THE WORLD'S
FRESHWATER CHALLENGE
The planet’s largest freshwater ecosystem restoration and protection partnership
Rivers, lakes and other wetlands are on the frontlines of the climate and nature crises
The important role of healthy freshwater ecosystems has been recognized in key international agreements and agendas, including the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
However, current international approaches to water are not helping countries achieve the targets set out in these global frameworks fast enough.
As a result, rivers, lakes and other wetlands are still undervalued and overlooked, and their rapid loss is undermining hard-won development gains and global efforts to tackle the climate and nature crises:
-
Rivers and wetlands are the most threatened ecosystems globally;
-
Since 1970, 2/3rd of wetlands have been degraded or destroyed;
-
Only 1/3rd of large rivers flow freely from source to sea; and
-
Freshwater species populations have collapsed by 85% on average since 1970.
WHAT IS THE FRESHWATER CHALLENGE?
The Freshwater Challenge (FWC) is a voluntary, country-led partnership with the goal to restore 300,000 kilometers of degraded rivers and 350 million hectares of degraded wetlands by 2030, while securing the protection of freshwater ecosystems important for biodiversity and ecosystem services. 49 countries and the European Union have joined the Freshwater Challenge so far.
The Freshwater Challenge is rooted in Targets 2 and 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which commits parties to restore 30% of degraded inland waters and conserve 30% of freshwater ecosystems by 2030, creating a critical milestone for global freshwater ecosystems.
The Challenge’s purpose is to accelerate delivery of national plans and strategies to restore and conserve freshwater ecosystems, by supporting and accelerating targeted interventions for rivers, lakes and other wetlands. The Challenge will increase the overall investment into the restoration and conservation of freshwater ecosystems and substantially increase the social and economic returns on those investments.
By doing so, the FWC will support countries to achieve their international commitments on climate, biodiversity, ecosystem protection and restoration, flood and drought resilience, land degradation, Disaster Risk Reduction and SDGs, aligned to their ambitions for sustainable development.
Members commit, by the end of 2025, to set and, thereafter, implement, quantifiable targets in their national plans to restore and conserve freshwater ecosystems, thereby supporting national and global commitments by 2030. To ensure transparency, member countries' national commitments will be documented and will be publicly accessible on this website.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
To deliver freshwater ecosystem restoration and protection at scale by 2030, the FWC requires the active support of all actors involved in water-related activities across all sectors – including agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, forestry, water infrastructure, finance, energy, urban planning, conservation, and many more. Only through the combined efforts of all stakeholders working at different levels, from high-level policy reforms to local grassroots projects will rivers and wetlands be revived and conserved.
Please refer to the Joining section of this website to see how your organization can support delivery of the FWC.