ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) – The world’s freshwater turtle populations are being alarmingly decreasing due to habitat loss, hunting and a lucrative pet trade, according to Conservation International (CI), which called for urgent action on Friday.

The new CI analysis, which has been undertaken for World Water Week, identifies that the worrying decline in many of the world’s turtle species is evidence that humanity’s management of vital freshwater ecosystems is causing deep and damaging environmental impacts that will affect people and wildlife alike.

Dr. Peter Paul van Dijk, Director of CI’s Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Conservation Program said that more than 40 percent of the planet’s freshwater turtle species are threatened with extinction – making them among the most threatened groups of animals on the planet.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tracy Farrell explained that half of the nation’s wetlands have already been lost and two thirds of the major rivers are dammed. Freshwater turtles normally live up river systems, and damming in one place can have dramatic consequences downstream, Farrell said.

“If we don’t consider the whole of a system we threaten not only important populations of animals – like turtles – but also human populations that rely on these waterways for food, irrigation, drinking water and even transport,” Farrell stated.

“The key problems these animals are facing are changes to their habitats – in particular because of the damming of the rivers where they live for hydro-electricity, on top of hunting for food and a very lucrative trade in rare turtles as pets,” Dr. van Dijk said.

“Their decline is an indicator that the freshwater ecosystems that millions of people rely on for irrigation, food and water are being damaged in a manner that could have dire consequences for people and turtles alike,” he added.

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