The Freshwater Challenge—the world’s largest initiative to restore degraded rivers, lakes, and wetlands and to protect vital freshwater ecosystems—aims to ensure that 186,411 miles of degraded rivers and more than 864 million acres of degraded wetlands are designated to be restored by 2030. It also includes conserving intact ecosystems.
In a major boost to global efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt to its worsening impacts on societies and economies, 45 countries and the European Union have committed to the Freshwater Challenge, and it is supported by Conservation International, IUCN, the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands, The Nature Conservancy, Wetlands International, OECD, UNEP, and WWF. The six countries that launched the initiative at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York are Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Gabon, Mexico, and Zambia. The current members of the Freshwater Challenge contain over 30% of the world’s renewable freshwater resources and are home to almost 2 billion people.
Healthy freshwater ecosystems are critical to mitigating and adapting to climate change. They are seen as the foundation for a water-resilient future. Peatlands are the world’s largest terrestrial carbon store, while river sediment deposited on the sea floor can also sequester large quantities of carbon. Connected floodplains and healthy wetlands can reduce the impact of extreme floods and build resilience to ever-increasing droughts. Yet one-third of the world’s wetlands have been lost over the past 50 years, and we are still losing them faster than forests. Rivers and lakes are the most degraded ecosystems and climate change is exacerbating the already unprecedented threats.
The United States announced its participation in the Freshwater Challenge at COP28 in December 2023. Subsequently, the Biden-Harris administration launched the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge in April 2024, setting ambitious national goals. These include reconnecting, restoring, and protecting 8 million acres of wetlands and 100,000 miles of rivers and streams by 2030. WWF-US currently supports the Freshwater Challenge and partners with local groups to restore the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo River, currently one of the most endangered river basins in the world, and essential to communities throughout Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. We’re working to restore wetlands and watersheds in order to enhance water availability and security for people and nature. Scaling up efforts in the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo basin as well as across the U.S. requires public and private action, financial and political support, and community engagement to deliver nature-based solutions.
Learn more about WWF's work on freshwater.
