Pilot analysis of global ecosystems: Freshwater systems

The analysis finds that global freshwater systems are severely degraded, threatening their ability to support life. Human activities, including agriculture, engineering, and urban development, have altered hydrological regimes and converted natural habitats, leading to a decline in the capacity of ecosystems to provide essential goods and services.

• Global freshwater systems have reached a level of degradation that puts their capacity to support human, plant, and animal life at significant risk.
• Human activities—specifically agriculture, engineering projects, and urban development—have fundamentally altered the distribution and condition of major ecosystems, including the hydrological regimes of most major rivers.
• There is an overall decline in the ability of ecosystems to produce necessary goods and services, driven by the disturbance of global water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles and the permanent conversion of natural habitats through pollution, fragmentation, and invasive species.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Pilot analysis of global ecosystems: Freshwater systems. https://www.wri.org/research/pilot-analysis-global-ecosystems-freshwater-systems

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Pilot analysis of global ecosystems: Freshwater systems. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/pilot-analysis-global-ecosystems-freshwater-systems.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Pilot analysis of global ecosystems: Freshwater systems |url=https://www.wri.org/research/pilot-analysis-global-ecosystems-freshwater-systems |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendpilot, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Pilot analysis of global ecosystems: Freshwater systems}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/pilot-analysis-global-ecosystems-freshwater-systems}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }