Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: Rapid degradation of the world’s large lakes

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jglr.2020.05.006
• Publication Date: 2020-05-25T20:49:26Z
• Authors: Jean-Philippe Jenny; Orlane Anneville; Fabien Arnaud; Yoann Baulaz; Damien Bouffard; Isabelle Domaizon; Serghei A. Bocaniov; Nathalie Chèvre; Maria Dittrich; Jean-Marcel Dorioz; Erin S. Dunlop; Gaël Dur; Jean Guillard; Thibault Guinaldo; Stéphan Jacquet; Aurélien Jamoneau; Zobia Jawed; Erik Jeppesen; Gail Krantzberg; John Lenters; Barbara Leoni; Michel Meybeck; Veronica Nava; Tiina Nõges; Peeter Nõges; Martina Patelli; Victoria Pebbles; Marie-Elodie Perga; Serena Rasconi; Carl R. Ruetz; Lars Rudstam; Nico Salmaso; Sharma Sapna; Dietmar Straile; Olga Tammeorg; Michael R. Twiss; Donald G. Uzarski; Anne-Mari Ventelä; Warwick F. Vincent; Steven W. Wilhelm; Sten-Åke Wängberg; Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer
• Keywords: Environmental degradation; Limnology; Overexploitation

Large lakes of the world are habitats for diverse species, including endemic taxa, and valuable resources that provide humanity with many ecosystem services. They also sentinels global local change, recent studies in limnology paleolimnology have demonstrated disturbing evidence their collective degradation terms depletion (water food), rapid warming loss ice, destruction ecosystems, accelerating pollution. particularly exposed to anthropogenic climatic stressors. The Second Warning Humanity provides a framework assess dangers now threatening world's large lake ecosystems evaluate pathways sustainable development more respectful ongoing provision Here we review current emerging threats world, iconic examples management failures successes, from which identify priorities approaches future conservation efforts. underscores extent resource degradation, is result cumulative perturbation through time by long-term human impacts combined other Decades resulted major challenges restoration legacy ecological economic costs generations. will require intense efforts warmer, increasingly populated achieve sustainable, high-quality waters. This an opportunity highlight value observatory network monitor report on environmental changes ecosystems.