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Managing Wetlands for Multifunctional Benefits

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Wetlands

Abstract

Humans have sought to manage and exploit wetlands from the beginning of recorded history. From the early modifications of the marshlands of Mesopotamia to the draining of the English Fens, the management of wetlands has always reflected the major societal and economic drivers of the times. Early efforts at conservation management focussed primarily on waterbirds, but over the latter part of the twentieth Century there has been a shift of emphasis towards towards ‘wise use’ and an understanding of how ecosystem processes and functions deliver important benefits to human society. The recognition that the natural environment provides societal benefits is crucial to the future conservation of wetlands. Building on the Ecosystem Approach, the adoption of a multidisciplinary approach to the management of wetlands, which extends beyond biological and hydrological regimes into social and economic science, is considered essential if improved decision-making is to be achieved in order to deliver multifuncitonal benefits from wetland management.

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  1. Bioscan (UK) Ltd, The Old Parlour, Little Baldon Farm, Little Baldon, OX44 9PU, Oxford, UK

    Robert J. McInnes

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  1. Robert J. McInnes
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Correspondence to Robert J. McInnes .

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  1. Environmental & Remediation Project, PECO Energy Company, Market Avenue 2301, Philadelphia, 19103, Pennsylvania, USA

    Ben A. LePage

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McInnes, R.J. (2011). Managing Wetlands for Multifunctional Benefits. In: LePage, B. (eds) Wetlands. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0551-7_12

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