var layerinfo = [{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>What is the State of the World's Rivers?<\/i><br><br>The State of the World's Rivers is an interactive web database that illustrates data on ecological health in the world\u2019s 50 major river basins. Indicators of ecosystem health are grouped into three categories:<br><br>&bull; River Fragmentation<br>&bull; Biodiversity<br>&bull; Water Quality<br><br><i>Navigating the Database<\/i><br><br>To start navigating the interactive database, first select one of the fourteen indicators you seek to visualize. As you hover over the indicator name, the right panel will show detailed information about each indicator, including a list of data sources and a discussion of our methodology.<br><br><i>The 50 Major River Basins Used in this Database<\/i><br><br>The maps include data in several basins where International Rivers currently works, including the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/grand-inga-dam-dr-congo\">Congo<\/a>, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/amaz%C3%B4nia-viva\">Amazon<\/a>, and the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/mekong-mainstream-dams\"> Mekong<\/a> basins. For a full list of the world's 50 major river basins, see below.<br><br>&bull;  Albany<br>&bull;  Amazon<br>&bull;  Amu-Darya<br>&bull;  Amur<br>&bull;  Anadyr<br>&bull;  Baker<br>&bull;  Chubut<br>&bull;  Churchill (Hudson Bay)<br>&bull;  Columbia<br>&bull;  Congo<br>&bull;  Danube<br>&bull;  Dnepr<br>&bull;  Dvina<br>&bull;  Fraser<br>&bull;  Ganges-Brahmaputra<br>&bull;  Godavari<br>&bull;  Hai Ho<br>&bull;  Indigirka<br>&bull;  Indus<br>&bull;  Ayeyarwaddy<br>&bull;  Khatanga<br>&bull;  Koksoak<br>&bull;  Kolyma<br>&bull;  Lena<br>&bull;  Mackenzie<br>&bull;  Mekong<br>&bull;  Mississippi<br>&bull;  Nelson<br>&bull;  Neva<br>&bull;  Niger<br>&bull;  Nile<br>&bull;  Ob<br>&bull;  Orinoco<br>&bull;  Parana<br>&bull;  Pechora<br>&bull;  Pyasina<br>&bull;  S\u00e3o Francisco<br>&bull;  St. Lawrence<br>&bull;  Tigris-Euphrates<br>&bull;  Tocantins<br>&bull;  Uruguay<br>&bull;  Volga<br>&bull;  Volta<br>&bull;  Wisla<br>&bull;  Yana<br>&bull;  Yangtze<br>&bull;  Yellow<br>&bull;  Yenisei<br>&bull;  Yukon<br>&bull;  Zambezi","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7325\/9449809640_b866d30dcb_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"Fishing boats along the Sesan River, Cambodia. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":1},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"About this Site","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>What is the State of the World's Rivers?<\/i><br><br>The State of the World's Rivers is an interactive web database that illustrates data on ecological health in the world\u2019s 50 major river basins. Indicators of ecosystem health are grouped into three categories:<br><br>&bull; River Fragmentation<br>&bull; Biodiversity<br>&bull; Water Quality<br><br><i>Navigating the Database<\/i><br><br>To start navigating the interactive database, first select one of the fourteen indicators you seek to visualize. As you hover over the indicator name, the right panel will show detailed information about each indicator, including a list of data sources and a discussion of our methodology.<br><br><i>The 50 Major River Basins Used in this Database<\/i><br><br>The maps include data in several basins where International Rivers currently works, including the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/grand-inga-dam-dr-congo\">Congo<\/a>, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/amaz%C3%B4nia-viva\">Amazon<\/a>, and the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/mekong-mainstream-dams\"> Mekong<\/a> basins. For a full list of the world's 50 major river basins, see below.<br><br>&bull;  Albany<br>&bull;  Amazon<br>&bull;  Amu-Darya<br>&bull;  Amur<br>&bull;  Anadyr<br>&bull;  Baker<br>&bull;  Chubut<br>&bull;  Churchill (Hudson Bay)<br>&bull;  Columbia<br>&bull;  Congo<br>&bull;  Danube<br>&bull;  Dnepr<br>&bull;  Dvina<br>&bull;  Fraser<br>&bull;  Ganges-Brahmaputra<br>&bull;  Godavari<br>&bull;  Hai Ho<br>&bull;  Indigirka<br>&bull;  Indus<br>&bull;  Ayeyarwaddy<br>&bull;  Khatanga<br>&bull;  Koksoak<br>&bull;  Kolyma<br>&bull;  Lena<br>&bull;  Mackenzie<br>&bull;  Mekong<br>&bull;  Mississippi<br>&bull;  Nelson<br>&bull;  Neva<br>&bull;  Niger<br>&bull;  Nile<br>&bull;  Ob<br>&bull;  Orinoco<br>&bull;  Parana<br>&bull;  Pechora<br>&bull;  Pyasina<br>&bull;  S\u00e3o Francisco<br>&bull;  St. Lawrence<br>&bull;  Tigris-Euphrates<br>&bull;  Tocantins<br>&bull;  Uruguay<br>&bull;  Volga<br>&bull;  Volta<br>&bull;  Wisla<br>&bull;  Yana<br>&bull;  Yangtze<br>&bull;  Yellow<br>&bull;  Yenisei<br>&bull;  Yukon<br>&bull;  Zambezi","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7325\/9449809640_b866d30dcb_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"Fishing boats along the Sesan River, Cambodia. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":2},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Acknowledgements","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>Acknowledgements<\/i><br><br>The State of the World Rivers interactive web database is a product of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\">International Rivers.<\/a><br><br>International Rivers thanks the generous support of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.annenbergfoundation.org\">The Annenberg Foundation\/Metabolic Studios<\/a>, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.clifbarfamilyfoundation.org\">Clif Bar Family Foundation<\/a>, and of <a target=\"_blank\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfam.org.au\">Oxfam Australia<\/a>,<br><br> Research, data compilation, and map production are by Anna Bee Szendrenyi and Simon Topp.<br><br><i>Suggested Citation<\/i><br><br>The State of the World's Rivers, International Rivers. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/worldsrivers\">www.internationalrivers.org\/worldsrivers<\/a>. Accessed [date].<br><br>","legend":"","image":"Alaknanda.jpg","image_hover_text":"Floating down the Alaknanda River. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":3},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Data Sources","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>Basin Scale and Boundaries<\/i><br><br>The basin scale as the ecological and geographical unit for displaying the indicators. A basin is defined as the land area where all surface water drains to a certain major river.<br><br>The river basin boundaries are based on datasets from the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bafg.de\/GRDC\/EN\/Home\/homepage_node.html\">Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC)<\/a>, and on flow direction data sets of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/gcmd.nasa.gov\/records\/GCMD_HYDRO1k.html\">HYDRO1k Elevation Derivative Database<\/a> for Africa, Asia, North and South America and Europe. The HYDRO1k is a geographic database derived from the USGS\u2019 30 arc-second digital elevation model of the world <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/lta.cr.usgs.gov\/GTOPO30\">(GTOPO30)<\/a>. Additional basin data are derived from Fekete, V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty, and Lammers, 2010.<br><br>For more information, see Further Resources.<br><br><i>Layer Data<\/i><br><br>Upon clicking on each data layer, you will find a list of data sources used for each indicator.<br><br><i>Dams Data<\/i><br><br>Dams data are compiled from various sources, including: the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/atlas.gwsp.org\/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=207&Itemid=68\">Global Reservoir and Dam (GRanD) Database<\/a>, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/waterandfood.org\">Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Challenge Program on Water and Food - Mekong<\/a> (for Mekong basin dams only), the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/geo.usace.army.mil\/pgis\/f?p=397:101:539564357739401::NO:::\">United States National Inventory of Dams (NID)<\/a>, other government dam inventories, and original data collection by International Rivers.<br><br><i>Data Availability and Bias<\/i><br><br>Data results included in the State of the World's Rivers are biased towards public available data, so gaps may exist. If you have any data you would like to share, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/contact\">let us know<\/a>.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm3.staticflickr.com\/2078\/5731711508_30573e971f_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"Jumping into the Tapaj&oacute;s River, Brazil. Photo by International Rivers. ","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":4},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Major Findings","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>Major Findings from the Data<\/i><br><br>Statistical correlations were run to test how well our database of nearly 6,000 dams matched with data obtained for each ecological indicator. Initial results follow. The findings should be interpreted simply as statistical inferences, not as direct, causal relationships.<br><br><i>Priority basins for remediation<\/i><br><br>The basins that rank the highest in overall combined fragmentation and lowest in water quality are the Hai Ho, Tigris-Euphrates, Wisla, Dnepr, Yellow, Danube, Godavari, Mississippi, Indus, and Volta basins.<br><br><i>Priority basins for preservation<\/i><br><br>The basins that rank the highest in biodiversity, the highest in water quality, and the lowest in fragmentation are the Amazon, Tocantins, Ayeyarwaddy, S\u00e3o Francisco, Orinoco, Paran\u00e1, Congo, Zambezi, Yangtze, and Mekong basins.<br><br><i>Other findings<\/i><br><br>\u2022 River fragmentation due to dams correlated with poor levels of water quality about 80% of the time in the basins that were studied.<br><br>\u2022 Mercury contamination is high in about 72% of basins that are the most highly fragmented.<br><br>\u2022 Fragmentation has led to high amounts of sediment trapped upstream, in about 61% of basins.