Valuing Rivers

Abstract

Rivers are often neglected. They are forgotten in international negotiations, even when they are at the heart of geopolitics. Rivers bear the brunt of climate change – droughts, floods, rising sea levels, cyclones, storms and the disappearance of wetlands. They are often little known by populations that live next to them, who don’t understand the services that rivers render to them every day. In general, people are unaware of their responsibility for preserving these common resources of humanity.