key because freshwater ecosystems are generally highly
complex, biodiverse, and productive (Junk 1993; Bayley
1995; Naiman & Decamps 1997). Damage to them
greatly impacts Amazonians, who historically have been
so dependent on freshwater ecosystem goods and services
that they have been called “water peoples” (Furtado et
al. 1993; Kvist & Nebel 2001). To address this question,
here we review: (1) the main freshwater ecosystems in
the basin, (2) the goods and services they provide, (3) the
main drivers of degradation, and (4) the capacity of existing
management strategies to protect these ecosystems