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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 6d

Worth following this from @jjopperman.bsky.social. #WaterYear was thought-provoking and evocative, with a rather beautiful denouement.

Jeff Opperman @jjopperman.bsky.social · 6d

Three years ago I did a year-long project called #WaterYear: one photo of water each day w/ short content on water-y connections: from the hydrological to the emotional. That was on the other place, so reprising for BlueSky as today is 1st day of WaterYear in the US. See tomorrow for theme song!

Reposted by Dave Tickner

Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(1/n)

🆕: Addressing the policy & business drivers of global freshwater biodiversity loss.
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10....

Or (to provoke a debate), is restoration of #rivers, #lakes & #wetlands a sufficient response to the global collapse in freshwater biodiversity?

A 🧵...

Addressing the policy and business drivers of global freshwater biodiversity loss

While they are important, local or catchment-level conservation efforts are by themselves unlikely to bend the curve of dramatic global-scale biodiversity loss in rivers, lakes, and freshwater wetland...

cdnsciencepub.com

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 20d

Aha! I see what you did there!

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Reposted by Dave Tickner

SHOAL @shoalorg.bsky.social · 20d

Can the Mekong, the World’s Most Productive River, Endure Relentless Strain?

Not indefinitely. The river's story is a cascade of thresholds already crossed.

www.circleofblue.org/2025/water-c...

Can the Mekong, the World's Most Productive River, Endure Relentless Strain?

Explore the plight of Mekong River endangered fish, including the giant catfish and their struggle against extinction.

www.circleofblue.org

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Reposted by Dave Tickner

Wildlife and Countryside Link @wclnews.bsky.social · 20d

💧 Our #rivers are polluted, overheated, & stripped of their natural features

We’re calling on the government to make #SpaceForWater and support a network of nature-rich river corridors across England

✍️ Sign the petition to help restore our rivers: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/72...

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 20d

A useful and enjoyable series of blogs by @jdtonkin.bsky.social. Kudos. 👏

Jonathan Tonkin @jdtonkin.bsky.social · 23d

Post three of a three-part series on some unique aspects of rivers and why they’re so challenging to manage. We’re exploring how rivers function as networks, their unique rhythms, and what that means for conservation and restoration.

predirections.substack.com/p/to-heal-a-...

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 20d

"... measures to reduce the impact of extreme swings in the water cycle include improving water storage & encouraging changes to farming techniques."

The most important measure of all would be to get popular acceptance for better water allocation & management.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Only a third of world’s river basins experienced normal conditions in 2024

Increasingly erratic water cycle is creating food scarcity, rising prices, conflict and migration, says UN agency

www.theguardian.com

Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 20d

Well done @freshwaterbio.bsky.social and others on this. A nice piece of activist science! 👏

Freshwater Biological Association @freshwaterbio.bsky.social · 20d

Over 600 scientists from across Europe have signed a joint statement calling on the EU to urgently update its #waterpollution rules to protect #freshwater ecosystems... before it’s too late! 💧🌍💙

View the full statement and signatories:

www.fba.org.uk/fba-voice/sc...

#WaterPollution #EUEnvironment

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

PS: Many thanks to co-authors Laurenne Schiller, @sjcfishy.bsky.social, Eugenio Barrios Ordonez, Ute Collier, James Dalton, Ian Harrison, Li Lifeng, Sui Chang Phang & Bill Young.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(14/n) Local action to restore of #rivers, #lakes & #wetlands is critically important for lots of reasons.

But unless we start to redirect the underlying policy & business drivers of ecosystem degradation, we won't bend the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss.

ENDS.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(13/n) Govts & businesses urgently need coherent, evidence-based, pithy insights on how to respond to increasingly complex challenges.

The way in which conservation researchers & practitioners respond will largely determine the future for freshwater ecosystems.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(12/n) That community is often insular & narrowly focused on biophysical sciences (ecology, hydrology, geomorphology).