<br><br>\u2022 80% of basins that have the highest number of dams also have the highest amount of thermal pollution. This could signify that dams have been built in basins with high existing industrial activity, or dams have served as a driver for industrial activity, or both.<br><br>\u2022 Poor levels of water quality are correlated to low levels of species density in 62% of basins, meaning that fragmentation due to dams is a significant factor in biodiversity loss.<br><br>\n","legend":"","image":"Localwomen.jpg","image_hover_text":"Local women heading to the fish market on the Mekong River. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":5},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Fragmentation","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>How Did We Measure River Fragmentation?<\/i><br><br>To represent <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/environmental-effects-of-hydrological-alterations\">river fragmentation<\/a>, the maps visualize four indicators: Total Number of Existing Dams per Basin; Concentration of Dams per Total River Length per Basin; Percentage of Sediment Trapped Upstream per Basin, and Total Fragmentation Index, based on four equally-weighted variables.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7353\/8762181792_bd2e34cca6_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"Xiaowan Dam in China is 292 meters high. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":6},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Fragmentation","layer_name":"Total Number of Existing Dams","text_description":"The total number of dams currently existing and operational in each basin.<br><br> <i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Dam data are from the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gwsp.org\/products\/grand-database.html\">GRanD Dams Database<\/a> and from International Rivers.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>In total, there are more than 50,000 dams on Earth. Yet, displaying the total amount of dams depends explicitly on data availability.The data sources listed above provide only a count of ~13,000 dams. From this dataset, we took a smaller subset of 5,796 existing dams within the 50 major basins.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8315\/7997880914_22c6c64c06_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"The wall of the Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique, as seen from below. Photo by Rich Belfuss.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Total_Dams","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Total_Dams","id":7},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Fragmentation","layer_name":"Highest Concentration of Dams per River Length","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>This is the average number of dams per 100 kilometers of river length per basin. Dams data are compiled from various sources, including: the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/atlas.gwsp.org\/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=207&Itemid=68\">Global Reservoir and Dam (GRanD) Database<\/a>, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.cgiar.org\/\">Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)<\/a> (for Mekong basin dams only), the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/geo.usace.army.mil\/pgis\/f?p=397:101:539564357739401::NO:::\">United States National Inventory of Dams (NID)<\/a>, other government dam inventories, and original data collection by International Rivers. River data is sourced from <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.naturalearthdata.com\/\">Natural Earth<\/a>.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>Within each basin, the total number of dams currently existing in the basin was divided by the total length of the river system that is visible at the ten meter resolution.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3542\/3508675480_780afd8343_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"Polish NGOs propose dam decommissioning instead of a new dam to solve erosion problems on the Vistula River. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Dams_Per_100_River_kms","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Dams_Per_100_River_kms","id":8},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Fragmentation","layer_name":"Percentage of Sediment Trapped Upstream","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Sediment data come from the Global Water Atlas, developed for the World Water Development Report II. Dam data come from the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gwsp.org\/products\/grand-database.html\">GRanD Dams Database<\/a>  and International Rivers.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>The data represent sediments trapped by large dams per basin. Sediments act as a proxy for river mobility, which is akin to a flow disruption variable. Two different hydrology models were used to estimate the total discharge of major river basins before and after anthropogenic intervention.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7110\/7609214386_1a058570ed_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Xayaburi Dam, if built, will block critical fish migration routes for between 23-100 fish species to the Mekong&rsquo;s upper stretches as far upstream as Chiang Saen in northern Thailand, an important spawning ground for the critically endangered Mekong Giant Catfish. The dam would destroy the river&rsquo;s complex ecosystems that serve as important fish habitats for local and migratory species. The dam would also block sediment flows in the Mekong River, affecting agriculture as far downstream as the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Percentage_of_Sediment_Trapped_Upstream","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Percentage_of_Sediment_Trapped_Upstream","id":9},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Fragmentation","layer_name":"Highest Fragmentation (Index Average)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>These data represent the highest average river fragmentation per basin. Data were acquired from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al., 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>The data are based on four equally-weighted variables originally developed by Charles V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty: <br><br>&bull; Dam density<br>&bull; River fragmentation<br>&bull; Consumptive water loss<br>&bull; Flow disruption.<br><br>For each variable, the data are at a resolution of 30 arc seconds (about 0.83 km2 grid cells at the equator, and progressively smaller towards the poles).  The data are presented on an impact scale from 0 to 1, where grid cells with a value of 1 are severely impacted by the given variable and grid cells with a value of 0 are not affected at all.  The values of the four variables were added together (equally weighted) and then averaged, creating a basin scale value. The following are descriptions of the four variables:<br><br><i>Dam Density<\/i>:  This dataset includes all dams from the GRanD Dams Database as well as dam data collected by <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icold-cigb.org\/\">The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD)<\/a>.  However, the ICOLD data are not georeferenced, so Vorosmarty developed a probabilistic algorithm to spatially distribute the various dams based on factors such as distance to urban center, population, elevation, and others. <br><br><i>River Fragmentation<\/i>: V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty calculated the distance between all the grid cells along a river system and their closest obstruction.  The result is a measurement of the \"swimmable area\" along a continuous river system, or the length of the various unbroken river segments.<br><br><i>Consumptive Water Loss<\/i>: This is a measurement of the total amount of water removed from a basin compared to the total availability of water within the basin.  The withdrawal data come from year 2000 irrigation data, year 1995 industry\/manufacturing withdrawal data, and basin discharge data from Fekete et al (2010) and Wisser et al. (2008).<br><br><i>Flow Disruption<\/i>: This is the temporal disruption in the natural flow of a given river system.  The results measure years of increased residence time of water based on the total storage capacity within a river and its annual fluxes in discharge.  This variable measures how much longer it takes water to travel through a river system due to the presence of reservoirs.  It has the biggest implication for water quality, in that increased residence time is strongly associated with changes in the thermal properties of a river system, among other things.","legend":"","image":"Avg Fragmentation Index Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"The reservoir of Brazil&#039;s Balbina Dam as seen space. Photo from Google Images.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Average_Fragmentation_Index","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Average_Fragmentation_Index","id":10},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Biodiversity","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>How Did We Measure Biodiversity?<\/i><br><br>To represent <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/rivers-and-biodiversity\">biodiversity<\/a>, the maps visualize five indicators Total Number of Freshwater Species per Basin; Species Density per Basin; Total Percent of Endemic Freshwater Species per Basin; Percent of Non-Native Fish Species per Basin; and Total Number of Threatened Birds, Mammals, Amphibians, and Crocodile Species, per Basin.","legend":"","image":"Biodiversity Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"Pink river dolphins swim in the Amazon. Photo by creativeart1.blogspot.com.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":11},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Biodiversity","layer_name":"Highest Number of Freshwater Non-Fish Species","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Data are from The Nature Conservancy, developed by Hoekstra et al., 2010 for <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/databasin.org\/galleries\/2d2d35ae3bc34399976b598ed7893254\">The Atlas of Global Conservation.