Leading the path toward sustainable freshwater management: Reconciling challenges and opportunities in historical, hybrid, and novel ecosystem types

Abstract

Due to their importance for human development and well‐being, freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened and modified in the world; a situation that is expected to intensify in the future. Freshwaters convey a mix of novel, historical, and hybrid systems, each with different values and opportunities for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. We argue that securing future access to freshwater services, while halting aquatic biodiversity loss, requires an evaluation of the opportunities offered and challenges imposed by each of these types of systems. Such an inventory can then build the basis to systematically plan restoration, conservation and management actions with the goal of harmonizing the multiplicity of co‐occurring freshwater‐related interests. Developing river basin management plans that integrate these multiple, often conflicting interests poses complex challenges, including (1) the current ecosystem condition that defines to a large extent what type of objectives can realistically be aimed at, (2) socioeconomic needs that limit our capacity to modify current conditions, for example, drinking water and energy provided by large dams, and (3) governance constraints related to managing large, often transboundary, river basins. Multi‐objective management planning rooted in systematic conservation planning can help overcome these challenges. Consequently, we argue that adequate planning must play a key role when designing river basin management plans to make the most of the opportunities associated with local freshwater ecosystem types. We call for governments to embrace and promote a systematic approach to river basin management planning to create the urgently needed pan‐global shift toward a sustainable biodiverse freshwater future.