Freshwater ecosystems have the greatest species diversity per unit area and many endangered species. This book shows that, rather than being a marginal part of terrestrial protected area management, freshwater conservation is central to sustaining biodiversity. It focuses on better practices for conserving inland aquatic ecosystems in protected areas, including rivers, wetlands, peatlands, other freshwater and brackish ecosystems, and estuaries. The authors define inland aquatic ecosystems, showing just how diverse and widespread they are. They examine the principles and processes that are essential for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and aquatic species. Major categories of threats to freshwater ecosystems and the flow-on implications for protected area design are described. Practical case studies are used to illustrate principles and practices applied around the world. Specific management needs of the main types of freshwater ecosystems are considered, as well as the management of freshwaters in the broader landscape, showing how natural resource governance processes can be harnessed to better manage freshwater biodiversity. The book offers commentary on how to adapt freshwater conservation practices to climate change and ends with an insightful synthesis.

Freshwater ecosystems have the greatest species diversity per unit area and many endangered species. This book shows that, rather than being a marginal part of terrestrial protected area management, freshwater conservation is central to sustaining biodiversity. It focuses on better practices for conserving inland aquatic ecosystems in protected areas, including rivers, wetlands, peatlands, other freshwater and brackish ecosystems, and estuaries. The authors define inland aquatic ecosystems, showing just how diverse and widespread they are. They examine the principles and processes that are essential for the conservation of freshwater ecosystems and aquatic species. Major categories of threats to freshwater ecosystems and the flow-on implications for protected area design are described. Practical case studies are used to illustrate principles and practices applied around the world. Specific management needs of the main types of freshwater ecosystems are considered, as well as the management of freshwaters in the broader landscape, showing how natural resource governance processes can be harnessed to better manage freshwater biodiversity. The book offers commentary on how to adapt freshwater conservation practices to climate change and ends with an insightful synthesis.

The book addresses the interactions between wetlands and human health and well-being. A key feature is the linking of ecology-health and the targeting of practitioners and researchers. The environmental health problems of the 21st Century cannot be addressed by the traditional tools of ecologists or epidemiologists working in their respective disciplinary silos; this is clear from the emergence and re-emergence of public health and human well-being problems such as cholera pandemics, mosquito borne disease, and episodic events and disasters (e.g. hurricanes). To tackle these problems requires genuine cross-disciplinary collaboration; a key finding of the recently concluded Millennium Ecosystem Assessment when looking at human well-being and ecosystem health. This book brings the disciplines of ecology and health sciences closer to such a synthesis for researchers, teachers and policy makers interested in or needing information to manage wetlands and human health and well-being issues.

The book addresses the interactions between wetlands and human health and well-being. A key feature is the linking of ecology-health and the targeting of practitioners and researchers. The environmental health problems of the 21st Century cannot be addressed by the traditional tools of ecologists or epidemiologists working in their respective disciplinary silos; this is clear from the emergence and re-emergence of public health and human well-being problems such as cholera pandemics, mosquito borne disease, and episodic events and disasters (e.g. hurricanes). To tackle these problems requires genuine cross-disciplinary collaboration; a key finding of the recently concluded Millennium Ecosystem Assessment when looking at human well-being and ecosystem health. This book brings the disciplines of ecology and health sciences closer to such a synthesis for researchers, teachers and policy makers interested in or needing information to manage wetlands and human health and well-being issues.