Watersheds have been widely recognized as the best scale at which to govern water. At the geographic scale of the watersheds, stakeholders are able to make decisions on how to manage water resources in a setting more conducive to participation. Through coordinated development and management of water, land, and related resources, economic and social welfare can be optimized without compromising sustainability of vital environmental systems. Sungai Selangor is an important water resource for the state of Selangor. It is the major contributor in meeting water demand to the Selangor State and Kuala Lumpur. Since early days, Sungai Selangor has played a central role in the development of settlements in northern Selangor. Theresearch described here is an attempt to understand the development forces operating in the Sungai Selangor watershed. The approach taken is intentionally multi-disciplinary, as it attempts to paint a broad brush picture of the current situation within the Sungai Selangor watershed. Increasing pressures on land development is a major factor that causes land use conflicts in the watershed. Spatial-environmental governance should improve collaboration and connections between citizens and decision-makers at the watershed scale. Many issues within the economic, social or environmental realm necessitate an understanding of the spatial context within which such forces operate. The book is organized in ten chapters, each chapter being devoted towards addressing particular issues considered prevalent or outstanding within the community living within the watershed. Although the book has been written in an academic manner, it should also appeal to the general public and students in higher education institutions as it relates to topical issues. Beginner researchers may find that the discussion of various issues within a location-specific context might spark off their interest to begin their own research on particular aspects that appeal to their own area of expertise.

Trees have been around for more than 370 million years, and today there are about 80 thousand species of them, occupying 3.5 billion hectares worldwide, including 250 million ha of commercial plantations. While forests can provide tremendous environmental, social, and economic benefits to nations, they also affect the hydrologic cycle in different ways. As the demand for water grows and local precipitation patterns change due to global warming, plantation forestry has encountered an increasing number of water-related conflicts worldwide. This document provides a country-by-country summary of the current state of knowledge on the relationship between forest management and water resources. Based on available research publications, the Editor-in-Chief of this document contacted local scientists from countries where the impact of forest management on water resources is an issue, inviting them to submit a chapter.

Water quality monitoring is an essential tool in the management of water resources and this book comprehensively covers the entire monitoring operation. This important text is the outcome of a collborative programme of activity between UNEP and WHO with inputs from WMO and UNESCO and draws on the international standards of the International Organization of Standardization.

Changes in the use of land reflect a variety of environmental and social factors, necessitating an equally varied suite of data to be used for effective analysis. While remote sensing, both from satellites and air photos, provides a central resource for study, socio-economic surveys, censuses, and map sources also supply a wealth of valid informati

Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water. It is a measure of the condition of water for the purposes intended for. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance can be assessed. The most common standards used to assess water quality relate to health of ecosystems, safety of human contact and potable drinking water. A range of diverse topics in the field of water quality modelling, statistical evaluation and guidelines pertaining to the best management practices in different locations around the world is given herein. Modelling of water quality in rivers and lakes, statistical methods and membrane filter performance are subject matters of interest considering in-situ water, potable water, water re-use, etc.

As we embark into the 21st century, we need to address new challenges ranging from population growth, climate change, and depletion of natural resources to providing better health care, food security and peace to humankind, while at the same time protecting natural ecosystems that provide the services which allow life to flourish on Earth. To meet those challenges, profound changes are required in the way that societies conduct their everyday affairs, ways that will lead to better preservation, protection and sustainable management of natural resources with long lasting impacts. The aim of CleanWAS 2016 is to provide productive opportunities for academics and practitioners from interdisciplinary fields of Environmental Sciences to meet, share and bring expertise and ideas in related disciplines. The CleanWAS conference was first organized in the year 2012. It is an annual event organised by the International Water, Air and Soil Conservation society (INWASCON) and is supported by various Malaysian (UKM, UMS, UIAM) and Chinese universities (CUG, NKU, SYSU).

This book assesses the current water-security situation in Asia. The thematic areas of the book discuss the United Nation’s sustainable development goals with a particular focus on Goal 6 (“Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation”) and Goal 13 (“Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”). Asia has been facing a number of water-related challenges for decades due to multiple factors such as increasing population, socio-economic development, urbanization and migration, and climate change now poses an additional threat. While significant efforts have been made by governments in Asia, much more work is needed to make Asian societies water-secure. Given its multi-disciplinary approach, the book is a valuable resource for researchers involved in the further development of water-security concepts, approaches, and methodologies. In addition, it helps policymakers, planners, and practitioners to formulate sustainable water- security enhancement strategies grounded in sound scientific evidence to protect human well-being.