Authors: Lee E. Brown1*, Taylor Maavara1, Xiaohui Chen2, Jiangwei Zhang 2, Megan Klaar1, Felicia Orah Moshe3, Elad Ben-Zur4, Shaked Stein4, Richard Grayson1, Laura Carter1, Elad Levintal5, Gideon Gal5, Pazit Ziv1, Frank Tarkowski6, Devanshi Pathak7, Kieran Khamis8, José Barquín9, Hemma Philamore10, Misael Sebastián Gradilla-Hernández11 & Shai Arnon5.Affiliations1. School of Geography and water@leeds, University of Leeds, Leeds. UK2. School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds. UK3. Department of Soil Conservation, Soil Erosion Research Station, Ministry of Agriculture, Bet Dagan, Israel4. Kinneret Limnological Laboratory, Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research, 14950000 Migdal, Israel5. Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel6. Yorkshire Water Services Ltd, Bradford, UK.7. Department of Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Magdeburg, Germany8. School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK9. IHCantabria – Instituto de Hidráulica Ambiental de la Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Spain10. School of Engineering, Mathematics and Technology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK11. Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingenieria y Ciencias, Nuevo Mexico, Jalisco, Mexico* Author for correspondence: l.brown@leeds.ac.uk

Freshwater biodiversity is declining dramatically, and the current biodiversity crisis requires defining bold goals and mobilizing substantial resources to meet the challenges. While the reasons are varied, both research and conservation of freshwater biodiversity lag far behind efforts in the terrestrial and marine realms. We identify fifteen pressing global needs to support informed global freshwater biodiversity stewardship. The proposed agenda aims to advance freshwater biodiversity research globally as a critical step in improving coordinated action towards its sustainable management and conservation.