River Conservation
Why do we need to protect rivers? Rivers provide essentials: fresh water, food, and habitats. Rivers inspire poetry, art, and music; some are held sacred. While each river is unique, all rivers are part of larger systems, and have common characteristics that enable us to understand how they function, and how to protect them. River conservation strives to maintain two things: the quantity of water within a system, and the quality of rivers—and of everything else—within the river system and watershed.

Click one of the three topics above—Using, Changing, or Saving Our Rivers—to begin your hands-on exploration of river conservation.

Photographs (left to right): Dal Lake, Kashmir, India, by Steve McCurry; near Rio Grande River, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas State, Mexico, by Bruce Dale; Athi River, Kenya, by Bruce Dale

© 2001 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.