This Working Group focuses on the planetary boundary of Freshwater Change.
The group is currently working to expand the below statement, which summarises the boundary and its relationship with AMR, into a longer policy brief.
This Working Group is open to new members – please email CLIMAR.Network@exeter.ac.uk to join.
Freshwater change is one of nine planetary boundaries and includes both blue water (e.g., rivers and lakes) and green water (e.g., soil moisture). Natural functions such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity that rely on freshwater cycles, can be altered by human disturbances to water [1]. Antimicrobials, antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARBs), and antimicrobial resistant genes (ARGs) are continuously received by freshwater bodies (such as rivers and lakes) from processes such as agriculture, aquaculture, healthcare, manufacturing activity and wastewater; meaning freshwater change is strongly associated with AMR evolution and transmission, contributing to reservoirs of AMR within the environment [2]. Current AMR thinking prioritises water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) although action to improve WaSH is sometimes considered as being within other Sustainable Development Goal objectives and not specifically related to AMR. Improvements in WaSH are therefore considered as AMR sensitive interventions (those that are designed for other purposes but have co-benefits in terms of reducing AMR evolution and/or transmission, as opposed to AMR specific interventions that are primarily designed to impact AMR). In reality the role of freshwater systems in relation to AMR reaches far beyond WaSH, and the combined impacts of multiple drivers, including climate change and processes associated with other planetary boundaries, are important to consider. AMR and freshwater systems remain an area of research gaps. Models need to be developed to estimate the potential impacts of freshwater change on AMR and indeed how climate change scenarios may impact these. Additionally, the development of metrics and indicators for the tracking of AMR in freshwater systems under climate change will be imperative for assessing the future risks to public health.