Reduce pollution, sedimentation and destructive river modification

Identify the dominant pressures in the catchment or coast, then control them at source through wastewater treatment, agricultural and industrial discharge limits, erosion reduction, mining controls and better infrastructure design. Remove or modify barriers and channel works when evidence shows that they disrupt passage, spawning habitat or sediment processes.

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 7 calls for reducing pollution risks and impacts to levels not harmful to biodiversity. Projects should use species-relevant water-quality and habitat thresholds, not only general compliance indicators.

The intervention requires upstream governance and enforcement. Local cleanup without stopping the source is unlikely to produce durable recovery.