Liquid Assets: The Critical Need to Safeguard Freshwater Ecosystems - Softcover

Postel, Sandra

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1878071769 ISBN 13: 9781878071767

Publisher: Worldwatch Inst, 2005

Synopsis

Rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other freshwater ecosystems provide a host of benefits to society, from supplying water and fish to mitigating floods, recharging groundwater, purifying drinking water, and providing habitats for myriad species. But because commercial markets rarely put a price on these "ecosystem services," and because governments are failing to protect them, they are now being lost at a rapid rate. Fortunately, forward-thinking cities, villages, and farming regions around the world- from Bogotá Colombia, to Boston, Massachusetts- are demonstating that drinking water, food security, and flood control needs can be met in ways that employ, rather than destroy, ecosystem services. By taking advantage of the work that healthy watersheds and freshwater ecosystems perform naturally, cities and rural areas can meet human needs at a fraction of the cost of conventional technological alternatives, while safeguarding ecosystems at the same time.

About this edition

• Publisher: Worldwatch Inst
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1878071769
• ISBN 13: 9781878071767
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 78