Inland waters resources include lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, groundwater, springs, cave waters, floodplains, as well as bogs, marshes and swamps, which are traditionally grouped as inland wetlands.
“Inland waters” are aquatic-influenced environments located within land boundaries. This includes those located in coastal areas, even where adjacent to marine environments. Inland water systems can be fresh, saline or a mix of the two (brackishwater).
Utilization of Inland Water Resources
- Water and life
- Water is also our most abundant resource – but most of it is salt water in the oceans.
- World’s total water resources, less than 3% is represented by freshwater and less than 1% of that (less than 0.03% of total water) occurs in the Earth’s liquid fresh surface water.
- Water available on Earth as fresh water supports a stunningly and disproportionately high level of biodiversity.
- Life living within water, depends upon inland water habitat.
- Water and human health
- Inland water biodiversity is critically important to poverty reduction and the achievement of human development targets.
- Use of inland water biodiversity (e.g., for inland fisheries) provides food security for countless millions of the world’s poor.
- Ecosystem services provided by inland water biodiversity, such as climate regulation, flood mitigation, nutrient recycling, water purification and waste treatment, are critical to human welfare and development.
- Inland water ecosystems services
- Benefits such as pollution and nutrient absorption and recycling, flood management, drinking-water supply and mitigation against the impacts of natural catastrophes and climate change.
Role of inland waters biodiversity in climate change
Climate regulation
- The most important roles of wetlands is in the regulation of global climate change through sequestering and releasing a major proportion of fixed carbon in the biosphere.
- For example, although covering only an estimated 3–4% of the world’s land area, peatlands are estimated to hold 540 gigatons of carbon, representing about 1.5% of the total estimated global carbon storage and about 25–30% of that contained in terrestrial vegetation and soils.
Mitigation of climate change
- Wetlands, such as mangroves and river floodplains, play a very significant role in mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events (and natural catastrophes such as Tsunamis).
- Removing the existing pressures on wetlands and improving their resilience is the most effective method of coping with the adverse effects of climate change.
Inland Water Resources,Inland Water Resources
Also Read : Groundwater Sources