The Brisbane Declaration.

The article offers information about the summary findings and global action to address the urgent need to protect rivers worldwide. The summary was presented during the 10th International Riversymposium and International Environmental Flow Conference on September 3 to 6, 2007 in Brisbane, Australia which was attended by more than 800 scientists, economists, engineers, resource managers and policy makers from more than 50 countries. Scientists concluded that freshwater ecosystems are the foundation of our social, cultural and economic well-being. Freshwater ecosystems are seriously impaired and continue to degrade at alarming rates and water flowing to the sea is not wasted. It also revealed that flow alteration imperils freshwater and estuarine ecosystem.