A boost for freshwater conservation

Integrating freshwater and terrestrial conservation planning has high returns Systematic conservation planning—a data-driven process for prioritizing biodiversity conservation resources—has been strongly biased over the past two decades toward terrestrial and marine species and systems ( 1 ). Freshwater ecosystems, which are among the most threatened on Earth, have received less attention. Wetland extent is estimated to have declined globally by nearly 70% since 1900 and, on average, freshwater vertebrate populations declined by 84% between 1970 and 2016 ( 2 ). There is an urgent need for prioritizing resources toward freshwater conservation. On page 117 of this issue, Leal et al. ( 3 ) show that such prioritizations need not be a zero-sum game: Integrated cross-realm conservation planning can, for a negligible reduction in terrestrial benefits, increase freshwater benefits up to 600%.