ABSTRACT
This brief sentence, an Inca proverb according to Dr. Postel, aptly describes the predicament facing humanity and the rest of Earth’s biota. Everyone is aware that humans and other terrestrial animals, as well as plants and a huge diversity of aquatic species, are completely dependent on adequate and sustainable fresh water supplies. Yet many humans behave as if the amount of clean fresh water is infinite and the lives and activities of aquatic species are insignificant.