<\/a><br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>Within the mammal, reptile, and bird groups, only obligate freshwater species are taken into account (i.e. only species that inherently depend upon a river system for their survival, either through breeding or as a food source). The data do not include fish species counts.<br><br>Total numbers within each basin were extracted from the individual ecoregions with the highest species counts in order to avoid double counting and the extreme underestimate that would result from an average.","legend":"","image":"Arapaima.jpg","image_hover_text":"A giant Arapaima fish travels the rivers of the Amazon basin. Photo by Shaun Stanley.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Number_of_Freshwater_Species","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Number_of_Freshwater_Species","id":12},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Biodiversity","layer_name":"Highest Non-Fish Species Density","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>The data represent average species percentage per square kilometer of landmass. Data are from The Nature Conservancy, developed by Hoekstra et al., 2010 for <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/databasin.org\/galleries\/2d2d35ae3bc34399976b598ed7893254\">The Atlas of Global Conservation.<\/a><br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>Within the mammal, reptile, and bird groups, only obligate freshwater species are taken into account (i.e. only species that inherently depend upon a river system for their survival, either through breeding or as a food source).  The data do not include fish species counts. Total numbers within each basin were extracted from the individual ecoregions with the highest species counts in order to avoid double counting and the extreme underestimate that would result from an average.<br><br>Species density is richness normalized over the size of the basin (e.g. species per 100 sq km), and is a value that would be portrayed in a \"low, moderate, high\" fashion rather than an actual number. ","legend":"","image":"Species Density Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"An Australian freshwater river turtle makes its way with the current. Photo by www.gondwananet.com. ","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Species_Per_100_Sq_Km","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Species_Per_100_Sq_Km","id":13},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Biodiversity","layer_name":"Highest % of Endemic Freshwater Species","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Data are from The Nature Conservancy, developed by Hoekstra et al., 2010 for <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/databasin.org\/galleries\/2d2d35ae3bc34399976b598ed7893254\">The Atlas of Global Conservation.<\/a><br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>The data originally existed at an \"ecoregion level\", which is a unit of land that shares climactic and ecological characteristics.  Each of the 50 major basins overlaps with up to 25 of these ecoregions.  Subsequently, an average number of endemic species of all the ecoregions within each basin was taken.  This average may be an underestimate of the proportion of endemic species, as a species could be endemic within one basin, yet is not counted as endemic because it exists in multiple ecoregions within the basin.  In order to express the total number of endemic species as a percentage, the number of endemic species was divided by the total number of fish, reptile, and amphibian species.<br><br>Regarding the total species counts, the original data only included overall counts of species per ecoregion.  Yet, species move between ecoregions, making it impossible to simply add the species counts within each ecoregion and express this total as how many species exist within a basin (all the species that were not endemic to an ecoregion would get counted at least twice, once for each ecoregion in which they were present, resulting in a large overestimate).  Conversely, simply averaging the number of species within each ecoregion of a basin to determine the total species counts is inaccurate because species are distinct units, and even if a species is only found in one ecoregion, it should still be included in the total count for the basin.  Therefore species counts from the ecoregions with the most species in each basin were utilized as the total number of species found within the basin.  This underestimates species counts, but ensures that species are not double counted, and is a smaller underestimation than would result in simply averaging the various ecoregion species counts.<br>","legend":"","image":"Proportion Endemic Freshwater Species Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"Giant Mekong Catfish are endemic to the Mekong River Basin. Photo by National Geographic.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Percent_Endemic","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Percent_Endemic","id":14},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Biodiversity","layer_name":"Highest % of Non-Native Fish","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>These data represent the percent non-native fish populations per basin. Non-native fish data were averaged from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>This indicator illustrates much more of a threat to biodiversity than it is a proxy for biodiversity.  The data come from Vorosmarty, who pulled the data from LePrieur et al. (2008).  A higher score  represents more competition for native species and subsequently a higher threat to biodiversity. The data was averaged from 30-second resolution grid cells to a basin scale.<br><br> For further metadata see <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/riverthreat.net\/data.html\"> Rivers in Crisis<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v467\/n7315\/extref\/nature09440-s1.pdf \">a study published in Nature<\/a>. ","legend":"","image":"Percent Non-Native Fish Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Nile Perch, native to the Nile River, was introduced to Lake Victoria in the 1950s, causing the disappearance of over one hundred local fish species. Photo by Animal Planet.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Percent_Non_Native_Fish","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Percent_Non_Native_Fish","id":15},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Biodiversity","layer_name":"Threatened Birds, Mammals, Amphibians, Crocs","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>These data represent the number of threatened freshwater species per basin. Threatened species counts from Hoekstra et al, 2010, and other datasets are from the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/databasin.org\/galleries\/2d2d35ae3bc34399976b598ed7893254\">Atlas Of Global Conservation.<\/a><br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>This indicator was compiled by Hoekstra et al, who pulled species data from the IUCN, Birdlife International, and independent researchers.  The map includes those species listed as threatened, endangered, or extremely endangered by the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.iucnredlist.org\/\">IUCN Red List<\/a>.<br><br>The data do not include fish or reptiles other than crocodiles.<br>","legend":"","image":"Croc.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Threatened_Birds__Mammals__Amphibians_and_Crocs","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Threatened_Birds__Mammals__Amphibians_and_Crocs","id":16},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>How Did We Measure Water Quality?<\/i><br><br>To represent <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/dams-and-water-quality\">water quality<\/a>, the maps visualize four indicators: Average Thermal Pollution per Basin; Total Sum of Thermal Pollution per Basin; Average Reservoir Mercury Accumulation per Basin; Total Sum of Reservoir Mercury Accumulation per Basin; Average Total Mercury Accumulation per Basin; Total Sum of Mercury Accumulation per Basin; an index of Average Water Quality per Basin using 9 equally-weighted variables, and an index of Total Sum Water Quality per Basin, using the same 9 equally-weighted variables.","legend":"","image":"water quality.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":17},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"Thermal Pollution (Average)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Thermal alteration values are from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>This number only takes into account the Thermal Alteration variable described in \"Poorest Water Quality (Index Average).\"  The variable is expressed as an average of all cell values within a given basin.","legend":"","image":"Detroit Dam.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Average_Thermal_Index","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Average_Thermal_Index","id":19},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"Thermal Pollution (Sum)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Thermal alteration values are from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>The same variable of Thermal Pollution per basin was used as described above, except expressed as a sum of all cell values, rather than an average.","legend":"","image":"Hoover Dam.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Thermal_Index_Sum","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Thermal_Index_Sum","id":20},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"Reservoir Mercury Accumulation (Average)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Mercury (Hg) deposition rates are from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>All Hg data all came from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010, in the form of 30-second raster data.  For average basin Hg and total basin Hg, the cell values within each basin were either averaged or totaled.  In order to express Hg accumulation in reservoirs, GRanD Dams Database reservoir data was matched with basin cell values for Hg pollution.  