Curbing freshwater ecosystem degradation requires adaptive
environmental management, which at a minimum
requires monitoring data on (1) location and extent of
freshwater ecosystems, (2) indicators of ecosystem integrity,
and (3) drivers of degradation (Figure 2). Such
monitoring data must be collected and analyzed periodically
to generate resource assessments that, in turn,
guide the development and implementation of policies
and management activities.
Unfortunately, many of the data needed to manage
Amazon freshwater ecosystems do not exist (Junk &
Piedade 2004). Although data exist on the location and
extent of most lowland freshwater ecosystems, there are
no basin-wide data on the location of high-elevation
freshwater ecosystems or the riparian zones of small
streams, which are thought to be the most extensive
freshwater ecosystem type. Similarly, data exist on the
location of upland deforestation and current and planned
hydroelectric dams, but there are no basin-wide data on
the location and extent of pollution, overharvesting of
animal and plant species, small dams, or deforestation of
floodplains and riparian zones. Such lack of data makes it
difficult to assess the vulnerability of the various freshwater
ecosystems to identify management priorities. It also
conceals a crisis from the science, public, and policy arenas,
delaying much-needed action.
Management capacity is similarly deficient. Although
there are management and conservation strategies with
the potential to protect Amazon freshwater ecosystems,
such strategies are not intended for freshwater ecosystems,
have design and implementation deficiencies, or
fail to account for the hydrologic connectivity of freshwater
ecosystems. Protected areas cover some 2,580,118
km2 or 37% of the basin if they are defined as “all public
areas under land-use restrictions that contribute to
protecting native ecosystems, even if they were created
for purposes other than environmental conservation”
(Table 1; Figure 1; Soares-Filho et al. 2010). The protected
area network provides protection against overharvesting
and riparian deforestation, but does not protect freshwater
ecosystems from the far-reaching impacts of dams,
pollution, and upland deforestation outside protected areas.
This is largely because the protected area network