Waterbirds Around The World

This book is the outcome of a major international conference on waterbirds held in Edinburgh in April 2004.

This book is a result of the authors' more than 40 years of study on the behavior, populations, and heavy metals in the colonial waterbirds nesting in Barnegat Bay and the nearby estuaries and bays in the Northeastern United States. From Boston Harbor to the Chesapeake, based on longitudinal studies of colonial waterbirds, it provides a clear pictu

This report outlines the results of the internationally coordinated census of wintering waterbirds in the Baltic Sea 2007-2009 undertaken under the SOWBAS project (Status of wintering Waterbird populations in the Baltic Sea). The estimated total number of wintering waterbirds was 4.41 million compared to 7.44 million during the last co-ordinated census 1992-1993. Despite the general declines stable or increasing populations of herbivorous species were recorded. While benthic carnivores with a coastal distribution have either shown moderate declines, stable or increasing populations seaducks with an offshore distribution have declined seriously. Based on analyses of trends in wintering waterbirds and pressures indicators are suggested as performance indicators in relation to the international and national actions taken to reduce the anthropogenic pressures in the Baltic Sea.

The Arctic, the Antarctic, and the Hindu Kush-Himalayas form a trio of terrains sometimes called “the three poles”. Mainly composed of rock, snow, and ice, these precious regions, which are home to many unique species such as the polar bear, the emperor penguin, and the snow leopard, contain the primary water resource of this planet and directly shape our climate. This book presents a first-ever global assessment and progressive review of the three poles and demonstrates the urgent need for their protection. Sins of the past have irrevocably harmed and threatened many of the unique qualities of these regions, and the future looks bleak with the global population forecast to reach 9 billion by 2060, and with climate change on the rise. Presented here is a wide-reaching and coherent overview of the three poles’ biodiversity, habitats, and ongoing destruction. Failed protection and social targets set by the United Nations and other bodies are exposed while economic growth, unconstrained or inappropriate development, and urban sprawl are promoted unabated. Polar regions play a major role in the global agenda as they are rich in oil and other resources, marking them for contamination, overfishing, and further degradation. Tourism in the Antarctic has benefited from enlightened self-regulation, but there are signs that this is changing, too. The chapters of this book are written by experts in their fields, and their evidence leaves no doubt that we already live beyond our carrying capacity on a finite but decaying space. A global protection role model and several outlook scenarios are proposed to help set in motion polar protection priorities that are actually valid. Humanity has demonstrated through international treaties such as the Antarctic Treaty and the Madrid Protocol that we can put the interests of the planet as a whole first. This must become the norm, not the exception.

Water quality and management are of great significance globally, as the demand for clean, potable water far exceeds the availability. Water science research brings together the natural and applied sciences, engineering, chemistry, law and policy, and economics, and the Treatise on Water Science seeks to unite these areas through contributions from a global team of author-experts. The 4-volume set examines topics in depth, with an emphasis on innovative research and technologies for those working in applied areas. Published in partnership with and endorsed by the International Water Association (IWA), demonstrating the authority of the content Editor-in-Chief Peter Wilderer, a Stockholm Water Prize recipient, has assembled a world-class team of volume editors and contributing authors Topics related to water resource management, water quality and supply, and handling of wastewater are treated in depth