The vast majority of the world's rivers are reeling from pollution, over-development and excessive extraction, and billions of dollars of investment by rich countries to avert water stress have damaged biodiversity, a study released on Wednesday said. "Rivers around the world really are in a crisis state," said one of its authors, Peter McIntyre, a professor of Zoology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The investigation, published by the journal Nature, looked at the health of the world's major rivers, assessing them for water security and the state of their wildlife. Their probe covered 23 factors, including water extraction, types of agriculture and industry, pollution levels, habitat, wildlife, population growth and urban development.

River crisis' worsens threat of water scarcity. (2010, October 1-2). BusinessWorld, p. S3/8.