Freshwater makes up only approx. 0.8% of the Earth's surface, though this tiny fraction of global water supports almost 6% of all described species. Inland waters are ecosystems blessed with a variety of species, however, their ecosystems have been drastically altered in recent decades, and the biodiversity loss during 1970 to 2006 in freshwaters was second only to the tropical forests (GBO3).

Our project aims to develop a suitable assessment method of biodiversity in Eastern Asian freshwaters. First, we are collecting scattered information of aquatic organisms from the literatures in the past. In particular, we are focusing on fish and aquatic plants, which are visible and easy to be identified, to indicate biodiversity in each habitat. With the information, we will determine the priority of species or habitats for conservation. As for large lakes, we estimate the status of biodiversity by using satellite imagery of the occurrence of waterbloom, coverage of aquatic macrophytes, and watershed landscape structure/pattern.

We welcome many Asian researchers, who have information of fish or macrophytes to join our project.