Beard Jr. Abigail Lynch 2015 <p><span>Freshwater is a shared resource.&nbsp; Water challenges (i.e., too much, too little, too dirty) are recognized to have global implications.&nbsp; Many sectors rely upon water and, in some cases, the limited availability of water leads to tough decisions.&nbsp; Though inland fish and fisheries play important roles in providing food security, human well-being, and ecosystem productivity, this sector is often underappreciated in water resource planning because valuation is difficult and governance is complex, unclear, or non-existent.&nbsp; Additionally, inland fisheries are an economically small sector and, in most cases, the value of inland fisheries will never be the main driver of decision making.</span></p> <p>At the 2015 Global Conference on Inland Fisheries, we convened a Drivers and Synergies panel and working group to discuss competing sectors (e.g., hydropower, transportation, agriculture, mining and oil and gas extraction, forestry, tourism and recreation, and aquaculture) and large-scale drivers which exist predominately outside of the water sectors (e.g., economic growth, diversifying economies, population growth, urbanization, and climate change).&nbsp; Drivers will influence these sectors and tradeoffs will be made.&nbsp; Management of sustainable inland water systems requires making informed choices emphasizing those services that will provide sustainable benefits for humans while maintaining well-functioning ecological systems. &nbsp;</p> application/pdf en American Fisheries Society Drivers and synergies in the management of inland fisheries: Searching for sustainable solutions text