seasonal flows and temperature changes—in order to breed and thrive.

Free-flowing rivers provide many benefits for humans and nature. Each river is unique, but some free-flowing rivers help provide healthy habitats for vulnerable aquatic species; migratory pathways for fish; sediments that nourish and build up floodplains and deltas for agricultural use; nature-based tourism and recreation; and sources of spiritual, cultural, and aesthetic inspiration.

Gifts We Receive from Free-Flowing Rivers

existing work and conducted new research to develop a process that will identify free-flowing rivers around the world. The group will also create an updated inventory. Ultimately, this work is intended to inform further research and conservation planning, and provide a new global indicator for monitoring, river health assessments, and river impact studies.

LOCAL REFINEMENT

The methodology for identifying free-flowing rivers globally is being tested in several specific geographies.

Local-level application allows the methodology to be further refined to support local needs. In these cases, the foundational science helps gather diverse stakeholders—from community representatives to spiritual leaders to local government officials—and sparks healthy debate.

A local group can build on the free-flowing rivers definition, expanding it to reflect the specific services provided—and unique threats faced— by their local river. Then they can tailor the methodology accordingly.

Continued on back cover

conventional “restoration after degradation” approach. Through a stakeholder engagement process that builds upon the free-flowing rivers methodology, a holistic framework is being developed in Uttarakhand to identify and prioritize stretches of high conservation value Himalayan rivers and ultimately support work toward their legal protection.

This information can help local, state, and national leaders make informed decisions to protect and conserve freshwater resources for people and nature. As Uttarakhand looks to the

future, it seeks a more sustainable approach to infrastructure development that will secure key watersheds for spiritual and cultural sustenance, critical biodiversity, and sustainable development.

While the process will begin in Uttarakhand, it won’t end there. Initiatives to help conserve pristine stretches of rivers could provide key lessons for other Indian states, enabling the Land of the Gods to pave the way for new approaches that balance infrastructure potential with existing natural and cultural wealth.

Uttarakhand, India, is the “Land of the Gods.” It is home to numerous pilgrim sites, as well as the headwaters of the Ganga and Yamuna, two of the most sacred rivers in Hinduism. In addition to these two sacred sources, Uttarakhand’s abundant rivers are among the country’s geological treasures and home to rich biodiversity, including the prized golden mahseer, a highly coveted game fish.

Two key mainstays of Uttarakhand’s economic growth are hydropower and a tourist trade that offers visits to holy sites, wildlife viewing, whitewater rafting, kayaking, and other activities—all of it dependent on vibrant rivers. But while these rivers give much to Uttarakhand, they are also capable of taking away. In 2013, the state experienced devastating floods and landslides that led to massive property damage and loss of life. This was India’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.

Infrastructural factors—such as poorly constructed roads, resorts built on fragile riverbanks, and unscientifically planned and constructed hydroelectric projects—place significant stress on Uttarakhand’s rivers; they worsened the impacts of the 2013 monsoon. In addition, climate scientists have found that northern India has experienced increasingly intense summer rainfall since the 1980s, and they anticipate that extreme events like the 2013 monsoon could happen again.

To ensure important rivers flow into the future, action must be taken now. WWF-India is bringing together diverse stakeholders to mainstream the idea of conserving high conservation value (often called “pristine” or “wild”) rivers, and shift focus away from the

WWF-India is organizing people in Uttarakhand to work on protecting relatively pristine rivers, such as the Aglar, rather than restoring them after they’ve been degraded.

CASE STUDY:

Uttarakhand’s Wild Rivers

Michele Thieme | michele.thieme@wwfus.org | +1 202 495 4760Dave Tickner | dtickner@wwf.org.uk | +44 01483 412541 Bart Geenan | bgeenen@wwf.nl | +31 306937357

World Wildlife Fund 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037-1193 worldwildlife.org

PHOTOS: Front page, top to bottom: Kitkajoki River, Oulanka National Park, Finland © Wild Wonders of Europe/ Staffan Widstrand/WWF; Gathega Dam, New South Wales, Australia © Global Warming Images/WWF-Canon; Catch- and-release fishing in the Amazon basin © Adriano Gambarini/ WWF; Juruena River, Juruena National Park, Brazil © Adriano Gambarini/WWF. Page 3: Aglar River, Uttarakhand, India © WWF-US. Page 4: Okna River, Morske Oko Reserve, East Slovakia © Wild Wonders of Europe/Konrad Wothe/WWF.© 2016 WWF. All rights reserved by World Wildlife Fund, Inc. 8-16/200

In some places where the methodology has been tested on this scale, it is now supporting longer-term processes to identify specific rivers of high conservation value that are in need of protection.

BETTER INFORMATION INFLUENCES SMARTER DEVELOPMENT

As the world population grows, many rivers are being targeted for infrastructure development designed to meet rising demands for food, energy, and water. The updated global inventory of free-flowing rivers will identify rivers that remain well-connected, supporting diverse freshwater species, important fish migrations, and rural communities that depend on rivers for food and livelihoods.

Armed with the inventory, and with information on the other values that specific rivers provide, decision-makers can better understand which rivers are prime candidates for protection within the broader context of basin planning, water policy, and land-use development. Taking a holistic, basin-level approach to planning can prevent or minimize negative impacts to freshwater ecosystems, and avoid costly restoration activities in the future. For these reasons and more, governments, communities, funders, and conservation organizations must shift to a science-based basin planning approach that balances development with protecting uniquely important free-flowing rivers.