The average and total reservoir Hg is the total amount of Hg accumulated in reservoirs within a given basin, and the average level of Hg pollution in any given reservoir within a basin (the latter controls for basin size).","legend":"","image":"Mercury Fish.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Average_Reservoir_Hg_Score","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Average_Reservoir_Hg_Score","id":21},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"Reservoir Mercury Accumulation (Sum)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Hg deposition rates are from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>All Hg data all came from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010, in the form of 30-second raster data.  For average basin Hg and total basin Hg, the cell values within each basin were either averaged or totaled.  In order to express Hg accumulation in reservoirs, GRanD Dams Database reservoir data was matched with basin cell values for Hg pollution.  The average and total reservoir Hg is the total amount of Hg accumulated in reservoirs within a given basin, and the average level of Hg pollution in any given reservoir within a basin (the latter controls for basin size).","legend":"","image":"Stwlan Dam.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Total_Reservoir_Hg_Score","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Total_Reservoir_Hg_Score","id":22},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"Basin Mercury Accumulation (Average)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Hg deposition rates are from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>All Hg data all came from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010, in the form of 30-second raster data.  For average basin Hg and total basin Hg, the cell values within each basin were either averaged or totaled.  In order to express Hg accumulation in reservoirs, GRanD Dams Database reservoir data was matched with basin cell values for Hg pollution.  The average and total reservoir Hg is the total amount of Hg accumulated in reservoirs within a given basin, and the average level of Hg pollution in any given reservoir within a basin (the latter controls for basin size).","legend":"","image":"dead fish.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Average_Basin_Hg_Score","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Average_Basin_Hg_Score","id":23},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"Basin Mercury Accumulation (Sum)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>Hg deposition rates are from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>All Hg data all came from V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al, 2010, in the form of 30-second raster data.  For average basin Hg and total basin Hg, the cell values within each basin were either averaged or totaled.  In order to express Hg accumulation in reservoirs, GRanD Dams Database reservoir data was matched with basin cell values for Hg pollution.  The average and total reservoir Hg is the total amount of Hg accumulated in reservoirs within a given basin, and the average level of Hg pollution in any given reservoir within a basin (the latter controls for basin size).","legend":"","image":"mercury accum.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Total_Basin_Hg_Score","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Total_Basin_Hg_Score","id":24},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"Poorest Water Quality (Index Average)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>These data represent the average water quality index per basin, based on an index of 9 equally weighted water quality parameters, each originally developed by V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et al. 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>The same \"variable index\" methodology developed by Charles V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty to calculate Average Fragmentation was also used to calculate Average Water Quality, using nine variables related to water quality. These variables are described below.<br><br><i>Soil Salinization<\/i>: A measurement of the risk of river salinization from erosion or runoff at a certain location.  Measured in electrical conductivity, this parameter only includes areas that are >25% cropland and have an electrical conductivity value higher than 0.2 dS m-1.  Soils are generally considered saline if their electrical conductivity levels are above 0.4 dS m-1. <br><br><i>Nitrogen Loading<\/i>: Measures anthropogenic nitrogen loading by comparing historical \"pristine\" nitrogen levels with contemporary nitrogen levels as measured by Green et. al., 2004.<br><br><i>Phosphorous Loading<\/i>: Values include point source additions to catchments (i.e. sewage), non-point source additions to catchments (i.e. fertilizer run off), and atmospheric deposition of phosphorous.<br><br><i>Mercury Deposition<\/i>: Values include both wet and dry deposition, both in the form of divalent HgII (the really dangerous one) and particulate Hg. Values were taken from two papers by Salen and Jacob, 2008.<br><br><i>Pesticide Loading<\/i>:  Values are based on total amount of pesticides utilized per country distributed evenly over all the cropland within that country.  Pesticide totals were taken from the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.yale.edu\/esi\/\">2005 Environmental Sustainability Index <\/a>.<br><br><i>Sediment Loading<\/i>:  Erosion rates were utilized as a proxy for total suspended solids (TSS) within a given river system. Rates were taken from Reich et. al., 2001, and do not include effects of sediment trapping in reservoirs or the modifications to floodplains.<br><br><i>Organic Loading<\/i>: Utilized the Nitrogen loading levels from point sources found by Green et. al., 2004 to determined the Biological Oxygen Demand for the various point sources based on sewage treatment plant methods. Biological Oxygen Demand refers to the amount of oxygen needed by bacteria to break down organic matter.<br><br><i>Potential Acidification<\/i>:  Values based on NOx and SOx deposition rates\/distributions as determined by Dentener et. al., 2006.<br><br><i> Thermal Alteration<\/i>: Focuses specifically on the effects of thermal alteration from thermoelectric power plants and manufacturing.  The values were determined based on the withdrawal rates of power and manufacturing plants, but does not include the effects of cooling technologies at those plants.  Data were taken from Vassollo and Doll, 2005.","legend":"","image":"bad water.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Average_Water_Quality_Index","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Average_Water_Quality_Index","id":25},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Water Quality","layer_name":"Poorest Water Quality (Index Sum)","text_description":"<i>Data sources<\/i><br><br>These data represent the sum water quality index per basin. Based on an index of 9 equally weighted water quality parameters, each originally developed by V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty et. al., 2010.<br><br><i>Methodology<\/i><br><br>The same variable of Water Quality per basin as described above, except expressed as a sum of all cell values, rather than an average.","legend":"","image":"poor water.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"BasinDB:Water_Quality_Index_Sum","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"BasinDB:Water_Quality_Index_Sum","id":26},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>Ten of the World's Most Important River Basins<\/I><br><br>Below we feature ten of the world's most significant  basins. International Rivers currently works or has worked in the past in each of the ten. Each basin is ranked significantly for one or more ecological indicators. To visualize the basin, its dams, and areas of high conservation value within the basin such as World Heritage Sites and Ramsar Wetlands Sites, click on the layer button. To read about characteristics of and threats in each basin, simply hover your mouse over the layer, or click the layer.","legend":"","image":"Yukon.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"","id":27},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Nile Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 8th Most Sediment Trapped Upstream<\/i><br><br>The Nile - the world\u2019s longest river - runs through 10 countries, four of which are \"water scarce.\" The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/nile-basin\">Nile Basin<\/a> covers nearly 10% of the landmass of the African continent, and is home to 160 million people. Water experts believe there is not enough water in the river to meet the various irrigation goals of the Nile basin nations. Adding to potential water stress, existing large dams have made major changes to the river\u2019s flow, increased evaporation in the system, and have altered important ecosystem functions. Many more dams now under consideration (most notably in Ethiopia, which is building Africa\u2019s largest hydropower dam, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2272\">Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam<\/a>, on the Blue Nile), combined with climate change, bring new threats to the basin.<br><br>The Nile is a muddy river, and large dam reservoirs capture much of its sediment. These changes have been particularly significant in the Nile delta, an area that spans two-thirds of Egypt's cropland. Before construction of the High Aswan Dam, the Nile River carried an average of 124 million tonnes of sediment to the sea each year, and deposited another 9.5 million tonnes or so on the narrow floodplain and delta, which are home to almost all of Egypt's people. After the High Aswan Dam was built, the Nile all but ceased to wash sediments into the Mediterranean. As a result, the river system has experienced serious reductions in reservoir storage capacities, hydropower generation problems, and flooding of its banks, negatively impacting the socio-economic lives of the people, the local environment and adjoining ecosystems.","legend":"","image":"Nile Basin.jpg","image_hover_text":"Lake Turkana, Kenya. Photo courtesy of Christophe Cerisier.