Freshwater scientists should engage far more with social sciences to generate understanding of policy-business-ecosystem links & to map future pathways.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(11/n) Happily, some work is happening in this space, notably through the water #stewardship community, and through work of NGOs and others who engage in policy processes.

But it's patchy. Far more is needed.

And the #freshwater sciences community needs to catch-up quickly...

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(10/n) If conservationists are to influence these drivers, they need to make the case for bending the curve in terms that chime with the priorities of policymakers & business leaders in these sectors.

Our paper describes those priorities, and potential implications for freshwater biodiversity.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(9/n) We drew on our collective experience in research, policy & conservation practice to suggest key policy/business sectors for freshwater biodiversity.

We particularly focused on #water resource management, #agriculture & #food, #energy, & inland #fisheries.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(8/n) If we want more transformative change that minimises pressures globally and makes space for healthy freshwater ecosystems, we must understand & influence policy/business decisions that drive widespread collapse of biodiversity.

So, what could this look like?

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(7/n) Almost all the articles focused mostly on immediate pressures affecting freshwater ecosystems & biodiversity.

Similarly, most restoration projects tackle immediate local/catchment scale pressures rather than underlying drivers (more on this here: unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/p...)

unesdoc.unesco.org

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(6/n) We reviewed 16 science articles that analysed causes of freshwater biodiversity loss globally.

None of them systematically assessed these underlying socio-economic drivers.

Few explicitly linked biodiversity trends & changes in national/international policies or business behaviour.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(5/n) Activities driving biodiversity loss often manifest through decisions made at national or international scales by policymakers & business leaders.

Energy ministers incentivise hydropower generation.

Multinational food congomerates source farm produce from water-stressed regions.

Etc.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(4/n) Multiple pressures - hydrological alteration, pollution, impaired connectivity, invasive species, over-harvesting, climate change, etc - affect freshwater ecosystems.

All these pressures (aka threats, stressors) are driven by various human activities.

So far, so uncontroversial.

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(3/n) ... indicators of global freshwater biodiversity continue to show a dramatic collapse.

So, is habitat restoration enough?

Our paper, published in @envreviews.bsky.social, suggests that the answer is "no".

Let me explain...

a man with a beard is asking if that is not enough .

ALT: a man with a beard is asking if that is not enough .

media.tenor.com

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(2/n) Like many folks, I'm inspired by the thousands of brilliant #river, #lake & #wetland restoration projects underway globally.

From the Amazon to the Zambezi, dams are being removed, flows secured, pollution reduced & fisheries better managed.

But...

a crocodile is swimming in the water and looking at the camera

ALT: a crocodile is swimming in the water and looking at the camera

media.tenor.com

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Dave Tickner @davetickner.bsky.social · 22d

(1/n)

🆕: Addressing the policy & business drivers of global freshwater biodiversity loss.
cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full/10....

Or (to provoke a debate), is restoration of #rivers, #lakes & #wetlands a sufficient response to the global collapse in freshwater biodiversity?

A 🧵...

Addressing the policy and business drivers of global freshwater biodiversity loss

While they are important, local or catchment-level conservation efforts are by themselves unlikely to bend the curve of dramatic global-scale biodiversity loss in rivers, lakes, and freshwater wetland...

cdnsciencepub.com

1 8 8

Reposted by Dave Tickner

Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26d

EXCLUSIVE: England’s farms are being fertilised with a cocktail of toxic landfill juice + sewage sludge.

750,000 tonnes of landfill leachate tankered to sewage works every year → mixed into sewage → spread on farmers' fields. 1/

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Thousands of tonnes of toxic landfill liquid added to sewage and spread on English farms

Exclusive: Leachate is tankered to treatment works where it mixes with sewage and industrial effluent

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Dave Tickner

SHOAL @shoalorg.bsky.social · Aug 28

🐟 Søren Skarby’s "Scaled Up" project: The stunning, ultra-detailed world of fish: buff.ly/6mVQrTr

Find out more about freshwater 👇
buff.ly/MkPOoIN

A photograph of a Longspined Bullhead, a green and brown spiky fish.

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