FREE-FLOWING RIVERS

The document highlights that only one-third of the world's longest rivers remain free-flowing, with hydropower dams and other infrastructure posing severe threats to biodiversity and human livelihoods. WWF identifies specific high-risk regions—including the Amazon, Balkans, and Southeast Asia—and proposes a four-part strategy involving science, sustainable development, advocacy, and policy governance to protect these ecosystems. By 2030, WWF aims to secure legal protections for at least 15 rivers and avoid connectivity loss on 22,500 km of river.

• Free-flowing rivers are in critical decline, with only one-third of the world's longest rivers remaining unobstructed. These ecosystems are under pressure from human demands for energy, water, and food, leading to significant biodiversity loss; freshwater wildlife populations decreased by 83% between 1970 and 2014, and freshwater fish experienced the highest extinction rate among vertebrates in the 20th century.
• Hydropower infrastructure represents a major threat, with more than 3,700 dams currently proposed or under construction. While hydropower is less carbon-intensive, poorly placed dams negatively impact nature and people. Conversely, free-flowing rivers provide essential services, including nutrient-rich silt for agriculture and inland fisheries valued at over US$43 billion, which serve as a primary protein source for hundreds of millions of people.
• WWF has identified several global priority areas for river protection due to their biodiversity or threat levels: the Amazon (threatened by over 500 proposed dams), the Balkans (threatened by over 2,500 planned small hydropower plants), the Pantanal (threatened by over 100 dams in headwaters), and the Irrawaddy and Salween rivers in Southeast Asia.
• WWF's strategy to protect rivers consists of four pillars: conducting science to understand river-human interconnectivity, supporting sustainable basin and energy development to redirect finance toward sustainable renewables, using advocacy to increase awareness of alternative infrastructure, and establishing policy protections and governance.
• By 2030, WWF aims to achieve two specific targets: ensuring at least 15 rivers are under legal protections to maintain connectivity in priority geographies and avoiding the loss of river connectivity on at least 22,500 km of river through basin-scale planning and alternative energy.

APA

WWF International (2021). FREE-FLOWING RIVERS. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/549/5gv8o8muc8_WWF_Free_flowing_rivers_Final.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. FREE-FLOWING RIVERS. 2021. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/549/5gv8o8muc8_WWF_Free_flowing_rivers_Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=FREE-FLOWING RIVERS |date=2021 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/549/5gv8o8muc8_WWF_Free_flowing_rivers_Final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2021freeflowing, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{FREE-FLOWING RIVERS}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/549/5gv8o8muc8_WWF_Free_flowing_rivers_Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }