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The world's rivers - the single largest renewable water resource for humans and a crucible of aquatic biodiversity - are in a crisis of ominous proportions, according to a new global analysis co-authored by a researcher at The University of Western Australia.

The study, published recently in Nature , is the first to simultaneously map the effects of pollution, dam building, agricultural runoff, the conversion of wetlands and the introduction of exotic species on the health of the world's rivers, said Professor Peter Davies, Director of UWA's Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management.

Fresh water is widely regarded as the world's most essential natural resource, underpinning human life and economic development as well as the existence of countless organisms ranging from microscopic life to fish, amphibians, birds and terrestrial animals of all kinds.

The grim portrait of the world's rivers shows that nearly 80 per cent of the world's human population live in areas where river waters are highly threatened, posing a major threat to human water security and resulting in aquatic environments where thousands of species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction.

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Paula Phillips (UWA Albany Centre) (+61 8) 9842 0810