Floodplain degradation is closely linked to the
rapid decline in freshwater biodiversity; the main
reasons for the latter being habitat alteration, flow and
flood control, species invasion and pollution. In North
America, up to 90% of floodplains are already
‘cultivated’ and therefore functionally extinct. In
the developing world, the remaining natural flood
plains are disappearing at an accelerating rate,
primarily as a result of changing hydrology. In the
near future, the most threatened floodplains will be
those in China, south-east Asia, Sahelian Africa and
North America.