Riverscapes and Lifeways - Biocultural Diversity and Flow Management in Large Rivers

For millennia, people have been part of nature in riverscapes, coevolving with the living rivers that are the very hearts of these landscapes.  The world’s large river systems have been vital routes for the adaptation, cultural identity, and material and spiritual wellbeing of human civilizations, and of the ecosystems and biological diversity. River flows continue to connect people, places, and wildlife today, inspiring and sustaining diverse cultural beliefs, values, and ways of life.  

Through my talk, I aim to highlight and explore the interlinked diversity of river nature and culture, particularly in the context of the global biocultural diversity crisis - in large part a consequence of the fragmentation and flow regulation impacts of infrastructure development.  I will introduce new frontiers in environmental flow management and conservation that are beginning to enrich our transdisciplinary knowledge and understanding of interrelationships between healthy rivers and dependent peoples. Finally, I will mention emerging collaborations that hold some promise of more sustainably managed riverscapes in the future.