Available freshwater is only a fraction of the Earth’s total water resources — only about 0.8% of it is found in lakes, rivers, and groundwater globally. Today, more than 1 in 6 people worldwide do not have access to a safe amount of freshwater given that most use is for industry and agriculture. A rising human population — from 7.5 billion today to ~ 12 billion by 2100 — is placing increasing stress on these resources, such that by 2075 much of the world (including Australia) will be within critical water scarcity. Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent, yet we use a staggering 600% higher-than-average rate of freshwater per year. Globally, this means at least a greater incidence of conflict and wars, as well as a loss of human rights and more refugees. A scarcity of freshwater also has major implications for declining human health, especially in regions such as Africa and the Middle East. Indeed, a lack of clean water is one of the major drivers of poor child health in the developing world. Freshwater ecosystems are also struggling as a result, with at least 37% of freshwater fishes and amphibians threatened today, and almost 18% of total freshwater biodiversity endemic to tropical South America threatened with extinction. Rapid climate disruption and change is threatening these systems further, with little prospect for restricting greenhouse-gas emissions rates globally in the near future. As such, I argue that freshwater biologists must move from a state of irrelevancy into a more transdisciplinary and engaging research culture to emphasise maintaining ecological function, and valuing freshwater ecosystem services. Only by moving into the most-relevant research arenas that might move us out of our comfort zones can we have any hope of limiting the worldwide freshwater crises. Breaking through to the average person depends on our ability to engage in disciplines outside of our own.
*apologies to Jarod Diamond