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Nile:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Nile:focus_basin","id":28},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Tigris-Euphrates Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 4th Most Fragmented Basin<\/i><br><br>The <a targe=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/turkey\">Tigris and Euphrates Basin<\/a> has an area of 879 790 km2 and extends across the countries of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait. The basin is characterized by two large rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, and also includes other rivers such as the Greater Zab and Lesser Zab, the the Al-Adhaim or Nahr Al Uzaym, the Diyala, and others.<br><br>Discharge rates of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers fluctuate greatly due to periods of drought. Wet years averaged up to 68,000 cubic meters per second during the mid-1960s, and as high as 84,000 cubic meters per second in the mid-1970s, whereas during drought years, less than 30 km3 have been observed at the beginning of the 1960s.<br><br>The trans-boundary nature of the drought-constrained basin has produced both disputes and treaties over water rights and access. The British-French treaty controlling water uses in the 1920s, the Turco-French protocol in the 1930s, and the Treaty of Friendship and Good Neighborly Relations between Turkey and Iraq in 1946, sought to regulate water access in the region. Dam-building booms in the 1970s in Turkey and Syria diminished downstream flow in Iraq by 25 percent.<br><br>Turkey\u2019s GAP development project in Southeastern Anatolia, created in the 1970s and ongoing today, consists of 22 dams, of which 13 are operational or under construction, including the large, controversial <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/ilisu-dam\">Ilisu Dam<\/a>. There are currently at least 46 dams in the Tigris-Euphrates basin, with at least 8 more planned or under construction. More may already exist or have been sited in government inventories.<br><br>The basin consists largely of flooded grassland marshes and savanna. The marshlands were an extensive natural wetlands ecosystem which developed over thousands of years in the Tigris-Euphrates basin and once covered 15-20,000 square kilometers. Yet, due to extreme agricultural development in the basin and trans-boundary water conflicts, the marshes of the Tigris-Euphrates Basin have been significantly reduced. Desiccation of the marshes led to the disappearance of salt-tolerant vegetation including reeds, rushes, and papyrus, as well as a reduction in the plankton-rich waters that fertilized surrounding soils. Habitat has decreased as a result for 52 native fish species, a number of migratory bird species, and others, including water buffalo, antelopes and gazelles, and the jerboa.<br><br>In 2008, Turkey, Iraq and Syria agreed to restart the Joint Trilateral Committee on water for the three nations for better water resources management. Turkey, Iraq and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on September 3, 2009, in order to strengthen communication within the Tigris-Euphrates Basin and to develop joint water-flow-monitoring stations.[1]<br><br><i>References<\/i><br>[1] <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.fao.org\/nr\/water\/aquastat\/basins\/euphrates-tigris\/index.stm\">FAO<\/a><br>\n","legend":"","image":"Tigris Euphrates River Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Tigris River winding through mountains nearby the town of Hasankeyf, threatened by the Ilisu Dam. Photo by www.hasankeyfmatters.com.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Tigris-Euphrates:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Tigris-Euphrates:focus_basin","id":29},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Ayeyarwady Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 5th Most Endemic Species<\/i><br><br>The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/7413\"> Ayeyarwady Basin<\/a> system is situated between two of the most ecologically biodiverse regions\u2014Indo-Burma and South Central China. The basin contains some of the world\u2019s \u2018hottest\u2019 biodiversity hotspots, home to at least 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemic species. Certain regions within the Ayeyarwady Basin are important wintering and staging areas for waterfowl from Tibet and areas north of the Himalayas, making it a critical habitat source for both local and migratory species. Currently an unobstructed system, proposed damns along the Ayeyarwady river system could potentially inundate these biologically rich areas, resulting in habitat alterations as well as habitat destruction. As a result, the Ayeyarwady river basin is one of the most ecologically threatened regions in the world. Dams currently stand to threaten the Ayeyarwady dolphin and Ayeyarwady river shark, extremely rare aquatic species. Because dams alter natural flooding cycles and disrupt natural water and nutrient cycles, fish populations could also be aversely affected across the basin.<br><br>On September 30, 2011, the Myitsone Dam project, the largest proposed dam construction on the Ayeyarwady, was postponed. Reasons for the postponement included intense opposition from grassroots movements and public outcry to the damming of Myanmar\u2019s \"Mother\" river, which led to the halting of construction for the foreseeable future.<br><br>In 2008, the Ayeyarwady Delta was devastated by Cyclone Nargis, which effectively change the ecology of the region. Brackish water and increased salinity have resulted in changes in production and irrigation activity within the region.<br><br>Watershed areas of the upper segment of the Ayeyarwady have been affected by deforestation, poor fishing practices, and mining efforts, leading to further degradation of the basin.","legend":"","image":"Irrawaddy Basin Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"Sifting in the Sand\n\nWorking hard panning for gold along the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Burma, which would have been affected by the Myitsone Dam.\n\nPhoto by Pianporn Deetes\/International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Ayeyarwaddy:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Ayeyarwaddy:focus_basin","id":30},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Paran\u00e1 Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 3rd Highest Total Number of Dams<\/i><br><br>The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2351\">Paran\u00e1 Basin<\/a> is a large, highly sedimented basin situated in the central-eastern part of South America. About 75% of its area is located in Brazil, from Mato Grosso to Rio Grande do Sul states. The remainder is distributed throughout eastern Paraguay, northeastern Argentina and northern Uruguay. The basin covers an area of about 1,500,000 square kilometers.<br><br>The Paran\u00e1 River, from which the Paran\u00e1 Basin derived its name, flows along the central axis of the Paran\u00e1 Basin and drains it. The Paran\u00e1 is born in the highlands of eastern Brazil, while the neighboring Paraguay River flows from Mato Grosso and the Gran Chaco region. The Paran\u00e1 flows 4,695 km (nearly 3,000 miles), emptying into the La Plata estuary near Buenos Aires and Montevideo.<br><br>Underneath this large land area runs the world's largest aquifer system, the Guaran\u00ed Aquifer, an important source of freshwater in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The aquifer covers 1,200,000 km2 (460,000 sq mi) with an estimated volume of about 37,000 km3 (3.0\u00d71010 acre\u00b7ft) of water.<br><br>As of 2014, there are 228 existing dams in the Paran\u00e1 Basin, and a whopping 412 more are planned or already under construction. The dams are affecting the main stem Paran\u00e1 and its tributaries, including the Grande, the Parana\u00edba, the Tiete, the Paranapanema, the Igua\u00e7u, and also the nearby Uruguay. Historically, communities facing displacement for the construction of these dams, including Brazil's largest, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/7652\">Itaip\u00fa Dam<\/a>, gave rise to the Movimento de Atingidos pelas Barragens, or <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.mabnacional.org.br\/search\/english%20index\">Dam-Affected People\u00b4s Movement<\/a>.<br><br>Principal threats to the Paraguay-Paran\u00e1 system are plans to channelize 2,100 miles of rivers for an industrial waterway, in order to lower the cost of exporting soybeans, as well as plans for new hydroelectric dams, including the Corpus Christi Dam on the Paran\u00e1 River (Argentina\/Paraguay), the Garab\u00ed-Panambi Dam on the Uruguay river (Argentina\/Brazil), and a raising of the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2343\">Yacyret\u00e1 reservoir<\/a> (Argentina\/Paraguay) to its final design level.","legend":"","image":"Parana Basin Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Paran&aacute; River. Photo by Marcelo W. Alves.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Parana:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Parana:focus_basin","id":31},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Mekong Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 1st Worst in Water Quality Index<\/i><br><br>The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2333\">Mekong River<\/a> is the longest river in Southeast Asia and the tenth longest river in the world, with a biological diversity second only to the Amazon. Flowing 4,909 km (approx. 3,000 miles) the Mekong River begins its journey in China\u2019s Tibetan Plateau; fed by snow melt from the Tibetan Himalayas, the Mekong drops down through Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea in southern Vietnam.<br><br>The Mekong River Basin is one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world; the multitude of ecosystems within the Basin supports a huge diversity of plants and animals including approximately 20,000 plant species, 430 mammal, 1200 bird, 800 reptiles and amphibians, and 850 fish species.