so many freshwater and marine systems. After depleting 

 the top predators and the largest species, fishermen turn 

 their nets on successively smaller organisms. 



The upshot of all those assaults is that freshwater organ- 

 isms rank among the world's most threatened species. 

 Data on global trends are sparse, but what biologists 

 do know paints a bleak picture of striking declines across 

 taxa. Freshwater dragonflies, damselflies, mussels, fishes, 

 amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals — all are suf- 

 fering. To prevent a wave of irreversible extinctions and 

 ecosystem collapses, people need to take better care of 

 fragile freshwater habitats. 



Fortunately, there is much people can do. We can re- 

 move obsolete dams and design new ones that take into 

 account natural patterns of river flow. We can reduce the 

 need for massive water extractions by changing the way 

 we grow our food and our cities; more efficient irrigation 

 techniques and increased capture of rainwater, even in wet 

 areas, would help. Conservation may be the best "new" 

 source of water, particularly as climate change begins to 

 shift water supplies globally. We can start to reduce our 

 polluting ways by avoiding harmful chemicals in the first 

 place. In the end, keeping more water in freshwater habitats 

 and maintaining its quality must be a top global priority. 



The future of the Mekong lies in the balance. Today, 

 it remains one of the world's least-degraded large rivers, 



but the primacy of economic growth threatens to tip the 

 balance towards decline across the entire river system. Still, 

 there are hopeful signs. Several transboundary initiatives 

 are in the works among the six nations that share the Me- 

 kong, which should help balance the needs of people and 

 wildlife. Then there's the Mekong River Commission. 

 Formed in the 1950s, the commission has moved away 

 from its original focus on dams and irrigation projects to- 

 ward more holistic management that takes environmental 

 health into consideration. But the MRC is only as strong 

 as the resolve of the governments it represents; China and 

 Myanmar are not members, which may undermine its 

 effectiveness in protecting the basin. 



Internationally, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, 

 with 155 signatory nations, guides conservation of 1,675 

 globally important wetland ecosystems. As with the Me- 

 kong River Commission, however, Ramsar's strength rests 

 on the decisions of its signatories: it has no enforcement 

 mechanism. It should come as no surprise, then, that — as 

 with conservation choices in general— most decision mak- 

 ers have consistently chosen short-term economic gain 

 over the long-term health of aquatic systems. 



Current societies value few things more than gold. But 

 though one can survive, even live well, without gold, the 

 same is not true for water. Ultimately, the true value of 

 gold is reduced to this: it can buy you fresh, clean water — if 

 there's any for sale. □ 



NATURAL WONDERS 



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Ghosts of the Rain Forest 



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DAVID B. WEISHAMPEL, PETER 

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 SUSAN FREINKEL 



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Earth under Fire 



How Global Warming 

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GARY BRAASCH 



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Giants of the Ice Age 

 New, Revised Edition 



ADRIAN LISTER AND PAUL BAHN 



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On Deep History 

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