The world has mismanaged its freshwater reserves for decades, hampering progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Some 50 per cent of countries globally have one or more types of freshwater-related ecosystems – rivers, lakes, wetlands or aquifers – in a state of degradation, finds a recent report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). To count as degraded, water bodies have to be polluted or have low water levels. Restoring and protecting freshwater ecosystems is a key component of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a planet-wide agreement to halt and reverse nature loss. The framework contains 23 targets designed to safeguard the natural world and that come due in 2030. Related Story Restoring the Indus, Pakistan’s lifeline
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