[1] About 24% of fish species are endemic to the Mekong River including the Giant Mekong Catfish, one of the region\u2019s most iconic species[2]. Floodpains and wetlands throughout the basin provide productive environments for rice cultivation, freshwater capture fisheries, and other forms of agriculture and aquaculture.<br><br>The Mekong River is also home to the world\u2019s largest and most productive inland fishery, supporting the livelihoods and food security of approximately 40 million people. Mekong fisheries produce roughly 22% of the world\u2019s freshwater capture fish.[3] Up to 2.6 million tonnes of wild fish and other aquatic resources are harvested each year, worth at least US$2 billion at first-sale value. The total economic value for the Mekong\u2019s fisheries is between US$5.6 and US$9.4 billion per year, contributing significantly to the region\u2019s economy.[4] Migratory fish make up and estimated 70% of the harvest.[5]<br><br>The region's governments are intent on constructing\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/4035\">scores of dams<\/a>\u00a0on the\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2333\">Mekong\u00a0mainstream<\/a>\u00a0and its tributaries, which threaten to irreversibly impact the livelihoods and food security of millions of people.\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/433\">China<\/a>\u00a0is set to build at least 14 dams on the\u00a0<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2318\">Upper Mekong<\/a>\u00a0in Yunnan Province. Laos, in its bid to become \"the battery of Southeast Asia\", hopes to develop more than 94 dams on Mekong tributaries, and is considering nine projects on the mainstream; two more mainstream projects are being considered in Cambodia.\u00a0The dams would mean death by a thousand cuts to the river's rich fisheries and the millions of people who depend upon them.<br><br>As of 2014, there are 82 existing dams in the Mekong Basin, and another 153 either under construction or planned. Many more have been sited in government inventories. In our database, the status of 203 dams is unknown, and many of these may be planned for the near future.<br><br><i>References<\/i><br><br>[1]  Mekong River Commission State of the Basin Report, 2010 (biota estimates from 2010)<br>[2] MRC - Catch and Culture, Mekong Fisheries<br>[3] MRC Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, 2010<br>[4] MRC Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment, 2010<br>[5] Barlow et al. 2008<br>","legend":"","image":"Mekong Basin Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"The mighty Mekong River in the province of Xayaburi in Northern Laos, aptly named the &quot;mother of all rivers,&quot; provides, life and livelihood to millions. Its richness and beauty is threatened by plans to build a series of dams on the Lower Mekong mainstream. Photo by Pianporn Deetes.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Mekong:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Mekong:focus_basin","id":32},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 12th Worst in Average Water Quality<\/i><br><br>The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/435\">Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin<\/a> is one of the world's largest river systems; more than 500 million people in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal are reliant on their waters for domestic needs or industrial and farming purposes. The basin also forms the largest delta in the world and contributes 8 per cent of the global sediment transport to the ocean. <br><br>In the basin, eighty per cent of the precipitation occurs during the monsoon months from June until September and as a result there is a large variation in the flow characteristics of the river from the lean to wet months. Given the transboundary nature of the basin, the Government of India and China both publish sparse hydrological data on account of national security. <br><br>The water quality monitoring stations downstream of townships and industrial belts record highly stressed water quality indicators. Many kilometers of river stretches are neither suitable for bathing nor drinking after conventional treatment. It is well documented that in the entire basin more than half the urban and rural as well as municipal and industrial effluents are discharged untreated in to the river. The Ganga, for instance, receives 12,000 million liters of sewage each day of which there is treatment capacity for only one third this quantum. <br><br>The Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers originate in the Himalayas where glacier melt water is an important source for the headwaters of the river. The Brahmaputra originates in eastern Tibet where it is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo. The Ganga originates in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and confluences with the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh.  <br><br>In the upper reaches of both rivers there has been a spurt in dam building and large hydropower projects over the past two decades. While more than two hundred memoranda of understanding have been signed in India, China has unconcealed plans to build at least ten dam projects in the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra. <br><br>The combined catchment of the Ganga-Brahmaputra river basins is 1.6 million square kilometers.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8312\/7946696090_4fe54d54b4_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Teesta River winds down from the Himalayas before joining the Brahmaputra River. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Ganges-Brahmaputra:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Ganges-Brahmaputra:focus_basin","id":33},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Congo Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 3rd in Total Basin Area<\/i><br><br>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2296\">The Congo River<\/a> imakes many \"top ten lists.\" It is the world\u2019s deepest river(1), and the second largest river in the world in terms of flow. It is the fifth longest river in the world and has the biggest rapids (the Inga Rapids) of all rivers. The lower part of the river reaches a depth of greater than 720 feet, making it the world\u2019s deepest river. The Lower Congo is not navigable due to rapids that include the Inga Falls. The Congo River\u2019s drainage basin covers more than 4 mission square kilometers (1.5 sq miles).  Six countries share the Congo River rainforest sub-basin.<br><br>The source of the Congo River is in the savannas southwest of Lake Tanganyika. This region of the river is called the Upper Congo. The river flows northward where it gradually widens and picks up speed as it enters the \"Gates of Hell\" (2). From there, the river emerges surrounded by rainforests, crosses the equator and turns westward. The Upper Congo abruptly ends with Stanley Falls, which gives way to the Middle Congo, a 1,000 mile stretch of navigable river, nine miles wide in some parts. Alongside this quiet stretch of the river is the city of Kisangani. Passing through a dense forest it then turns southwest, crossing the equator again as it flows towards the Atlantic Ocean. Near the end of the Middle Congo, the river is flanked by the capital cities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville. The peace of the Lower Congo is suddenly shattered by Livingstone Falls, a series of rapids and cataracts 220 miles long.<br><br>The Congo River is globally important in terms of fish diversity. More than 700 fish species live in the Congo Basin, though the number is thought to be much higher; there is a high degree of emdemism. (4) The Congo River enters the Atlantic Ocean about 100 km upstream from a town called Boma in Western DRC.<br><br>The Congo River supplies a large volume of particulate and dissolved organic matter to the ocean, both in the surface plume and at the sea bottom through the turbidity activity in the Congo canyon, creating the \"Congo Plume\". This is a natural process that is thought to be one of the largest carbon sinks in the world.<br><br>The Congo basin is home to a wide variety of animals, plants and insects that are endemic to the DRC; it is in the rainforest sections of this river that  \"miracle plants\", (3) have been discovered by the locals. The Congo River rainforest is second in size only to that of the Amazon. Six countries share the Congo River rainforest sub-basin.To the local communities the forest is a deity:  it provides shelter, food and water, and sustains their lives.<br><br>Many African nations and international financial institutions believe the Congo could light up the continent of Africa, by constructing the largest hydropower scheme the Grand Inga, at the Inga site. Currently, there are 40 hydropower plants in the Congo basin, the largest of which are the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/resources\/inga-1-and-inga-2-dams-3616\">Inga 1 and Inga 2 plants.<\/a><br><br><i>References<\/i><br>(1)<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.princeton.edu\/~achaney\/tmve\/wiki100k\/docs\/Congo_River.html\">Princeton University<\/a><br>(2) A 75-miles long canyon of impassable rapids<br>(3) The Congo Basin includes 10,000 species of tropical plants; 30 percent are unique to the region.<br>(4) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/wwf.panda.org\/what_we_do\/where_we_work\/congo_basin_forests\/the_area\/wildlife\/fish\/\">WWF<\/a><br><br>","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4139\/4794821916_fc9afd7d16_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"Congo Boatmen. Photo credits: Thierry Michel\/Trigon Film","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Congo:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Congo:focus_basin","id":34},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Yangtze Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 2nd Highest in Total Number of Dams<\/i><br><br><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2310\">The Yangtze River<\/a> is the world\u2019s third-longest river, spanning 6,300 kilometers long, from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea [1].  