State of the World's Rivers

In this review, we thoroughly analyze the state of global rivers, focusing on their physical and ecological characteristics as well as management strategies. The review results have helped us generate four recommendations. Firstly, rivers should be managed under a legally binding global accord at the basin level. Secondly, challenges related to river pollution and inappropriate project implementation can be mitigated by adopting newly defined strategic environmental assessments and the United Nations System of Environmental Economic Accounting. Thirdly, we need data from the latest scientific sources, such as geospatial sources, to better understand rivers at different scales as composite systems. The last recommendation calls for taking into account climate change concerns in river management approaches. We also outline a proposition for developing a river monitoring and assessment program in order to perform comprehensive and planet-wide river assessment. The article elaborates on the strategies for achieving these recommendations.