Three of British Columbia’s four major watersheds are at high or moderate risk from the threats posed by climate change and fragmenting wildlife habitat, according to a new national report from the well-regarded World Wildlife Fund.

It says the Fraser, B.C.’s largest and longest river, draining an area which by itself is larger than 38 of Europe’s countries, is at high risk overall because of pollution, habitat fragmentation and the presence of invasive species in the watershed. These risks are amplified by the impacts of climate change, habitat loss and the alteration of river flows.

The good news is that in the category of water overuse, the Fraser obtains a low risk ranking.

To date, the WWF says, it has assessed about half of Canada’s watersheds using standardized indicators based on water flow, water quality, the health of bugs and fish and the seven key threat indicators of pollution, climate change, habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, overuse of water, alteration of rivers flows and invasive species.

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