The basin covers an area of 1.9 million square kilometers through 19 provinces with a population of close to 400 million people [2].  The river is an immense center of biodiversity, being home to hundreds of flora and fauna species as well as many critically endangered animal species.<br><br>In addition to its ecological and social importance, the Yangtze supports much Chinese economic activity. Transportation and commerce on the river comprise much industry within the basin, and the Yangtze provides crucial irrigation to the Jiangsu Province of China where the country produces 35% of the world\u2019s rice [3].<br><br>The Yangtze contains the second-highest number of dams in the world behind the Mississippi, including some of the largest undertakings of Chinese hydropower projects. Dozens of additional large dams are to be built in the basin. While the main goal of the majority of dams is to generate electricity to meet demand in China\u2019s east, another purpose is to alleviate sedimentation in the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/three-gorges-dam\">Three Gorges Dam<\/a> reservoir.<br><br>Such damming of the river has adversely affected biodiversity in the region. In 2014, a scientific study by the WWF and Yangtze River Fishery Resources Management Commission Office found that fish species in the river drastically decreased from the previous year\u2019s number of 143 to 17. Over-fishing and construction of dams have been cited as reasons for the ecological collapse.<br><br>Pollution also represents a great problem for the Yangtze, with billions of tons of sewage and industrial waste dumped into the river every year.  Although the Chinese government has spent billions on treating water pollution, experts believe that lasting effects have occurred in animal populations.<br><br>As of 2014, at least 374 dams already exist in the Yangtze Basin, while at least another 167 are already under construction or planned to be built. Many more are sited in the Chinese government dam inventory. In our database, the status of 264 additional dams is unknown, and at least some of these may be planned for the near future.<br><br><i>References<\/i><br>(1) WWF- World\u2019s Top 10 Rivers at Risk<br>(2)WaterWare\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ess.co.at\/WATERWARE\/CHINA\/basin.html\">The Yangtze Case Study Application<\/a><br>(3)<a target=\"_blank\" href=\" http:\/\/www.thewaterpage.com\/yangtze.htm\">The Water page Yangtze<\/a><br><br>","legend":"","image":"Yangtze Basin Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"The First Grand Bend of the Yangtze River\n\nThe first bend of the Yangtze River would be submerged by the planned Upper Tiger Leaping Gorge Dam. Photo by Heng Duan Shan Society.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Yangtze:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Yangtze:focus_basin","id":35},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Amazon Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 1st in Total Number of Freshwater Species<\/i><br><br><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2350\">The Amazon Basin<\/a> is the largest drainage basin in the world, about 7,050,000 square kilometres (2,720,000 sq mi). It stretches across eight countries -\u00a0Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guiana Francesa, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela -\u00a0and covers roughly 40 percent of the South American continent. The basin is sparsely populated as a whole, although it includes major cities such as Bel\u00e9m (2.08 million), Manaus (1.9 million), Iquitos (400,000), and Porto Velho (370,000), as well as smaller cities such as Coca, Puerto Maldonado, towns, villages, and settlements.<br><br>The Amazon River is the second-longest in the world at 6,400 km, and and its tributaries form the largest volume of freshwater in the world, accounting for 20% of the total water carried by the planet\u2019s rivers to its oceans. The Amazon River itself discharges the most water in the world at 209,000 cubic meters per second, while other mainstems that flow into the Amazon form significant basins in their own right. The 3,380 km-long <a target=\" _blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2341\">Madeira River<\/a> discharges an average 31,200 cubic meters per second; the 2,230 km-long Rio Negro discharges 28,000 cubic meters per second; the 1,737 km-long Mara\u00f1\u00f3n River discharges 16,708 cubic meters per second; the 1,992 km-long Tapaj\u00f3s River discharges 13,540 cubic meters per second; and the 2,670 km-long Ucayali River discharges 13,500 cubic meters per second, among others.<br><br>Many of the rivers of the Amazon are among the most sedimented in the world, as the drainage carries runoff from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. The sediments provide important nutrients to more than 2,200 species of freshwater fish, the most of any basin in the world. Some of these species form the backbone of local economies and provide food for millions of people, including the Catfish, the Surubim, the Piraiba, the Tambaqui, the Traiar\u00e3o, and the Tucunar\u00e9. Other, larger fish species are found in the Amazon as well, such as the gigantic Arapaima or Pirarucu fish.<br><br>The Amazon Basin is the most biodiverse basin in the world. It provides habitat for roughly 14,000 species of mammals, 1,500 bird species, and more than 1,000 amphibian species, such as the Amazon River Dolphin,  the Amazonian Manatee, and the Giant Otter. Reptiles including the Anaconda, the Caiman, and the Basilisk Lizard reside in the Amazon, while the basin also has the highest number of insect species, numbering into the thousands, with more being discovered each year.<br><br>The basin is covered mostly by the Amazon rainforest, also known as <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/amaz\u00f4nia-viva\">Amaz\u00f4nia<\/a>. With a 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi) area of dense tropical forest, this is the largest rainforest in the world. However, the advance of logging, cattle ranching, and agriculture such as soy and sugarcane have led to significant amounts of deforestation over decades. Industrial growth in the areas of mining, cement, and other extractive industries, both legal and illegal, have also led to environmental decay across the Amazon. The construction of transport and energy infrastructure such as roads, hydropower dams, and industrial waterway infrastructure has also acted as a driver of ecosystem change.<br><br>Dams have caused large environmental and social impacts in the Amazon. Dams with traditional storage reservoirs such as the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/belo-monte-dam\">Tucuru\u00ed Dam<\/a> on the Tocantins River and the Balbina Dam on the Uatum\u00e3 River have flooded thousands of hectares of forested land, emitting methane and other greenhouse gases. Dams have interrupted the seasonal floodplain soil deposition and excavation that allows for v\u00e1rzea or dry season riverbed agriculture. Such seasonal floodplain deposition allows thousands of families make their livelihoods on planing rice, beans, and corn and other crops without the need for fertilizer. Finally, hundreds of indigenous tribes live across the Amazon Basin, and dams have flooded their lands, de-watered their river courses, and impacted their health and economies in many areas.<br><br>As of 2014, there are 105 existing dams in the Amazon Basin, and another 254 either under construction or planned. Many more have been sited in government inventories.<br><br>Some of the largest and most destructive dams of the world have been built or are planned in the Amazon, such as the Tucuru\u00ed Dam mentioned above and the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/campaigns\/belo-monte-dam\">Belo Monte Dam<\/a> on the Xingu River. There are scores of dams planned in the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2271\">Tapaj\u00f3s Basin<\/a>, including seven dams on the Tapaj\u00f3s and Jamanxim rivers, three dams in the Teles Pires river, and dozens of dams in the Juruena watershed<\/a> upstream of the Tapaj\u00f3s. In Peru, dozens of dams are planned for the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/7778\">Mara\u00f1\u00f3n Basin<\/a>, others for the Ucayali, and a number of dams on the Ene River, including the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/7778\">controversial Inambari and Pakitzapango dams<\/a>. In <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2306\">Ecuador<\/a>, dozens of dams are planned or being built in the Napo, Pastaza, and Santiago basins.<br><br>\n","legend":"","image":"Amazon Basin Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"River Reflections\n\nA series of dams are being planned for the mighty Tapaj&oacute;s River, also a major Amazon tributary. The dams would flood national parks, reserves and indigenous lands. Photo by Brent Millikan.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Amazon:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Amazon:focus_basin","id":36},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"River Basins in Focus","layer_name":"The Zambezi Basin","text_description":"<i>Ranked 6th Highest in Species Richness<\/i><br><br>The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2300\">Zambezi<\/a> is the fourth-longest river, and the longest east-flowing river, in Africa. It flows through six countries on a 2,574km journey from its source 1,500m (4,900ft) above sea level in the Mwinilunga District in northwestern Zambia to the Indian Ocean. For 500km it serves as the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, dropping over the Victoria Falls and through the narrow and deep Batoka Gorge. In total, the Zambezi basin catchment area covers 1.39 million square km, which is half the size of the Nile.<br><br>The Zambezi supports the basic needs of 30 million people and plays an important role in the economies of eight riparian countries: Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It has a rich biological diversity and features several national parks and wetlands. Eight of the wetlands - Barotse Plain, Busanga Plains, Kafue Flats, Mana Pools, Lower Zambezi National Park, Elephant Marsh, and the Zambezi Delta - are designated as Wetlands of International Importance under the RAMSAR Convention.