Just how important fresh water biodiversity is to the human food supply? Perhaps the following statistics will shed light on this hard to quantify quality. According to an article from Science Daily, at least, two billion people globally are directly dependent on freshwater food sources for sustenance. Given the current world population of 7.1 billion people, that is roughly 28 percent of the entire population that is being supported by fresh water resources.

What is even more astounding is the fact that fresh water lakes, rivers and wetlands collectively account for only 0.8 percent of earth's total surface area. Yet, this less than 1 percent area is home to around 10 percent of all known species and roughly a third of all vertebrates.

Notably, fish yields from fresh water sources are higher than saltwater sources. This could be attributed in part to the stability of fresh water fish harvesting compared to sea water fishing which is highly-dependent both on season and weather. However, initial studies which involved data from 100 countries seems to suggest biodiversity play a very significant yet poorly understood role in the high yields of these fresh water fish sources. Simply put, lakes or rivers which contain a greater variety of fish species also produced the highest yields or harvest.

This should serve both as an incentive and a warning for those engaged in commercial fresh water fish operations to maintain the variety of species present in their habitat. The warning is likewise expressed in another study by Janet Ranganathan and Craig Hanson of World Resources Institute. In their publication, it is noted that food production is a major cause of ecosystem degradation, and also mentions pollution as well as the introduction of invasive species that could potentially wipe out existing ones.

As conclusion, Dr Felix Eigenbrod, Associate Professor of Spatial Ecology at the Centre for Biological Sciences reaffirms that the study demonstrated that maintaining freshwaters that support all the species naturally present in their habitat (not just the species targeted for fishing) is vital in all conservation efforts as well as in securing the livelihood and food security. In short, we must all realize that saving the planet's diversity and all its seemingly unimportant life forms is not only economically sensible but is very critical to the survival of the human species as well.