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Report of the IUCN SSC Sub-Committees
Freshwater Conservation Sub-Committee
(FCSC)
Our mission is to raise the profile of freshwater biodiversity. The
group has 11 steering members: Topiltzin Contreras MacBeath,
Chair FCSC, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos,
México; Will Darwall, Manager, IUCN SSC Freshwater
Biodiversity Unit, UK; Robin Abell, World Wildlife Fund, USA;
Carmen Revenga, The Nature Conservancy, USA; Ian Harrison,
CI/CABS and IUCN SSC Biodiversity Assessment Unit, UK and
USA; Raul Pineda-López, Manejo Integrado de Cuencas,
Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, México; Nicolas Tubbs,
Birdlife International UK; Harmony Patricio, FISHBIO, USA;
Gordon McGregor Reid, NEZS, UK; Richard Lansdown, Chair,
IUCN Freshwater Plant Specialist Group, UK; Jhon P. Simaika,
Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum
Frankfurt.
Astyanax aeneus – from Agua Salada Spring, Central Mexico. © Topiltzin
Contreras
After two workshops carried out in Queretaro, Mexico, 2011,
and Abu Dhabi, 2012, our mission, vision, and three main goals
were developed: 1) to be a major player in issues related to
freshwater biodiversity conservation; 2) to enhance the work of
the SSC and of the freshwater related Specialist Groups; and 3)
relate to other initiatives related to freshwater species use and
conservation. During 2013, a strategy document was produced
(in Spanish) and an alliance established with the IUCN
Mesoamerica Regional office in order to translate this
document, so that it can be circulated through the network to
collect comments. The Gonzalo Rio Arronte Foundation is kindly
funding this publication.
With funding from the Mexican Commission for Cooperation
with Central America, a Mesoamerican working group was
formed which initiated the process for developing an evaluation
on the regional knowledge on macroinvertebrates and their use
as indicator species for freshwater ecosystems. The group is
coordinated by Raul Pineda-López, and has members from the
different Mesoamerican countries: Perla Edith Alonso Eguía Lis
and Ricardo Miguel Pérez Mungia (Mexico); Edward Boles
(Belize); Silvia Echeverria Saenz, Fatima Reyes, Bernald
Pacheco Chaves, Fresia Villalobos and Anny Chaves (Costa
Rica); Dagoberto Pérez and José Miguel Sermeño Chicas (El
Salvador); Anna Cristina Bailey (Guatemala); Lucia Isabel López
Umaña (Honduras); and Ernesto García, Aydee Cornejo and
Juan Bernal (Panama). Work to date has produced the first
version of a book that is expected to be published in 2014.
Topiltzin Contreras MacBeath
Chair, Freshwater Conservation Sub-Committee
Figure 1. Diagram showing goals and actions of the FCSC.
96 IUCN species Annual Report 2013