<br><br>The natural variability of the Zambezi has been greatly modified by the two large dams on its mainstem: the <a target=\"_blank\" href= \"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2301\">Kariba Dam<\/a> between Zambia and Zimbabwe (whose reservoir is, by volume, the largest in the world), and the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/1993 \">Cahora Bassa Dam<\/a> in Mozambique, as well as those on its major tributaries such as the Kafue River. There are plans to build another 13,000MW of new hydropower, including dams at <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/8291\">Batoka Gorge<\/a>, 52km from the Victoria Falls plunge pool, and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/2387\">Mphanda Nkuwa<\/a>, 70km downstream of Cahora Bassa.<br><br>The Zambezi River basin has one of the most variable climates of any major river basin in the world. Its climate shows extreme conditions across the catchment. The northern part receives an average of 1,600mm rainfall per year while the water-scarce southern part receives less than 500mm per year. The basin is extremely susceptible to extreme droughts and floods. Although the International Panel on Climate Change has categorized the Zambezi as exhibiting the \"worst\" potential effects of climate change among 11 major African river basins, not a single Zambezi dam (current or proposed) has seriously incorporated considerations of climate change into project design or operation.<br><br>Learn more about the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/node\/7673\">hydrological risks<\/a> facing this basin and its dams.","legend":"","image":"Zambezi Basin Image.jpg","image_hover_text":"Zambezi River. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"Basin_Name=Zambezi:focus_basin","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":"1","geojson":"Basin_Name=Zambezi:focus_basin","id":37},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Dam Hotspots","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>Where Are the World's Dams Located?<\/i><br><br>There are a total of more than 50,000 dams in the world. The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.icold-cigb.org\/GB\/World_register\/world_register.asp\">ICOLD World Register of Dams<\/a> has tracked at least 37,000 large dams (>10MW), but that dataset is not georeferenced with latitude and longitude coordinates.<br><br>International Rivers' dams database has latitude and longitude data for close to13,000 of the world's  dams. Of these, 5,796 are located in the world's 50 major river basins.<br><br>","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7316\/9144975491_857307cf74_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Inga 1 Power Station in the Congo Basin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Inga site is slated for up to eight dams, together called the Grand Inga Complex Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":38},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":"5","layer_group":"Dam Hotspots","layer_name":"Dam Hotspots","text_description":"Click on a layer to visualize dams according to their project stage:\n<br><br>\n<img src='.\/blue_small.png'> <b>Operational<\/b> = Already existing dams.\n<br><br>\n<img src='.\/yellow_small.png'> <b>Under construction<\/b> = Dams which are currently being constructed.\n<br><br>\n<img src='.\/red_small.png'> <b>Planned<\/b> = Dams whose studies or licensing have been completed, but construction has yet to begin.\n<br><br>\n<img src='.\/pink_small.png'> <b>Inventoried<\/b> = Dams whose potential site has been selected, but neither studies nor licensing have occurred.\n<br><br>\n<img src='.\/green_small.png'> <b>Suspended<\/b> = Dams which have been temporarily or permanently suspended, deactivated, cancelled, or revoked.\n<br><br>\n<img src='.\/white_small.png'> <b>Unknown<\/b> = No data are currently available.<br><br>We're looking for more data! If you have the coordinates of dams that are not currently included in our database, or if you see errors in existing records that you would like us to fix, please contact us by <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.internationalrivers.org\/contact\">visiting this webpage<\/a>.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm7.staticflickr.com\/6021\/6008207939_610c481fd7_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Xayaburi Dam site in Laos, on the Mekong River. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"<img src='.\/blue_small.png'> Operational:STATUS=Operational\n<img src='.\/yellow_small.png'> Under Construction:STATUS=Under Construction\n<img src='.\/red_small.png'> Planned:STATUS=Planned\n<img src='.\/pink_small.png'> Inventoried:STATUS=Inventoried\n<img src='.\/green_small.png'> Suspended:STATUS=Suspended,Deactivated,Cancelled,Revoked\n<img src='.\/white_small.png'> Unknown:STATUS=Unknown,NoData","multi_select":true,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"<img src='.\/blue_small.png'> Operational:STATUS=Operational\n<img src='.\/yellow_small.png'> Under Construction:STATUS=Under Construction\n<img src='.\/red_small.png'> Planned:STATUS=Planned\n<img src='.\/pink_small.png'> Inventoried:STATUS=Inventoried\n<img src='.\/green_small.png'> Suspended:STATUS=Suspended,Deactivated,Cancelled,Revoked\n<img src='.\/white_small.png'> Unknown:STATUS=Unknown,NoData","id":39},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Other Data","layer_name":"","text_description":"Additional data layers are available for display by clicking on each one, below.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/earth.tryse.net\/imgdir\/SG100969.jpg","image_hover_text":"","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":43},{"start_enabled":"1","layer_height":"5","layer_group":"Other Data","layer_name":"Display river networks","text_description":"Click on this layer to display major river centerline and freshwater body data from <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.naturalearthdata.com\/\">Natural Earth<\/a>. Misalignment with Google Maps may occur due to errors in the dataset.<br>","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4012\/4584780367_a93f671114_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Xingu River at sunset, Brazil. Photo by International Rivers.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"SCALERANK","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"SCALERANK","id":44},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Other Data","layer_name":"UNESCO World Heritage Sites","text_description":"Click on this layer to illustrate the location of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/whc.unesco.org\/en\/list\/\">UNESCO World Heritage Sites<\/a> that are located within the 50 river basins displayed on the map.","legend":"","image":"UNESCO.jpg","image_hover_text":"The Tsonga fishtraps within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"date_inscribed","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"date_inscribed","id":45},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Other Data","layer_name":"RAMSAR Sites","text_description":"The Ramsar Sites Database provides information on wetlands of international importance. The data is clipped to the 50 basins displayed on the map.","legend":"","image":"SG104542.jpg","image_hover_text":"Caiman in the Iber&aacute; Wetlands Ramsar site in Argentina. Photo by David Tryse.","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"geojson","layer_id":"ramorder","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"ramorder","id":46},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Further Resources","layer_name":"","text_description":"<i>Further Resources<\/i><br><br>For an outline of the 50 major basins of the world, visit the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bafg.de\/GRDC\/EN\/02_srvcs\/22_gslrs\/221_MRB\/riverbasins_node.html#doc201778bodyText2\">Global Runoff Data Centre<\/a>. For the full citation, see: Global Runoff Data Centre (2007): Major River Basins of the World \/ Global Runoff Data Centre. Koblenz, Germany: Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG).<br><br>For more information on the source of the data layers used, see V\u00f6r\u00f6smarty, C. J., McIntyre, P. B., Gessner, M. O., Dudgeon, D., Prusevich, A., Green, P., Glidden, S., Bunn, S. E., Sullivan, C. A., Liermann, C. Reidy, and Davies, P. M. (2010) \u2018Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity.\u2019 <i>Nature<\/i>, Volume 467.<br><br>For additional references, visit the individual data layers, and see the \"Data Sources\" section.","legend":"","image":"http:\/\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8440\/7895374196_6201c7b767_n.jpg","image_hover_text":"Activists and affected people march against the construction of dams in the Narmada Valley","data_sources":"","additional_resources":"","layer_type":"","layer_id":"","multi_select":false,"exclusive_group":0,"geojson":"","id":50},{"start_enabled":0,"layer_height":0,"layer_group":"Bibliography","layer_name":"","text_description":"\u2022 Abell et al. (2008) 'Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: A New Map of Biogeographic Units for Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation' <i>BioScience<\/i>, 58, 5.<br><br>\u2022 Dentener, F., Drevet, J., Lamarque, J.F., Bey, I., Eickhout,  B., Fiore, A.M., Hauglustaine, D., Horowitz, L.W., Krol,  M., Kulshrestha, U.C., Lawrence, M., Galy-Lacaux, C., Rast, S., Shindell, D., Stevenson, D., Van Noije, T.,  Atherton, C., Bell, N., Bergman, D., Butler, T., Cofala, J.,  Collins, B., Doherty, R., Ellingsen, K., Galloway, J., Gauss, M., Montanaro, V., M\u00fcller, J.F., Pitari, G., Rodriguez, J.,  Sanderson, M., Solmon, F., Strahan, S., Schultz, M., Sudo,  K., Szopa, S. and Wild, O. (2006). Nitrogen and Sulfur Deposition on Regional and Global Scales: A Multimodel  Evaluation. <i>Global Biogeochem. Cycles<\/i> 20: GB4003, doi:  10.1029\/2005GB002672.<br><br>\u2022 Fekete, B. M., D. Wisser, C. Kroeze, E. Mayorga, L. Bouwman, W. M. Wollheim, and C. 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