Designing protected and conserved areas to support free-flowing rivers: Environmental flows, connectivity and communities
Free‑flowing rivers support biodiversity, sediment transport, migration and essential services for millions, yet fewer than one‑third remain intact. This paper highlights community‑driven protections across the Ecuadorian Amazon, Australia’s Gayini wetlands, Chile’s Puelo and Futaleufú Rivers, Colombia’s Bita River and Mexico’s San Pedro Mezquital and Usumacinta Rivers. These cases show how local stewards, partners and governments secure connectivity and environmental flows through protected and conserved areas. Building on IUCN guidance, the authors outline approaches to elevate rivers and their guardians in achieving the 30×30 target and ensuring relational, culturally grounded river conservation.
Subject Tags
- Rivers
- Community-based conservation
- Indigenous Peoples
Abstract
Rivers are not isolated features, they are lifelines, and less than one third of the world’s large rivers remain freeflowing. Protecting free-flowing rivers requires honouring the people who sustain them, and embracing conservation as a shared, relational practice rooted in connection, reciprocity and care. Free-flowing rivers support dynamic flow regimes, sediment transport, species diversity, migration and the resilience of landscapes. They provide essential services such as clean water, food security, flood regulation and cultural values for millions of people globally. Despite their importance, rivers remain highly threatened and under-protected. This paper builds on the recent IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas guidance on inland waters, detailing community-based river protections that secure environmental flows and connectivity. Innovative cases from the Ecuadorian Amazon, Gayini in Australia, the Puelo and Futaleufú Rivers in Chile, the Bita River in Colombia, and the San Pedro Mezquital and Usumacinta Rivers in Mexico, highlight how local communities have worked with partners and governments to establish protected and conserved areas that keep their waterways connected and flowing. The paper concludes with recommended approaches to elevate rivers and their stewards in implementation of the 30x30 protection target and beyond.
Citation
Moberg, T., Shahbol, N., Fitzsimons, J., Woods, J., Trujillo, F., Salinas, S., ... & Abell, R. (2025). Designing Protected and Conserved Areas to Support Free-flowing Rivers: Environmental Flows, Connectivity and Communities.
TNC Authors
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Tara Moberg
Durable Freshwater Protection Advisor
The Nature Conservancy
Email: tmoberg@tnc.org -
James Fitzsimons
Senior Advisor, Global Protection Strategies
The Nature Conservancy
Email: jfitzsimons@tnc.org -
Gabriela Celi Checa
Coordinator of the Ecuadorian Amazon Strategy
The Nature Conservancy
Email: gabriela.celi@tnc.org -
Robin Abell
Durable Freshwater Protection Director
The Nature Conservancy
Email: robin.abell@tnc.org