Prevailing Patterns of Threat to Human Water Security and Biodiversity in 2010. Vörösmarty, et al, 2010

Adjusted human water security threat is contrasted against incident biodiversity threat. Much of the developed world faces the challenge of reducing biodiversity threat and protecting biodiversity, while maintaining established water services. The developing world shows tandem threats to human water security and biodiversity, posing an arguably more significant challenge. Large, contiguous areas of low threat to biodiversity and human water security remain where dense population and agriculture are absent. These contrasts help to identify target regions and investment strategies to enhance water stewardship and biodiversity protection34, 45. In this Figure, a breakpoint of 0.5 delineates low from high threat.

C. J. Vörösmarty, et al, Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity, Nature, Volume: 467, Pages:555–561, 30 September 2010, DOI:doi:10.1038/nature09440