Aquatic ecosystems are rich in biodiversity and home to a diverse array of species and habitats, providing a wide variety of benefits to human beings. Many of these valuable ecosystems are at risk of being irreversibly damaged by human activities and pressures, including pollution, contamination, invasive species, overfishing and climate change. Such pressures threaten the sustainability of these ecosystems, their provision of ecosystem services and ultimately human well-being. Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is now widely considered the most promising paradigm for balancing sustainable development and biodiversity protection, and various international strategies and conventions have championed the EBM cause and the inclusion of ecosystem services in decision-making. This open access book introduces the essential concepts and principles required to implement ecosystem-based management, detailing tools and techniques, and describing the application of these concepts and tools to a broad range of aquatic ecosystems, from the shores of Lough Erne in Northern Ireland to the estuaries of the US Pacific Northwest and the tropical Mekong Delta.

This publication provides a conceptual framework for market creation in the biodiversity policy arena, as well as several examples of where the use of markets can assist policy makers in the search for more sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity.

Now in an extensively updated fourth edition, this essential text offers a comprehensive survey of all aspects of water resources planning and management. Utilizing an integrated water resources management (IWRM) framework, the authors show how this approach can clarify and help resolve resource management problems in ways that take into account complicated and interconnected social, economic, and environmental needs. Spanning the full planning process, the book considers legal and administrative issues; economic and forecasting factors; water quality, quantity, supply, use and demand; and model applications. The authors’ goal throughout is to provide a practical foundation for improving ecological and human environmental systems for practitioners and students alike.