Brian Richter has been a global leader in river science and conservation for more than 25 years. He is the Director of Global Freshwater Strategies for The Nature Conservancy, an international conservation organization, where he promotes sustainable water use and management with governments, corporations, and local communities. Brian has consulted on more than 120 water projects worldwide. He serves as a water advisor to some of the world’s largest corporations, investment banks, and the United Nations, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions. He also teaches a course on Water Sustainability at the University of Virginia. Brian has developed numerous scientific tools and methods to support river protection and restoration efforts, including the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration software that is being used by water managers and scientists worldwide. Brian was featured in a BBC documentary with David Attenborough on ‘How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?’ He has published many scientific papers on the importance of ecologically sustainable water management in international science journals, and co-authored an earlier book with Sandra Postel entitled Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature (Island Press, 2003).