Much has changed in freshwater conservation over the past 30 years. This presentation looks back at some of these changes, reflects on the present and considers the future. It uses examples from Britain and elsewhere in Europe, but also tracks international trends in freshwater science and conservation as illustrated by submissions to Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Conservation, a journal first published in 1991.
This period has seen significant evolution in the philosophy and practice of conservation. Some changes are in the application of freshwater science to conservation (such as using new methods in remote sensing and genetics), some address growing concerns over environmental impacts that were scarcely discussed 30 years ago (such as climate change and invasive species); some demonstrate a spatially expanding view of fresh waters and their conservation from ‘sites’ to catchments and landscapes; and some are the requirements of new national and international legislation to improve freshwater ‘quality’. Perhaps the most striking change of all – at least in Britain – has been a paradigm shift in the perception of nature conservation – now far less about the stewardship of habitats and species, and far more an anthropocentric activity that sees nature primarily as benefiting people. Thus, despite real progress in developing techniques for assessing fresh waters based on their natural values, there is an increasing focus on assessing ‘natural capital’ for human society.
Much remains to be done. For example, the freshwater research community needs a greater awareness of how its work can contribute to conservation; the relationship between habitat and species conservation needs clearer resolution; the importance of freshwater conservation must be advertised more effectively to the wider public; and a more equitable balance is needed between promoting the concept of ecosystem services and recognising the inherent worth of fresh waters and their right to exist.