This book is about flooding, the risk it imposes on human well-being and related activities, and the main approaches used to deal with the impacts. The aim is to derive lessons for flood risk management. The book covers experiences from case studies in the five countries of Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Brazil and Taiwan. It indicates that in most areas around the world, floods disrupt human activities and also pose threats to human well-being whereas in other areas, particularly wetlands around the world, they are viewed as useful for the sustainability of ecosystems and human livelihoods. Due to climate variability and change, floods are expected to increase in frequency and intensity throughout the world. There is need to evaluate the current structural and non-structural approaches for dealing with flood risk and the impacts on human systems. Decision-making on the adoption of either structural or non-structural approaches to flood risk largely depends on information available and the means to achieve the intended objectives. Understanding the risk posed by flooding requires multidisciplinary assessments on the biophysical, socio-economic and cultural factors underlying the vulnerability of human systems. The book starts by identifying some methods which may be useful for flood assessments. Furthermore, it identifies the impacts of flooding and assesses the pros and cons of the related structural and non-structural responses. The challenges observed from the two main approaches are identified and suggestions are made for promoting flood risk management. Suggestions are made for strengthening support for non-structural approaches which are still inadequate in most developing countries, and require improvement in developed countries, given the increasingly complex nature of flood risk posed by extremes in climate variability.

This book is a compilation of peer reviewed chapters which address the dynamics of biodiversity and ecosystem services (ESSs) used at Lake Ngami in Northern Botswana. This book focuses on the implications of the ESSs used in terms of human well-being and sustainability, with Lake Ngami as a case study. Three broad cross-cutting themes are addressed: 1) The interaction between ESSs and direct drivers of ecosystem change such as flooding, climate change and variability; 2) the relationship between ESSs and institutions (rules, beliefs, norms, markets and property rights); and 3) the relationship between changes in ESSs and human well-being. In order to address these themes, the authors have divided the book into five parts: 1) Introduction and Background, 2) Supporting and Regulating ESSs, 3) Provisioning ESSs, 4) Cultural ESSs, and 5) Strategy for ESSs Governance and Policy Implications. The book demonstrates how the ESSs of Lake Ngami have the potential to make a substantial contribution to human-well-being. However, due to the variability in the flooding of the Okavango River, which results in decadal and longer dry periods in the lake, the benefits derived from ESSs by the local population cannot be guaranteed for the future. The contributors to this book are researchers with a plurality of backgrounds in natural and social sciences with diverse views. The policy recommendations suggested by some of the authors could contribute to the sustainable use and management of ESSs of wetlands in semi-arid environments.